healthy cookies

Jul 29, 2016

High Fiber Cookies with Dried Figs

 High Fiber Cookies Recipe

Any cookies that are crispy, have lots of fiber, no butter, and taste great are my kind of cookies. It’s this kind of cookie that I always have around the house so there’s always something sweet available. I make almost all my cookies with extra light olive oil but you can use any vegetable oil.

Sweets will always be part of my diet so I try to make them as healthy as I can. And crispy cookies like this keep well. I put them in a zip top plastic bag and keep them refrigerated for weeks and they are still great. They’re big, too. This recipe makes a dozen big 4 to 5-inch cookies. Have one for a healthy, high fiber dessert or as a snack with a glass of milk. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Jun 23, 2016

My Made Up Cookies

High FIber Cookies, Healthy Cookies

I couldn’t decide what kind of cookies to make today. I often make my giant breakfast cookies but I wanted something different. I like my crispy oat cookies too but I wanted something with even more fiber. So I made a hybrid of both cookies and LOVED them. They are super crispy and as with most of my cookies, they have no butter and no white flour. I followed my recipe for Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with these changes:

~reduced oats to 1 cup

~added 1/2 cup All-Bran Original Cereal

~used one egg instead of two egg whites

~doubled the vanilla

~added about five chopped mission figs

~added about 3 Tablespoons shredded, sweetened coconut

I baked them at 350° F for 16 minutes and they were perfect. Crispy. Not too sweet. Easy recipe. I like these healthy cookies so much they are now a new recipe here on my site.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

May 7, 2016

Weekend Baking

Weekends are my favorite time to bake. As soon as I get up and make my green tea, I start puttering around in the kitchen. With breakfast on my mind I remembered that I was out of my giant breakfast cookies so they were first on my list. This time I used a mixture of prunes and figs and added a few extras chocolate chips. I baked them for 14 minutes so they turned out more crispy than usual. I often have one of these yummy cookies after breakfast but I also have them for dessert. There are 4 grams of fiber in each cookie! Click here for my recipe.

High Fiber Breakfast CookiesNext, I started my sesame see breadsticks. I just ran out of those too and I hate to have my salad without those crunchy breadsticks. I make them so often that I got a breadstick pan with holes to help them bake from the bottom. There’s no place I know where you can buy fresh breadsticks like these so I make them at least twice a month. This picture was taken before I put them in my warming drawer to rise.  Click here for the recipe.

IMG_8772 copyWhile the breadsticks were rising and the oven was already hot, I saw that I was down to one granola bar so I made more of those too. It’s the easiest recipe – just mix everything in a bowl and bake. But you do have to press down really, really hard before baking to keep the bars together. I use a spatula that I press down onto the bars before baking and I press all over for about a minute so they set well while baking. Oh, I almost forgot – there’s another granola bar in my purse (I always carry one just in case). Click here for my easy recipe.

IMG_8774 copyWell, I just thought I would share what I cooked today. And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms who cook, or just eat when someone else cooks – that’s how it should be on Mother’s Day. – Jenny Jones

Jul 19, 2015

Breakfast Cookies Again? Yes!

Healthy Breakfast CookiesIt must be Sunday morning because I’m making breakfast cookies again. Here they are before baking. There are three things that are a constant in my kitchen (besides me)… three things that when I almost run out, I make more. They are: breakfast cookies, granola bars, and tortillas. This morning I ate my last breakfast cookie, there’s one tortilla left and I made granola bars yesterday. So it’s breakfast cookie and tortilla-day today.

Are you wondering why these three? Because you can’t buy anything even close to homemade tortillas. My granola bars are out of this world. And my breakfast cookies may not be pretty, but they are fantastic, especially if you want more fiber in your diet. Those are chopped prunes you see there… or wait… those could be pieces of dark chocolate!

My recipe uses bran cereal, whole wheat pastry flour, and oats (did I mention there are 4 grams of fiber in one cookie?). Then I add some moist chopped prunes (they do not taste like prune cookies!) and either chocolate chips or this time I chopped up some of a dark chocolate bar. And here they are all done…

High Fiber Breakfast CookiesThese are cookies of substance, great taste and texture, and many health benefits. Dark chocolate benefits the heart and all that fiber benefits your digestive system and keeps you regular. As for prunes, besides fiber, they are very high in antioxidants. Prunes benefit your eyes, heart, immune system and can help prevent bone loss.

