| ESTIMATED CALORIC INFO | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | 1 cookie |
| Calories from Protein | 3% |
| Calories from Fat | 35% |
| Calories from Carbs | 62% |
| Total Calories | 70 |
Okay so maybe they’re not his favorite, I never asked the guy to know for sure, but they’re certainly MY favorite. And I’ve had a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my day. Though I guess I’d have to admit he’s probably got me beat on that tip. The man is undoubtedly a fully fledged cookie connoisseur.
Nevertheless, these are damn good chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been making them for many years now, the original recipe came from a Cooking Light cookbook. Generally I’m not a huge fan of the Cooking Light stuff cause I tend to prefer the real products (i.e. butter, etc.) to the “lite” or “low-fat” or “diet” alternative substitutions that you’ll often find in their recipes. But there have been a few notable exceptions – these cookies being one of them.
What really makes these unique – at least of any other cookies I’ve used before – is the use of applesauce.
Yes – applesauce.
Applesauce replaces the white sugar that would normally be used in a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe. The applesauce itself is pretty sweet, so you get just as much sweetness, and it makes for a really great texture in the cookie, too. You really don’t get any of the apple taste coming through in the final product, so while it might sound weird it actually works out quite perfectly. You can also experiment with cinnamon applesauce for a slightly more holiday-esque type cookie. You get soft, chewy, fluffy, chocolatey perfect cookies.
And, of course, by leaving the white sugar out, you’re also cutting back on total calories. Bonus.
So I suggest whipping up a batch (or three) of these for Christmas – or whatever holiday or non-holiday you’ve elected to observe this year – and indulge. I’m confident you’ll be glad you did.
| ESTIMATED FOOD MILES | |
|---|---|
| Flour | 150 miles |
| Baking Powder | 150 miles |
| Applesauce | ??? miles |
| Brown Sugar | FTO |
| Butter | 150 miles |
| Vanilla | ??? miles |
| Egg | 100 miles |
| Chocolate Chips | ??? miles |
Prep time: 20 minutes
Refrigerate time: 1-2 hours
Cook time: 10-12 minutes per baking sheet
Ingredients…
- 3/4 cups white flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup chocolate chips
You don’t need to use two different types of flour if you don’t have them available, it will turn out fine just with all-purpose flour. But I like to mix it up, I feel it gives it a more rounded out consistency.
The original Cooking Light recipe calls for reduced fat margarine and chocolate chips and you save about 20 calories per cookie. Feel free to go this way if you like, for me it’s not worth it.
I encourage some possible experimentations: white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, etc. Mix and match.
1. Spoon applesauce out into a sieve over a bowl and let drain for 15 minutes. If you don’t have a sieve, you can use a paper towel and it will do the trick. Discard the liquid and put the drained applesauce into a large bowl.
2. Combine dry ingredients except for brown sugar (flour, baking soda, salt) in a bowl and whisk together.
3. Add brown sugar and butter to large bowl with applesauce and beat with a mixer on medium about 2-3 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture into the large bowl while running the mixer until everything is well mixed.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips, nuts, etc. with a fork or spoon.
6. With a sheet of wax or parchment paper spread out, make the dough into a roll / snake that is about 1 – 1 1/2 inch circumference. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. You can skip this step if there is a necessity for COOKIES RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY!!! but, if at all possible, refrigerating them will keep them from flattening out too much when they are baked and you’ll get a better final product in the end.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
8. Take your dough roll out of the fridge and slice into cookie size discs/balls and drop onto the baking sheet (my dough roll turned out a little big so I halved each disc before putting them onto the sheet). Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and fluffy.
9. Remove cookies from pan, let cool slightly on wire racks. Best when eaten warm!
I hope you love these cookies as much as I do. There’s no need that they only be made for Santa, as they are fantastic all year round.
Happy Holidays everybody! I hope you’ve been having a great holiday season and will get the opportunity to enjoy these next couple weeks with your loved ones. I may or may not be posting much next week, I’m just going to play it by ear. I have some major stuff going on (rest assured – it’s ALL good stuff) so I just can’t really say what will happen. Cheers!
