The 'Less Is More' Healthy Cookie

Here's one for you: flour-less, egg-less, butter-less (and potentially sugar-less) cookies! I know what you may thinking, "You're losing it, Liz", but as unappealing as it may sound (for a cookie), I was intrigued by the ingredients (or lack thereof). Honestly, as much as I wanted to try them, I didn't think that they were going to be this good (and that I'd keep going back for more)... Sweetened and held together by overly ripened bananas and almond meal; mixed with rolled oats and chocolate, they really are a treat. And one that you can feel good about eating, at that.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe, as it's going to have to become a regular when I'm craving a chewy , delicious treat. Filled with chocolate and smelling of sweet, ripe bananas and Cinnamon - you can't go wrong. I owe it all to 101 Cookbooks (once again) and her article on her friend, Nikki's 'Healthy Cookies' recipe. In my version, I used both dark chocolate chunks and carob chips; coconut oil was replaced with olive oil since it would be one less thing to buy, and almond meal/flour was out of my price range, so I made my own by pulsing raw almonds in my Cuisinart to a fine, sand-like consistency (beware not to over do it, or else you'll end up with almond butter).

The 'Less Is More' Healthy Cookie (Nikki's Cookies)

Yields about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies

Ingredients

- 3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2/3 cup almond meal
- 1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips, carob chips or dark chocolate bar - chopped

Preheat oven to 350*F, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut/olive oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips. The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, but don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto an oiled pan. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these until golden brown on top, but soft on the inside. They were perfect. About 17 minutes baking time in my oven.

ChocolateChunkCoconutCranberryCookies!

Baking always puts me in a great mood. There's something very meditative about it (that and organizing my refrigerator - I know, I know). In celebration of getting my very first job call back in weeks since I've been laid off, I decided to celebrate by making a batch of experimental goodies! The past couple of days, through various baking blogs, I've come across these gorgeous recipes for chocolate chip cookies with cherries. Brilliant! A little sweet, a little tart - just what I've been hankering for! However, upon pulling up to the bulk section in my local grocery store, I realized, for the sake of my bank account, I should opt for dried cranberries as a cheaper alternative, which would still give me that great tang. I also decided to pick up some coconut flakes, as I just discovered I love the texture they lend to baked goods since trying my aunt's banana bread over for the weekend (have a look at her, and friend Lisa's delicious business - Sweet Eva's!).

Once home, I went straight to Martha, and chose to use her 'Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip' recipe. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, later, I had my own one-of-a-kind-Liz-creation! Hands down, guys, best cookies I have ever made in my life. I was so proud. They were soft, and almost cupcake like with their thickness, with the perfect ratio of sweet and sour and a great bit of extra texture to break up those big bites!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cranberry Coconut Cookies

Yields 3 dozen

Ingredients:

- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups chocolate chips/chunks
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (to taste)
- 1 cup dried coconut (to taste)

Preheat oven to 350*. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (don't worry if you don't have an electric mixer, I just whisked it by hand!). Set flour and other dry ingredients aside in a bowl together. Mix vanilla and eggs in with the butter and sugar and add coconut. With a wooden spoon, mix dry and wet ingredients together. Add chocolate and cranberries.
Spoon cookies onto a non-stick/buttered cookie sheet and put in oven for about 8-10 minutes (you may want to check midway to see if you need to rotate your sheet).


Voila! Beautiful, yummy, fluffy cookies at your disposal. I've really enjoyed this experiment and now can't stop thinking about all the other wonderful things I could incorporate into cookies - dried blueberries, dried apricots and peaches - the possibilities are endless! So please, if you have any brilliant ideas, please feel free to share them with me!

Until then - happy baking!