Just like people, don’t judge this cookie by its appearance. It’s what’s inside that matters. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Apr 18, 2015

Double Chocolate Cookies

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are three ways to make these cookies depending on the amount of flour you use. You can make them more chunky and firm or softer and spreadable.  My original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour. But you can use less flour for a softer cookie. See my examples below:

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can never go wrong with a chocolate dessert. I always use Dutch processed cocoa for two reasons. One, it’s less bitter than regular cocoa and two, it produces a rich dark color as you can see. It’s not always easy to find but right now my store carries Droste brand cocoa so that’s what I use. Always looking for ways to reduce saturated fat, I reduced it even more today. Instead of 1/4 cup of butter I used 3 tablespoons and then I increased the oil from 1/2 cup to 1/3 of a cup. No matter how good something sweet looks, if the butter is measured in sticks, I always pass. I know from experience that you can make delicious, healthier desserts with very little and many times, no butter at all. For dinner I made a salad and my vegetable-bean pasta and cookies for dessert. Did I say cookies? I meant “a cookie” for dessert. That’s right. One cookie. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ?

I usually add toasted walnuts and pecans to my cookies. The reason for the mixed nuts is I can never decide, plus using both nuts seems to add even more flavors but I always toast the nuts first. In fact, I toast a whole bag of nuts and then keep them refrigerated for all my baking. To learn how to toast nuts, see the “How To” section of my blog. You’ll be glad you toasted the nuts for these delicious cookies. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Sweets
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Aug 15, 2014

My Everyday Cookies

Healthy Whole Grain Cookies Recipe

These healthy cookies are always on hand in my kitchen because I love sweets but they have to be as healthy as I can make them. And these are. They are 100% whole grain made with whole wheat pastry flour and oats. Then I add oil (I prefer avocado oil these days) and this is a cookie I can eat every day (and I do!). The truth is that most of the time, dessert in my house is just a cookie and it’s this cookie more than any other. It’s sweet and satisfying and might actually do you some good. It has lots of fiber, heart healthy fat, and no butter or white flour. Did I mention a few mini chocolate chips?

I tried to decide what to call this… Oatmeal Cookies, Whole Grain Cookies, Healthy Cookies, Cookies I Eat Every Day, but then I settled on Everyday Cookies because I have them just about every day. Sure, they are dessert after dinner but why not after breakfast? They have oats and whole grains and nuts – isn’t that what’s in a granola bar? And my granola bar recipe has chocolate chips too.

These are some crispy cookies, which is good because they keep really well. I keep them in a covered container, mostly in the fridge by the second day, but they don’t last long. With two of us here they disappear fast and when they’re gone, I make more. If you’re looking for a crispy, healthier cookie, one that you can eat every day that might even do you some good, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Jul 17, 2014

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

These are the only chocolate chip cookies I make because they use less butter, less sugar, have more fiber and heart-healthy fats, and they are delicious! Most recipes call for a 1/2 cup of butter but mine… 3 tablespoons! Most recipes use all-purpose flour but mine… include whole wheat pastry flour. And guess what else? Olive oil! You don’t have to give up chocolate chip cookies when you can make them this much healthier. I’m using extra light olive oil in most of my baking these days. These cookies have lots of toasted nuts for extra protein and the darkest chocolate chips I can find.

At any given time there are cookies in my kitchen (and the freezer) and it’s what we mostly have for dessert. I love sweets but I also want to eat as healthy as I can so I am constantly looking for ways to make desserts healthier and this dark chocolate chip cookie is the perfect example. You don’t even have to mention that these are healthier, just serve them and watch everyone ask for more. To try my healthier less butter, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Aug 18, 2013

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

CrispyCrunOatCk_600Baking without butter is a priority around here because I am not living without cookies. When I’m not having my lemon brownies, doughnuts, marble loaf, or apple bars (all made without butter) there is always a cookie on my dessert plate. I haven’t had a store-bought cookie in decades. Why would I when healthy cookies are so easy to make. We eat a few and I freeze a few, so there are always a variety of cookies in the freezer.

Crispy cookies like this one can be eaten still frozen – talk about crunchy! This healthy cookie can be made with extra light olive oil or canola and it’s 100% whole grain, made with oats and whole wheat pastry flour with crisp rice cereal added for even more crunch. You’ll see I added some mini chocolate chips although you can omit those… but I wouldn’t. 🙂 Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

To see how to keep cookies crisp click here.