Healthy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

I have been searching for the best "healthy oatmeal cookie recipe". Several posts offer suggestions for substitutes for butter, sugar, oil, white flour, eggs, etc such as applesauce, Stevia, whole wheat flour, and egg whites. None of the recipes seem to be able to combine all the substitutes and make a "healthy cookie". I'm not an avid baker but my craving for a healthy oatmeal cookie has become somewhat of a quest. I realize that perfection is not possible but would love to have your input. I'm willing to try new ideas... pumpkin, sweet potato, flax, fiber one, are welcome ingredients, but broccoli is not meant for cookies, lol. PLEASE does anyone have a simple recipe for a lower calorie, lower fat, high fiber, "healthy oatmeal cookie" that won't taste like a used hockey puck? Thanx!

I don't have a specific recipe for a *healthy* oatmeal cookie, but I do have a regular, definitely-a-treat oatmeal cookie recipe that I absolutely love. I suspect one of the reasons I like it so much better than most oatmeal cookies I've tried is the fact that there is more oatmeal than anything else in the recipe - 3 c oats to 1 c flour (and 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 3/4 c butter, but I did say it was a real cookie!). I'd try to maintain something like that in your cookie both for taste and for the fact that oatmeal is higher in fiber than white flour. One cup of white flour might or might not be worth swapping out - if you do, I'd experiment with something like almond meal or wheat germ (but still leave in at least 1/2 flour)

If you want your cookie to mostly taste like oatmeal, I'd recommend applesauce over pumpkin or sweet potato as a butter replacement, and for texture, I'd still leave some butter in. Say, replace 2/3 of the fat with applesauce, and use the remaining 1/3 of the butter. Pumpkin and sweet potato both sound pretty tasty, but I think those tastes would predominate over the oatmeal. Depends on what you want. In any case, getting too far from the amount of butter in the recipe will adversely affect cookie texture - there's just no substitute for fat for making cookies chewy and crunchy.

I wouldn't bother trying to replace the egg - find a recipe that only calls for one (eggs make cakey cookies). You'll be adding minimal amounts of fat and cholesterol per cookie, and eggs have plenty of other benefits.

Sugar...does splenda make a brown sugar replacement? For me, this would be the hardest ingredient to swap out, as the brown sugar/oat combination is divine. At any rate, I would include at least a little brown sugar or molasses with whatever you use as a replacement. If it were me, I'd first try to just reduce the amount of sugar to a level I could accept, but then I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners in baked goods.

I don't have my recipe with me right now, but I can post it later if you want a starting point.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you know a lot more than I about cookies and baking in general. I am in no way an expert, although I have spent much of my life ABSORBING cookies.. LOL. Just trying to convince my self (despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary) that a cookie can be healthy diet food.

The best advice I can give is to look in to vegan oatmeal cookies. 

There are egg-replacers, milk replacers, and then you can use oats and whole wheat flour to make the cookies more healthy.

As for the sugar, I would look for a recipe that uses both sugar and applesauce, or both sugar and stevia, or both sugar and agave. The thing is about sugar is that it does more than rot teeth and have 1231234235424 calories per tablespoon *grumbles about having to give sugar up when I have my morning tea*, it also has the perfect chemicals that, when mixed with eggs (or egg-substitute) and milk (or a non-dairy milk) and the flour and whatnot, it makes that great cookie texture. But! It's okay to have a cookie with just half the sugar (It's also perfectly alright to have a cookie with all the sugar in moderation). Most of the vegan recipes you will find will not have much sugar in them anyway(about 1/4 cup on average).

I would not recommend using splenda. I do not know if that is something which you do use, but I suggest staying away from it. It's pretty bad for people... and well, it's also not as delicious as sugar or stevia and the chemical properties of it tend to make it out to also be a cookie-ruiner.

 

Here are some recipes I found:

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/healthy-cookin g-article/healthy-oatmeal-cookie-bars-gluten- soy-free-vegan/816088 

 http://www.happycow.net/recipes.php?id=114 

 

I think that they will have similar calorie content to that of other cookies, but they will be healthier, definitely.

Oh, one more thing, I saw that you said that broccoli doesn't belong in cookies. Vegetables if anything will add bulk to a cookie which, of course, suggests that there will be more cookie for less calories. If you TASTE broccoli in a cookie, that is something totally different. But if you cannot taste the veggies, then why not give it a shot? It will definitely make it a healthier cookie! XD

Best wishes for you on your cookie quest!

-Kat

Thanks for the info guys!

I think I have what you're looking for.  These are soft and perfect for a snack or dessert.  

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup splenda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 can solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup blueberries (can also use craisins, cranberries, raisins, nuts, etc)  You do not need 3/4 of a cup if using raisins or craisins.
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix applesauce and splenda . Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Add the oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, orange zest and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Gently mix blueberries or other ingredient in.  Use an ice cream scoop to drop cookies on sheet.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

I usually double this recipe to make about 30 cookies.  If you are using blueberries, this comes out to about 34 calories a cookie.  You really should try these.  They are easy and very tasty.  Like I said, I always have some around.  They last longer if you keep them in the refrigerator, but taste best if you microwave them for 15-20 sec before eating.  

I used the CC Search Engine, selected Recipes and typed in healthy oatmeal cookies.  Here's the result of the search

Health Oatmeal Cookie Recipes

I love the Search Engine!

Jill91198, thank you for the recipe! I think I will substitute the splenda for something like stevia or some other sweetner, but so far these sound deliiicioussss! And super easy to make, as well!

 

Maybe I will go shopping for ingredients this weekend! ^ u ^

I hope Phat2lean checks back for your recipe!