Dan’s Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

You may not know this, but I’m a certified personal trainer. While I am a born baker and passionate sugar artist, fitness and mindful eating are also very important to me.

I’ve got no problem admitting that I indulge in what I bake; someone has to eat all of the cake scraps and brownies edges! Baked treats are special and they should be indulgent, so it’s not common for me to try and ‘healthify’ many baked recipes, BUT..

THESE COOKIES are going to surprise you.

I set out to create a healthier version of my favorite chocolate chip cookie, tweaking ingredients here and there until they seemed just right. I’ll explain at the end of this post how I made the changes and why the recipe works.

What I’ve come up with is a cookie recipe with 1/3 less sugar, no white flour, and about 60 grams of protein per batch.

You will notice that I’ve given both volume and weight measurements for this recipe. While I always recommend weighing your ingredients when baking, this recipe is pretty forgiving and will work fine with cup measurements.

5 from 1 reviews

Dan's Guilt Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

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Dan: Dan

Serves: About 18 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ounces unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
• 2 ounces coconut oil (4 tablespoons)
• 100 grams coconut sugar (About ½ cup packed plus 2 tablespoons)
• ¼ cup baking stevia
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 145 grams white whole wheat flour (About 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons)
• 25 grams oat flour (About ¼ cup)
• 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder *See note*
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips, or a 6 ounce of dark chocolate bar chopped
• Additional salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Melt together the butter and coconut oil in a large mixing bowl.
2. Whisk together the flours, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
3. Whisk the coconut sugar and stevia into the melted butter mixture, mixing about 1 minute.
4. Add the egg, vanilla and water to the sugar mixture and whisk about one minute.
5. Using a spatula, mix in ½ of the flour until nearly blended, then add remaining flour and chips, mixing until no dry ingredients remain.
6. Scoop the dough onto a parchment or plastic wrap lined plate and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
7. Preheat your oven to 325*
8. Remove the portioned dough from the freezer and place about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten the dough balls out to about ¾" thick.
9. Very lightly sprinkle some sea salt or kosher salt onto each portion (This is optional)
10. Bake the cookies for about 14-16 minutes, until the edges feel set and the cookies center no longer looks or feels wet.
11. Cool and enjoy!

Notes

I use vanilla flavored whey protein. Brands vary, but a typical scoop weighs about 25-30 grams. Experiment using your favorite vanilla protein powder.

When measuring the wheat flour, spoon it into a measuring cup and level with a knife.

3.5.3208

I formulated this recipe using the standard chocolate chip cookie dough ratios.

As a fat, coconut oil can be substituted for half the normal weight of butter in some cookie recipes. Here it works.

White whole wheat flour works well in baking and the addition of oat flour adds a chewy texture and a nutty flavor.

Coconut sugar provides structure in a similar manner to brown sugar and has a pronounced caramelized/toffee flavor. While it is still sugar, it does also contain magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron and B vitamins.

A small amount of stevia cuts down on the sugar in the recipe but provides necessary sweetness.

The 2 scoops of protein powder add about 50 grams of protein to the batch of cookies as a whole; the addition of the 2 tablespoons of water provides the moisture needed so that the whey can mix uniformly into the dough.

The short rest period before baking allows the flours and whey to become fully hydrated from the liquid in the dough.

The optional sprinkling of salt rounds out the flavor of the cookie.