Can Chocolate Chip Cookies that are “Healthier” Taste Good?!
YES!!! Chocolate Chip Cookies are a favorite in our house, and they were especially “needed” while I was pregnant. In trying to help with this “need” (okay, fine, it was a strong want), I played with the various Mrs. Field’s recipes and all of the substitutions possible. One thing I found true throughout my experiments… too many substitutions made for funny cookies. (But, frozen cookie dough with up to three changes was okay and satisfied my babies’ strong cravings!)
Which substitutions worked the best? To start, I found a few changes were very noticeable and changed the recipe too much and therefore were not allowed in future batches of chocolate chip cookies. Several other small differences made a great cookie. Here are the changes that have made the cut and why…
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Substitutions Made
- Butter -> coconut oil. This substitution made positives and negatives changes to the cookies. If you like your chocolate chip cookies with a coconut flavor and a bit of a chew and denser bite, these can be traded cup for cup. I like the butter flavor, so we went back to butter.
Cream wet ingredients
- Brown sugar -> coconut sugar. I love this change and it has stuck for several reason, mostly health ones. It is a more natural sugar (less processing), has inulin (soluble fiber), lower glycemic index (35 vs 64 for brown sugar, which means less of a spike in your blood glucose), and tastes just as sweet. While it is not as soft/moist as brown sugar, I find that it bakes the same without changing ratios therefore you trade cup for cup as well. However, it will make items browned, so it is not a great substitution for white-colored cookies.
- Eggs -> flax seed. “Flax eggs” are a vegan option with cooking/baking, but I did this change simply for more fiber while pregnant. I never baked this dough, as this was one of the super substitution batches and stayed as a frozen dough. Still yummy! If you do this change and bake up a batch, tell me how it goes — drop me a comment below.
Whisk dry ingredients
- AP flour -> whole wheat flour or almond flour. Whole wheat flour is an easy change and I continue to make this substitution in many recipes. I only changed half of the “white” (AP = all purpose) flour out for whole wheat flour, but the increased fiber and nutrients give me at least a perceived health kick. But seriously, if you cannot tell, why wouldn’t you get the extra bran in there? As for almond flour, that flour can sometimes make a cookie dry if the flour ratio is changed too much – pick only one of these to change out. You will see the recipe described both ways below. I like the almond flavor, lower carbohydrates, and fat/protein profile of almond flour. Both work well in the recipe, and often it comes down to which flour bag is open and needs to be consumed first.
- Regular chocolate chips -> mini chocolate chips. While this is not officially in my recipe, I will let you in on a little KL secret… You get a better distribution of chocolate chips per bite of cookie in using mini chips versus regular or large chips. If I am feeling fancy, or there is a large event/holidays, I will blend mini dark chips with regular-sized milk chocolate chips. There, I said it, and now you know. (Yes, some of the Mrs. Field’s recipes also call for a grated Hershey’s chocolate bar. My response to that part of the original recipe is best said by Sweet Brown, “Ain’t no one got time for that!” Although I am sure that is fabulous tasting!)
Dry to wet, then fold in chips
- Nuts? My group of littles does not enjoy nuts in their baked goods. Nuts have their own place in many recipes, but not in my chocolate chip cookies. If you want them, then please add a cup of whatever chopped that makes you happy at the end. That said, I did something fun in my only-for-the-preggo freezer stash… In that round of dough, I added a cup of ground pecan flour folded in = heavenly!
Recipe time!
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
First, cream five wet ingredients together in medium bowl.
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup AP flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 ½ cups oatmeal flour
Note: Oatmeal flour can be made or purchased. I like blending mine… Measure two and a half cups of quick oats, dump them into the blender, pulse in short bursts until smooth. Easy peasy!
Then, mix then next six dry ingredients together with a whisk.
Slowly, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
1 ½ mini chocolate chips
Lastly, fold in chocolate chips (and nuts?) into this final step of dough preparation. From here you have options… You may now bake the cookies and consume, eat the raw dough (which I cannot recommend unless you used pasteurized eggs), or freeze the dough for later. Please see my prior blog on best way to freeze cookie dough: Frugal Foods to Save in the Freezer (klrestored.com)
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- Bake 8-10 min, dozen/sheet
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- Eat the funny looking ones
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- Cool on racks
Bake for 8-10 minutes in groups of one dozen per sheet. I prefer to bake on a Silpat as cookies release easier that way. Once out of the oven, cool them on a rack, and then place into a vessel for storage. Our house runs on Pyrex… (The cookies won’t last long, so the storage vessel isn’t too important other than for transport to parties!)
Other recipes and frugal tips coming soon! Please check out my website at www.KLRestored.com.
* Disclosure: Recommended products are KLRestored home-tested and/or I’d-Buy-That approved. This post contains affiliate links; we may earn a small commission.
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Edits on 01/10/2023 for updated advertising.
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