So having just posted a recipe for a healthy (relatively speaking) carrot bread, I thought I would follow that recipe with a “less-bad-for-you” chocolate chip cookie option. I found this recipe on the Cookie and Kate web site.  

Now, if you didn’t happen to catch my last post, let me just explain that in my endeavor to keep us as healthy as possible as we grow older (at an ever increasing rate of speed I might add), I’m trying to cook and bake with our over-all health in mind.

But it’s not easy. We are very, very spoiled. We love good food and drink, and don’t at all appreciate not being able to eat and drink as we please. But Mother Nature is not on our side in this regard. “She who must be obeyed” has made it abundantly clear that we are not in charge – “she” is! For instance, my stomach doesn’t handle refined sugar very well anymore. And wine – suffice it to say I usually don’t partake. Grrrrr!

But, and here’s the good part – I know how to cook. And there are a world of great recipes out there written by health conscience (and yes I know it should be health-conscious, but I like my word for it better) people much more creative than me. And they take their healthy cooking very, very seriously. (And bless them for it!) And this recipe is proof of what I speak.

The only change I made to Kates recipe was to substitute dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips and add coconut and nuts.

So I made these cookies for our trailer trip. And they were so darn good I couldn’t believe there was no flour, brown or white sugar, and just 4 tablespoons of butter in the whole darn mess. Amazing.

So if you want to continue to feel like you can eat anything you want, I would recommend you give these cookies a try. They are really good and since you should keep them in the freezer, you might not be as tempted to eat as many since they won’t be in the heart of your kitchen – the cookie jar!

So go on. Take a chance. But no, they won’t ever replace a butter rich, soft and chewy cookie loaded with chocolate chips. But they don’t taste like sawdust either. And – they are better for you. Of course, these cookies will never be considered good for you. That’s a given. But better works for me. Hope it works for you too.

2/3 c. real maple syrup

2/3 c. natural peanut butter

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 lg. egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. fine-grain sea salt

1¼ c. old-fashioned rolled oats*, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor or blender

1½ c. old-fashioned rolled oats*

½ c. coconut

1 c. dark chocolate chips

1 c. chopped walnuts

Whisk the maple syrup, peanut butter, and melted butter together in a mixing bowl. Beat in the egg, scraping down the side of the bowl once it’s incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a large heavy spoon, stir in the ground oats, rolled oats, coconut, chocolate chips, and walnuts until they are evenly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake the cookies in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until they are barely set and just beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool completely on the pans. Store in an airtight container in your freezer.

*Reminder: If you are gluten intolerant, make sure you buy oats that have been certified as gluten free.