Wholesome Oatmeal Cookies

By clairelaine on Nov 06, 2009 12:00 PM in Recipes

They're chewy or crispy, thick or thin, drop cookies or bars. It's the ever popular and healthy oatmeal cookie. Traditional oatmeal cookies are rich with butter, sugar and calories, but they don't have to be. We can cut the sugar and fat, and make our oatmeal cookies nearly as healthy as a bowl of hot cereal.

Great nutrition is our goal. Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fiber known as beta-glucan. Since 1963, studies have proven the beneficial effects of this special fiber on cholesterol levels. Oats are rich in antioxidants and provide important nutrients too. When looked at from a nutritional standpoint, oatmeal cookies make sense.

It's not hard to substitute more healthy ingredients if you understand what gives a cookie its texture. Fat, such as butter, cause the oats, flour and sugar to crisp up, just like frying potatoes. Eggs and flour bind the ingredients and make a cookie that doesn't crumble. If we leave out the fat, we will get soft, chewy cookies that are just as appealing. If we halve the fat instead of eliminating it, we can achieve the best of both with a little crispness outside and a softer interior. We can use egg whites or egg substitute and also whole wheat flour to cut calories and increase the food value of our cookies without sacrificing quality.

Here are some general tips:

Some of the texture of your finished cookies will come from the kind of oatmeal you use. Old fashioned rolled oats are the chewiest and have the most texture. Quick or instant oats are cut finer and produce a less textured cookie. You can use either according to your own taste.
What you add to the cookie dough provides variety. Dried fruits, nuts and seeds allow you to use your own special touch to make your cookies different from any others. A homely oatmeal drop cookie becomes a festive holiday treat with just the addition of a candied cherry and a little green colored sugar.
Use your imagination, but follow the recipe to insure good results.

The right bakeware is important for success. Bake drop cookies on a good quality cookie sheet that is heavy enough not to buckle in the heat of the oven. The same goes for bar cookies - adjust your baking time to allow less time for dark colored pans and more for glass pans. Spray with non stick baking spray, lightly butter or oil the pan, or line your pan with parchment paper to cut down on clean up. Watch baking cookies carefully. The point at which they reach perfection is just a few moments away from the point at which they scorch or even burn. Turn the cookie sheet half way through the baking time to make sure they all brown evenly. Cool the cookies on a rack until completely cooled, especially if you are going to freeze them. If you freeze them, wrap in waxed paper and place loosely into a flat plastic freezer container to protect them from crumbling.

Great oatmeal cookie recipes abound. Here are just a few from Calorie Count members who have entered them using the Recipe Analyzer and that we found using the Recipe Browser.