The only cookie recipe you’ll ever need (and it’s healthy!)

Do you like cookies? Because I like cookies. But I don’t really buy them – because most of the crap you buy in the shops is full of all sorts of hideous things I don’t want to put in my body. Cause it’s a temple, doncha know. Not to mention they taste bland and boring.

But I love making cookies and it’s a fun and easy activity to do with the kids – and, you know, it would be wasteful not to enjoy one or two while they’re still warm. The shovelling of the remainder into my eager gob before the children realise they’re missing is an optional extra that I enthusiastically embrace.

But I’m never satisfied with a straightforward delicious recipe of any kind. Oh no. I love to tweak recipes to add stealthy little health ninjas so the children are getting healthy when they least expect it. Yep, I’m that kind of mum.

Most of my attempts to ‘health up’ our delicious treats fall flat with the children though. My 9 year old politely eats and then, when offered another, declines just as politely. My 3 year old takes one bite and diplomatically says he’s putting the rest in the fridge ‘for later’. My 1 year old spits it in my face.

But these cookies are da bomb, y’all. Everybody loves them, they have some fabulous redeeming features, and you can tweak the recipe according to what you like and what you have in the cupboard. Ready? Let’s get cookie-ing!

This recipe is my overhauled version of this one from taste.com.au. I have basically halved the sugar, changed to wholemeal spelt flour (Why? Because health.) and put in some healthy add-ins with enough treat stuff to make them yummy.

140318 cookie dough balls

Ingredients

  • 150g butter (recipe says unsalted but I say bollocks to that, and please, for the love of George Clooney, don’t use margarine – that stuff’ll kill ya)
  • ½ cup brown sugar (Use whatever sugar you like but brown gives you that caramelly flavour. You could also use coconut sugar, a good measure of maple syrup, or Natvia if you’re off regular sugar.)
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla (essence, extract, paste – whatever you want)
  • 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 150g of your choice of add-ins – these can be whatever you like, from chocolate chips, coconut, dried fruit, seeds and nuts – whatever takes your fancy and fits in a bikkie.

140318 cookie uncooked

 Process

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and line a cookie sheet with baking paper.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
  4. Sift the flour and baking powder in if you want. I never do – I just chuck it on in. Put in your add-ins. Mix with a wooden spoon or whatever you like to mix with.
  5. Roll dessert spoon sized blobs into balls and put on your cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork. If your mixture is still pretty cool, they shouldn’t spread too far.
  6. Bake until lightly golden – 12-15 minutes should do it.
  7. Take out of the oven (duh!) and leave for 5 minutes or so, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely (ha ha, yeah, right!).

Et voila! Doneski. They are so yummy, and there are a gazillion variations. Some of our favourites are:

  • Macadamia, white choc chip and cranberry
  • Pepita, dried paw paw and dark choc chip
  • Chia, dried apricot and milk choc chip (see a theme here?)

My 9 year old has also just come up with the great idea that you could melt down some chocolate and half-dunk these in so they have a choc top on them. Hmmmm, might be worth trying.

What do you think? Will you give these a go? What are your favourite add-ins?

Written By

Carolyn is the editorial director of Champagne Cartel and a freelance writer. In her spare time she is a long-distance runner, peanut butter enthusiast, and single mum to three incredible humans.

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