Adapted from Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie by Chocolate Covered Katie

WE LOVE COOKIES!  My pandemic experiment was to find the healthiest chocolate chip cookie I could find.  I made 5 different “healthy” recipes, most of them fell flat, literally they were flatter than a pancake.  We liked this one best and then I tweaked it to make it a bit healthier and to our liking.  Healthy is an overused term.  I choose to call these “healthier” just because the ingredients are less processed and have fewer empty calories in them.  But let’s face it sugar is not great for you, so these are just “healthier” than say a tollhouse cookie.   Processed white sugar has absolutely NO traces of vitamins, minerals or proteins, they are completely empty calories.  White flour has some nutrients but it also has a very high amount of carbohydrates (86 compared to 24 in 1 cup of almond flour).  Brown sugar still has some calcium, iron & potassium in it and coconut sugar has some vitamin C, iron, potassium & zinc, as well as antioxidants and fiber inulin.  The fiber inulin supposedly has a lower glycemic index therefore, it shouldn’t give you the sugar spike that white sugar would.  Plus, we all know oats are good for our heart, due to the fiber plus they have protein, iron and potassium.  I really like almond flour because I need all the protein I can get and almonds are a good source of protein, as well as calcium and iron plus it gives a little nutty flavor.  Way more than you wanted to know.  Bottom line, Dave and I eat too many cookies but at least now we’re getting a lot more nutrients with these than we were with any of the other recipes.  Eat lots of veggies & lean proteins and enjoy an “healthier” cookie.

Mix time:  10 minutes

Cook time:  7 in oven 10 on hot cookie sheet

Yield:  30-40

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients</span>

• 2 1/3 oat and almond flour (you can use either, I prefer to use about ½ and ½.)*
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp heaping, baking soda*
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips (I always add more)
• 2/3 cup walnuts or whatever nuts you prefer (optional)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tblsp melted coconut oil*
• 8 tbsp of milk of choice, as needed until you can form a ball*

1.  Preheat oven to 380 degrees.

2.  Combine dry ingredients and mix well.

3.  Add wet ingredients and mix well.  They form into balls better if the dough is refrigerated for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

4.  Form dough into balls and bake for 7 minutes, remove from oven and let them continue to cook on the hot cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

5.  Remove from sheet and let cool completely, or go ahead and eat and enjoy how gooey they are.

The longer they cool the less they fall apart when you pick them up.  I like my cookies crispier, Dave likes his softer, so I smush the ball of dough on mine a little and I leave his in a ball, my cookie is crisper and his is softer.

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Notes:</span>

*Flour – I like the texture from the oats and the nuttiness and protein from the almond.  (If you don’t find oat flour just pulse any kind of oats, steel cut, old fashioned, instant, in a food processor.)

*Baking Soda – I tried a lot of healthy cookies, they all seem to get really flat, I think a little extra baking soda helps them maintain their structure.

*Coconut oil is readily available, I like the boxed, individual packets from Trader Joe’s, each packet is a tablespoon.  Don’t add too much oil, this can also make them flat.  Coconut oil is a healthy form of fat.

*We seldom have milk in the house, I’ve used buttermilk, cream, almond milk.  Add it a tbsp at a time and add just enough to be able to form a ball.

*Dough - I make the dough, form the balls and put it in the fridge in an airtight container and we bake them as we want them.  This keeps us from eating them all in one sitting!!!

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Nutrition Facts (verywellfit.com nutrition analyzer)</span>

Serving size 1 Tablespoon

Calories                               70

Total Fat                              4g

Sat Fat                  .6g

Cholesterol                         0mg

Sodium                                 66mg

Total Carbohydrate         8.1g

Diet Fib                 .8g

Tot Sug                 5.4g

Protein                                 1.8g

Calcium                                13mg

Potassium                           22mg

Contributed by:  Robin Looney