HealthiFood: Chewy Brownie Cookies

Friday, March 25, 2011

Chewy Brownie Cookies

Oh, Joy, oh, Joy. These cookies were just what I was looking for: a chewy cookie that tastes like a chewy brownie. And, golden heaven, they worked so well healthified! Confession: sometimes my husband and I keep a bowl of dough in the fridge for several weeks so we can cook a dozen cookies any time we want. Original recipe "Chocolate Brownie Cookies" by King Arthur Flour but shared by Joy the Baker. My alterations chop the calories in more than half, fat content by two-thirds, sugar by half, and add .8 g fiber per serving/cookie.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

yields about 26 cookies

4/3 c semi sweet chocolate chips

2 T butter or margarine
1 T ground flax seed meal

2/3 c white sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c white flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

Melt chocolate and butter together in microwave until just melted (only put in for 30 seconds at a time and stir a lot between each 30 seconds).

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour to make it easier to handle (or put the bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes, if you're impatient like me; sometimes I even scoop the cookies and then pop the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to let the balls of dough firm up; this dough also keeps well in the fridge for several weeks).

Back tablespoon-sized drops of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 325 degrees for 11-12 minutes. You want the bottoms to be just barely browned (don't over bake!) and a little shinyness and cracking on top. Best served warm.

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The HealthiFood Program: One to Four

1. Lower Fat
Most recipes can be adapted to cut the fat in half through substitution (of things like ground flax seed meal, applesauce, etc.) or elimination. Another easy way to lower fat is to cook with lower fat options, like low or nonfat milk products. Usually you can't tell the difference when it's cooked in, and you can save A LOT of calories and fat grams.

2. Better Fat Choices
We all know that nonfat isn't usually that good. Instead of eliminating all the fat and richness from recipes, the HealthiFood Program aims to replaces bad fats with better fats. HealthiFood uses olive oil, canola oil, ground flax seed meal, and naturally-occurring fats as much as possible to reduce hydrogenated and saturated fat content as much as possible.

3. High Fiber and Protein
Fiber is essential to good health, especially in the long run. The HealthiFood Program increases whole grains and fiber content by using whole wheat flour, oat flour, yellow corn meal, and ground flax seed meal. These substitutions also add protein.

4. More Vegetables
Using vegetable puree addition techniques of the Sneaky Chef and Jessica Seinfeld, the HealthiFood Program enriches recipes with vitamins and more fiber while lowering the calorie content per serving.

No Gimmicks

Sometimes the Nutrition Facts I provide may surprise you. This is because I usually post how much of a dish I actually eat. If you wanted tone-downed, unrealistic serving sizes to make all recipes look diet, this isn't the place. However, usually the serving size given will be for your whole meal, such as 1/9th of a 9x9 lasagna or 1/4th of a round of Rosemary bread. If you aren't in a habit of understanding serving sizes, start here and now, and definitely apply it to the packaged foods you eat.