Help spread holiday cheer with healthier cookies!! I absolutely love to bake during the holiday season, however most of my favorite holiday cookies are loaded with butter. This season I sought to make healthier cookies recipes to share with my friends and family.
How did I make this recipe healthier?
First, I cut down the amount of butter used in the recipe. To maintain a flavor I was content with I did use some butter, however I substituted about half of the amount with Smart Balance Light buttery spread and non fat plain Greek yogurt. During my first attempt to make these cookies I removed the entire amount of butter and used a substantial amount of Greek yogurt and Smart Balance Light buttery spread instead. Immediately out of the oven these cookies were quite tasty, however they had a horrible shelf life. The following day they became extremely soggy with a tart flavor.
My next effort to make these cookies healthier was the substitution of whole wheat flour for about half of the white flour. The whole wheat flour is less processed and adds additional fiber. The beneficial aspect of fiber is that it helps you to feel full longer. Due to the strong flavor of peanut butter this substitution is unnoticeable in the flavor of the cookie.
Lastly, I reduced the amount of sugar added to the recipe. In my opinion most cookie recipes call for entirely too much sugar. As you likely know excess sugar has many negative side effects.
I am certain your family and friends will enjoy this healthier cookie recipe!
Enjoy!
360FN
RECIPE
Ingredients:
36 Hershey Kisses Brand Milk Chocolate
1/4 Smart Balance light buttery spread (or butter)
1/8 cup plain non fat yogurt
1/8 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 light brown sugar
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1 egg
2 tablespoons low fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit; remove wrappers from chocolate
2. Beat butters, yogurt, and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended; add sugars, egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well
3. In separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat flour mixture into peanut butter mixture; stir in oatmeal
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased cookie sheet
5. Bake at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 8-11 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Immediately press a chocolate in the center of each cookie; remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack.
Nutrition:
Serving size: 1 cookie • Servings: 24 • Calories: 125.2 kcal • Protein: 2.9 g • Carbs: 16.7g • Fat: 6.1 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Sugar: 9.8 g • Sodium: 142.6 mg
Sara says
How much oatmeal is needed for this recipe? I think it was left out of the ingredient list. 😉
FN says
Hi Sara,
I actually took out the oatmeal for the final product. Thanks for catching the error in the title. I did try the recipe with oatmeal (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup originally). You could definitely increase this amount, however I was trying to save calories.