In efforts to be healthy-adjacent and still indulge our sweet tooth (toothes? teeth? Ugh. Whatever!), we decided to try a healthier version of a cookie.
Now, I’m a huge fan of cookie recipes that revolve around butter, white all-purpose flour and old-fashioned Crisco. But one day, my crazy-healthy, beautifully-fit coworker, Holly, shoved one of these down my throat… literally.
Judging by the list of odd (at least for me) ingredients, I would have trashed this recipe faster than you can say: “hippie nonsense”. But even though I was a huge skeptic that hounded Holly for substitution options, trust me, these are good as is.
They have a great deal of fiber, some protein, are gluten-free and, again, are actually edible delicious. So, enjoy a sweet treat without all that pesky guilt.
PS – Due to the high amount of fiber in these cookies, over a couple of bottles of wine, we came up with some rather questionable alternate titles. Power cookies were almost known as:
-“I Can’t Believe These Are Actually Cookies” Cookies
-Smooth Move Cookies
-Power Deuce Delights
*The bulk food section of Whole Foods or Central Market are a great place to get some of these less-used ingredients. You can buy just enough and it’s really not that expensive. Also, if you use unflavored whey protein powder, add another teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the wet ingredients: applesauce, honey, egg, vanilla extract and oil. Add coconut flour, flaxseed meal, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and protein powder. Beat thoroughly. Finally, fold in the remaining ingredients: oats, raisins, cranberries (or cherries) and almonds. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture (about 1/4 cup) onto a well greased cookie sheet. Use the back of the spoon to mash the mixture balls down flat. Feel free to crowd these, they don’t expand much. But, y’all, don’t get crazy. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. They should be slightly soft, because no one likes dry, hard cookies. Duh! Store in an air-tight container.
makes 12-18