HappyTummy              

If you’re on the lookout for cookies that are chewy, chocolate-y and—dare I say?—healthy, these little nuggets are for you. I found the recipe for these cookies in the Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book, a wonderful cookbook that showcases a wide variety of recipes featuring whole grains. Not only are these cookies made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats, they also have no eggs and no butter. Instead, there is a whole cup of yogurt in them.

These particular cookies were adapted from a recipe for Cherry Yogurt Cookies—I added some chocolate chips and swapped out the cherries for raisins instead, because I love pairing chocolate and raisins. I know a lot of people don’t like raisins—B included. But for me, there is something about them that are so addictive. After dried mangoes, raisins are actually my favorite type of dried fruit. I love them because they’re pure sweetness—not tart like dried cranberries or dried cherries.

I used Oikos’ Greek yogurt for these cookies. Now I love eating plain Greek yogurt—the probiotics in yogurt are good for people with IBS-C like me, because probiotics aid in digestion. (My favorite way of eating Greek yogurt is with with crushed pineapples, honey and crumbled walnuts!) But did you know that you can substitute yogurt for some of the fat in a lot of baked goods? Not only does it cut the calories, it also gives the final product a real tenderness. A lot of times, I will replace half the butter in recipes with half the amount of yogurt (so for 1 cup of butter, I’ll use 1/2 cup of butter + 1/4 cup plain yogurt).

These cookies were so tasty, and I didn’t feel bad eating them at all. I love that they have so many good things in them…whole wheat flour, cinnamon, rolled oats, raisins, dark chocolate, yogurt and heart-healthy canola oil. I’m thinking the addition of walnut chunks in them would make them even better!

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Raisin Yogurt Cookies
Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book
Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/8 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift the flours together with the baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk in the sugar and oats, then stir in the raisins and chocolate chips. Beat the yogurt with the oil, then add to flour mixture to make a dough.

Roll into small balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, or until firm and brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.