Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend while I type away from work. Blah. You wanna know what is fun, though? Winning $50! This blog has an easy giveaway to win $50 via PayPal. Check it out.

While I try to attain a healthy lifestyle, there's one thing that stands in my way each time: dessert. I have always had dessert every. day. It's rarely more than 200 calories and I believe that I am healthy 90% of the time, which is a good way to live my life in my opinion. BUT. I would like to get rid of my dependence on dessert. It's a compulsion. I have to have dessert. Even when there's nothing that really tickles my fancy, I have to figure something out for dessert. So I'm constantly striving for the day when I can decide if I want dessert. Until then, however, I keep searching for healthier desserts....like these fantabulous cookies.

Bev's Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Eating Well website
makes 2 dozen cookies

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F and coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Grind oats in a food processor or blender. 

Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. I was worried about the oatmeal giving too many chunks in the cookies but look how well it blends with the flour! It's basically just there for a lower calorie flour and the flavor.

Beat butter in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy. Add oil, sugars, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy.

With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by "heaping teaspoonfuls" or using a small cookie scoop. (Mine is this one that holds 2 tsp of dough, which may be why I got 2 dozen instead of 2.5 dozen cookies like she said.)

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until firm around the edges and lightly browned 13-15 minutes. Mine were done exactly at 13, possibly even 12, so be sure to check yours. Transfer to cooling racks after 2 minutes to avoid over-baking. 

These were soo good! Honestly. They were. I had some friends over after the game and these cookies were practically gone by the next morning! My favorite thing about these cookies was the non-lack of chocolate chips. I hate diet cookie recipes that cut out half the chocolate or put in mini chips instead. I'm not easily fooled when it comes to chocolate, people! Not to mention that one of my friends even specifically asked what kind of chocolate it was because it was better. I told you my lovely Ghirardelli chocolate chips make a difference! ;)

Nutritional Information (per cookie, with 24 cookies made): 122 calories, 6.25 g fat, 1.25 g fiber

In other news...the BEACH in 4 days! I'm half-and-half. I'm really excited because I haven't been out of the state for 5 years, or to the beach for over 6. Buuut, I'm also nervous because I bought a bikini over the weekend for the trip. I'm not quite up to what I'd like to be to be baring in a bikini but my friend with me assured me I was in good enough shape to wear one. I guess my mirrors make me look different. ;) 

I'm working on an auto-post for you guys later this week so you won't miss me too much. It's a fantastic dinner we had last night. My first time making a soufflé! Until next time...♥