“Healthy” Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

A low-glycemic, gluten free and not so bad for you version of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

A great thing about having a good cookie recipe is that they are perfect to take to a summer picnic or BBQ and for a quick on-the-go snack.  We all want a treat sometimes but don’t want to feel like we are eating a bunch of empty calories either.  

However, with a few substitutes for things like white flower which tends to cause inflammation and sugar which can cause not just inflammation but spikes in blood sugar, these cookies are not so bad for you and even have a few nutrients.  These are the most important swaps in this recipe and now we all know now how bad for us sugar can be.   I’ll do a post on sugar and substitutes later but know that for now some better options to substitute sugar are stevia, monk fruit sweetener or coconut sugar.

What else makes these cookies “healthier”?
Oatmeal actually has fiber and minerals like thiamin, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and selenium. Use dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate for anti-oxidants.  By using grass fed butter instead of any of the other fake stuff you actually bring in a few omega 3s.  Plus, nuts make a great touch in this recipe and whichever kind you use, nuts will offer you some nutrients as well.

“Healthy” Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time:  11-15 Minutes
Servings: About 26-28 depending on the size you make the cookies

First, get your ingredients ready.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Dry ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup almond or garbanzo bean flower
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped pecans or your choice of nuts
• 1 cup stevia, coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener

Wet Ingredients:

½ cup grass fed butter (I use Kerrygold)
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2. Mix together in a large bowl all the dry ingredients: rolled oats, gluten free flower, backing powder, salt, cinnamon, dark chocolate chips and nuts. Prefer to use raisins instead of chocolate?  Or maybe someone in the family has a nut allergy. This recipe is flexible and these two items are optional so add these items based on what you like.
3. Mix dry ingredients by stirring.
4. Next add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs and continue mixing then the coconut oil and vanilla extract.  If needed, soften the butter and cut it in.
5. Line Baking sheet with parchment paper. This saves you from having to scrub that pan after but if you don’t have any some coconut oil or spreading some butter on the pan will do the trick.
6. Scoop the oatmeal up with a spoon or an ice cream scoop might work.  Roll it into a ball and place on the pan.
7. Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 then let the cookies cool for a bit.

Many recipes call for only one egg, however I’ve found that the cookies don’t seem to bind well enough and aren’t as chewy as I’d like without two eggs so this is what has worked for me. Let the cookies cool for a bit and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy!  What are some of your favorite low sugar, healthier deserts?