Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies


One of my best friend's sent me this recipe that she found and tried from recipezaar.com.

She adapted it so that it's an eggless recipe (and thereby, vegan-vegetarian friendly) and a healthier version. The original recipe calls for shortening and all-purpose flour, and she substituted those ingredients with butter and whole-wheat flour. Instead of eggs, she used 1 tablespoon flaxseed and 3 tablespoon water.

Although the modifications seem minor, they do make a difference health wise without compromising the taste of the cookies.

Whole wheat flour, in comparison to all-purpose flour, has more fiber and minerals (specifically, Vitamin B and E). While butter sounds unhealthy, it is relatively healthier than shortening. Shortening has trans fat (unsaturated) and butter is saturated. Unsaturated fat (the kind found in shortening) is what contributes to coronary heart disease and is significantly worse than the saturated fats found in butter.

So for a guilt-free healthy cookie--try the recipe below :)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 1/3 eggs (1 tablespoon flax seed + 3 tablespoon water = 1 egg)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup quick-cooking oat

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, sugars and peanut butter together until there is a smooth consistency.
2. Add eggs (or the substitute) one at a time.
3. Sift flour, soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture.
5. Add oats to the dough. Mix well to fully incorporate the oats in the mixture.
6. Form 1.5 inch balls.
7. Bake at 350 Degrees F for 12 minutes on a lined cookie sheet.

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