Friday, February 1

new favorite cookies

I haven't baked cookies in months. Primarily because I am the only one in the house who eats them, and we all know it is not a good idea for one woman to eat an entire batch of cookies. In a week. Or two days.

Michael and I are cutting back on junk food, limiting our intake to once a week (usually Fridays). It's a whole lot easier when we stick to that plan at the grocery store, let me tell you. So Michael gets once a week nachos, and I get once a week sweets. It's not that bad, really. At least, it's a step in the right direction, and one we can easily live with.

So, I'm hoping it will be pretty easy to give away and share these whole wheat oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip creations. Not because I don't WANT to eat the entire batch...they are DELICIOUS!!! But I have plenty of opportunities to distribute cookies to others this weekend. Plus, I can more easily justify eating them due to the whole wheat aspect. And when I'm tempted to eat yet another delicious morsel, I remind myself of the sugar and fat element. And we have the classic struggle between taste buds and future fat cells.

Well, I enjoyed baking them, anyway! If you have cookie monsters in your house, these are a highly recommended addition to your repertoire! Happy Friday!

9 comments:

Rachel said...

These look yummy! Do you use a substitute for the shortening? I can't bring myself to bake with it anymore because of the trans fats. I was just wondering if you have had any success with Smart Balance or butter in this recipe.

I've been trying so hard to eat right and exercise regularly. I know that being pregnant doesn't give me the excuse to sit on the couch and eat lots of junk food. It seems much more difficult to WANT to eat right and exercise during my pregnancies. In fact, I'm sitting here coming up with excuses why to not do my Total Gym today. So far, none seem valid so I'm going to go work out now. *sigh* Thanks for inadvertently motivating me - ha, ha! :)

Jenny said...

Rachel - great news! Crisco now has NO trans fat! Woo Hoo! No, I have not tried substitutions - I don't make cookies often enough to warrant it. If you try, would you let me know?

Way to go on your workout! :-)

Don & Katrina Hines said...

YUMMY! I am the cookie monster as you profess to be! That's why I haven't made many lately either! However, Don likes to eat them in his lunch, and I like to keep up with as many as he eats! =) So, I'm excited to get a new recipe - especially with oatmeal - it gives me the idea that there is some health content to it! =)

Oh, did you guys get our DVD?

Rachel said...

Hey Jenny,
I've purchased that Crisco before but for some reason haven't bought it since. I think that I'm stuck on Smart Balance because it doesn't have the saturated fats in it and it does an awesome job in my baked goods. I wish that butter didn't have the saturated fats (or any fat for that matter)in it because it's my absolute favorite to bake with. Cabot unsalted butter is the best but I've had a difficult time finding it down here. I've only ever found the salted butter and that was during the holidays. Oh well, I'll survive:).

I'll let you know if I make these cookies with the Smart Balance. I've had great success using it in other recipes so I would imagine that it would work with these as well.

Are you guys freezing up there? Did you get pounded with the awful weather that is now headed to the northeast? I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and thanks again for the recipe! :)

Tricia said...

Hey Jenny, you inspired me last night and I promptly made these cookies last night (with the boys help and Sydney asleep strapped to my back while we were waiting for Ryan to get home). Sounds crazy but it was fun and the boys LOVE them. The original nestle toll house cookie recipe is probably still my absolute favorite, but for a little healthier alternative these sure are tasty! Thanks for passing them on. Don't tell anyone, but we actually all had them for a pre-breakfast treat this morning. Good times!

Shelldell said...

I havent' bought shortening in years. I use real butter it's not hydrogenated. I also don't make cookies very much any more because I am older and it does catch up with you. Bravo for your efforts Jenny. When I do make cookies I make sure I can give them away. In the old days I use to put them in a coffee can and hide them in the launry basket and my husband still found them.

Rosemary said...

The cookies sound good (AND nutritious!). We will try them the next time the grandkids come over. Our grandson Alex (age 9) loves to make recipes with LOTS of ingredients. And BRAVO!!! for Tricia's family having the cookies as a 'pre-breakfast treat'!!!! My philosophy in life is "EAT DESSERT FIRST!". It sometimes applies to sweets, but mostly to "life's sweets": saying 'I love you' to my husband before he leaves for work, praying a 'Thank you' to God for a gorgeous sunrise, giving someone a hug, playing fetch with my dog BEFORE work, stopping to look at the flowers ON THE WAY to hoe the garden ... all kinds of joyful "desserts"!!!

The Barkers said...

they look so yummy! Can't wait to try them.

Rosemary said...

OOPS! I made these cookies today and had them all spooned out on the cookie sheets - with the first pan in the oven - when I noticed that I had forgotten to add the chocolate chips. I sprinkled some choc. chips on the tops of the rest. The kids will never know the difference- AND mistakes (the ones without the chocolate) are....YUMMMYYYY!!! I highly recommend this recipe.