Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart.  The key to making healthy cookies is using whole wheat flour (or oat flour) and dark brown sugar (or turbinado sugar).  These ingredients are not stripped of their nutrients like white flour and granulated white sugar. 

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and stir to combine; mix in oats and currants.

Using two tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into balls; place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prep time:  10 minutes

Strawberry Cake

We are going to a couple parties this weekend so I've been baking all day.  This first recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart.  I slightly modified the recipe by using oat flour and turbinado sugar.  I also cut the amount of sugar to be sprinkled on top of cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate

1 1/2 cups oat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces raspberries

6 ounces blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. 

Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 teaspoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.

Prep time: 15 minutes

I came across this recipe right after I had already gone grocery shopping and bought raspberries and blackberries hence the fruit substitution.

I also have a batch of Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in the oven right now.  These have become a big favorite because they are healthy and SO good.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are courtesy of Bethenny Frankel.  I made these when we had friends over for dinner and they were a big hit.  All the kids (and adults) loved them!  They are healthy, filling and so delicious.  I made these today in anticipation of  Bethenny's visit to Dallas this week.  haha.  She'll be here Friday for a Skinnygirl Margarita signing and I'm going with some friends.   Her book The Skinnygirl Dish really helped me change what kinds of foods I eat.

1 1/2 cups oat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium-size banana)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, until well combined.
use a medium-size ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop batter onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

Notes:  I didn't have soy milk so I used 2% milk.  I also found a bag of Sunspire grain sweetened chocolate chips at Sprouts that are all natural and taste great.  Sunspire does not use any refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, trans-fats or preservatives!  Lastly, these cookies don't flatten out in the oven so I pressed them down a bit with a fork before baking.

TIP:  When finding a recipe online, read some of the reviews.  You can find great tips and tricks for making the recipe as well as different ways to modify it.

Jack Henry enjoying his cookie.