Healthy Holiday Whole Grain Cookie Recipe -Oatmeal with Cranberries, Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

Fold in cranberries, walnuts and chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoons of batter on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

It's Not the Holidays without Cookies

What is it that compels us to bake during the holidays? Is it the cold weather or childhood memories? I'm not sure. But baking cookies for the holidays doesn't mean we have to throw our healthy eating habits out the window. Here are a few ideas for a healthier cookie:

• Use organic white whole wheat flour or organic oat flour instead of regular white flour - It has 3 times the fiber.

• Use Sucanat or organic cane sugar and cut down on the amounts.

• Only use aluminum free baking powder. Studies suggest a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's.

• If you use eggs, buy omega 3 enriched, organic, cage free eggs. Vegan egg replacers can be used instead of eggs like Ener G egg replacer.

• If you use dairy, buy organic butter made from milk free of bovine growth hormone and antibiotics. Vegan buttery spreads like Earth Balance can be used instead of butter.

• Substitute some of the fat with unsweetened apple sauce or pureed prunes.

• Go light on the chocolate. Opt for dark chocolate with a higher percentage of cacao.

• Use raw English walnuts in your cookie recipes. They are rich in omega 3 fatty acid.

A Versatile Cookie Recipe

This is basically a healthy oatmeal cookie made with a white whole grain or oat flour and less sugar (only 1/3 cup) and less fat (only 1/4 cup) than most cookie recipes. Feel free to substitute the cranberries with raisins or dried cherries. You can substitute the English walnuts for pecans or other nuts. Dark chocolate chunks or carob chips can replace the milk chocolate chips. Have fun and experiment.

Check out the Vegan Version of this recipe.

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Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries, Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

[makes 2 dozen cookies]

2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup Sucanat or organic cane sugar

1/4 cup organic salted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large omega 3 enriched, organic, cage free egg

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped

1/4 cup raw English walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, butter, and vanilla and mix well with a fork. Add a lightly beaten egg to this mixture and combine thoroughly. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently combine. Fold in the cranberries, walnuts and chocolate chips and drop 24 tablespoons of this mixture on to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from oven, let sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Per cookie: 75.4 calories, 3.6 g fat, 1.6 g saturated fat, 15.3 mg cholesterol, 1.5 g protein, 9.9 g carbohydrates, 0.9 g fiber, 132 mg omega 3 and 657 mg omega 6 fatty acids.

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