Chewy Low-fat Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy? Whaaat?! That's right. I'm looking to make healthier desserts (sometimes) since 3 out of 5 in my immediate family are diabetic. I usually feel that if you're going to eat (or bake and eat) dessert, it has to be fantastic and most "healthy" desserts are far from that. Since we were going to my parents' for a Father's Day BBQ (my dad being one of the diabetics..) I figured it was a good time to make something like this. They were REALLY good. Very chewy and bursting with banana flavor. I know, I should actually be getting into low-sugar recipes, but I had to start somewhere! The sugar in this recipe is not actually that high compared to a lot of desserts that I bake.

Adapted from: www.skinnytaste.com

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl with a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on a medium speed. Add the egg, followed by the mashed banana and vanilla extract.

Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and oatmeal until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are light brown at the edges.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

There wasn't a strong Nutella flavor to these cookies (maybe I should have added more..) but they were still very good. Thin and chewy...they almost tasted as if the weren't baked long enough. I like cookies like that better actually. I had made these as a back up to my Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies, which I didn't need to because they turned out awesome. I will post that recipe next.

Adapted from: www.portuguesegirlcooks.blogspot.com


INGREDIENTS (Makes about 30 cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Nutella

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

Using a mixer, cream butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add in white and brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy. About 3-4 minutes.

With mixer on low speed, add in the egg and vanilla. Then add the Nutella. Mix until well incorporated.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Increase speed to medium and mix until well combined.

Refrigerate dough for about 20- 30 minutes.

Scoop dough using cookie scoop, and spread about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 7-9 minutes, or 6-7 minutes if dough was not refrigerated.

Pistachio White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I think these turned out better than the blondies, for a pistachio/white chocolate combination anyway. Very sweet and addictive! I made about 1/4 of the recipe since this makes a lot of cookies. I really didn't want 4 dozen cookies lying around the house!

Adapted from: www.CooksRecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder and salt

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 cups natural California pistachios, coarsely chopped - divided use

1 (10-ounce) package white chocolate chunk-sized chips* (I used white chips.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Cream butter and sugars together.

3. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla.

4. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

5. Process oats in blender or food processor, leaving some texture. (I did not process the oats since I was being lazy.)

6. Gradually add flour mixture and chopped oats to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in 1 cup pistachios and white chocolate chips.

7. Drop mixture by heaping teaspoons onto greased baking sheets, allowing for spreading. Press remaining pistachios on top of cookie dough.

8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly on sheet to set up.
Makes 3 to 4 dozen.
* A 12-ounce package of small white chocolate or semi-sweet chips may be substituted for white chocolate chunks.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ah...an oldie but goodie! I made these butterscotch oatmeal cookies as a backup for the Chipster Brownies that I wasn't happy with. I was bringing the brownies to a party and hate serving something I'm not satisfied with! (However, I ended up bringing the brownies AND cookies because I didn't want them sitting in my house...it's bikini season.) I started making these cookies a few years ago and they always go over well. Plus, they're so easy to make! I must have whipped these up in about 10 minutes. I was debating about making the "Pan Cookie Variation" since I haven't done that yet, but figured that if I was making these as my backup dessert, I didn't want to mess up anything else! I know the regular cookie version is fantastic. :)

Adapted from: http://www.verybestbaking.com/

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels (I only used about 1 - 1.25 cups...it's a lot of butterscotch!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Chocolate Rebels

My friend Muffin got me a chocolate baking cookbook for our Secret Santa party and I thought it was about time to try a couple of recipes from it. After making the batter, I tasted it and it seemed to be missing something. I grabbed a bag of semisweet chocolate chips and dumped some into the batter. I think it gave the cookies what I thought was missing! I can't say exactly how much I added, probably about a cup. These were tasty, but the second cookies I made from this book were wonderful...

Adapted from: "Chocolate Galore" by Caroline Barty

INGREDIENTS
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1.5 sticks butter
1 egg beaten
4 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional, the recipe didn't call for it)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl mix oats, flour, cocoa, sugars & salt. In another bowl mix butter, egg, milk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well. Add chocolate chips if desired. Place tablespoons of cookie mixture at regular intervals but not too close together on a nonstick baking sheet at bake 12-15 min. Turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

Amazing Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Oh my God, these were so good! My favorite of the Christmas cookies that I baked this year! Though these can have to baked around Christmas - they may be added to a staple recipe of mine. I didn't toast the coconut since I was being lazy - I had so many other cookies to bake! I also omitted the pecans, since I'm not a fan.

Adapted from: http://www.cookiesonfriday.blogspot.com/

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup coconut flakes, toasted (I didn't toast it)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped, toasted (I omitted)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325°F and line baking sheets with silicone baking mats.In a large mixer bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, corn syrup, and vanilla. Beat until combined. With the mixer running, mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. With a large spatula, stir in the coconut, white chocolate, cranberries, oatmeal, and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, until edges are golden and top of the cookie is dry but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute or two, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely

Berry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

This recipe is from Baking Bites (http://bakingbites.com/2007/05/berry-oatmeal-crumble-bars/) and is actually pretty healthy! I made it since my dad & sister would be over (both diabetics...nevermind me, I still go for the chocolate!). They were not very sweet...more of a snack instead of a dessert in my option. Still tasty though!

Filling
3 cups fresh or frozen berries (I used 2 c blueberries, 1 c strawberries)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar2 tbsp cornstarch

Crumble and Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (quick-cooking or regular)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into 7-9 large chunks
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling: In a medium saucepan, stir together berries and lemon juice and cook medium heat until fruit is tender, about 8-15 minutes, depending on type of berries being used (strawberries take longer than other berries, usually).In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch, then stir into fruit mixture. Continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes, until thick. Scrape berry filling into a medium bowl and set aside.

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9×13″ baking pan.In a food processor (or large mixing bowl), combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda , salt and vanilla extract. Pulse until mixture is thoroughly blended and resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of this mixture in a medium bowl. Pour remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, spread evenly and pat down. Place filling in dollops over crust and carefully spread to cover entire surface. Squeeze reserved crumb mixture into large clumps with your fingers and sprinkle evenly over the top of the fruit filling.Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Cut into 20 bars to serve.