Even better Chocolate chip cookies

Now that I have been eating again (if you just started reading, no I didn't have an eating disorder... just the first trimester of pregnancy) in order to feel good all day, I have to eat 3 cookies a day.  I can hear your thoughts and see the eyes roll, but I can't explain it.... my stomach doesn't feel very good, I eat a cookie, and I feel better!  My worst days since eating again have been when I haven't had any cookies.


Well, if you know me, this is an unacceptable amount of junk food, even if I am pregnant!  So I decided that if I am going to eat this many cookies, I better take some measures to make "better" cookies.


I needed to make them better for me in more than one area:  avocados for butter, whole wheat flour for white, and maple syrup for white sugar.  I replaced the "white" food in amounts which I thought wouldn't totally ruin the cookies.

I also threw in some whole oats, and would have also added nuts if we had any.

So these cookies have several things going for them.... they don't have as much of the "bad" ingredients, and they do have additional "good" ingredients.  (I hate labeling any food "bad," even butter... everything has it's place.  I just couldn't think of better wording...)

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 avocado
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup (100% pure here people, not flavored sugar water)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whole oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Bag o' favorite chocolate chips

You know the drill:
1.  Combine all dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt) and set aside. 
2.  Cream butter, avocado, and sugars (don't add the maple syrup yet)
3.  Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition
4.  Add maple syrup and vanilla beat well
5.  Mix in flour 1 cup at a time
6.  Add chocolate chips and oats

For pan style cookies (my Mom always makes them this way), spread in greased 15x10 inch jelly roll pan, bake 350 degrees, 20-25 minutes.

See?

I meant to take a picture before I ate a cookie, but, well, I needed a cookie and I needed it RIGHT THEN.

I have tried to label all cookies as "pregnancy food" and make them off limits to my research team, but *sigh* for the purpose of this blog I had to let him have one...  :)

The Verdict:

"These are delicious."  (He sounded shocked, and I tried not to let that hurt my feelings.:))  "They are moist and sweet."


They are sort of fluffy for cookies.  I would be curious to see how they turned out as individual cookies, but I like them the best this way.  Plus, I am lazy.   This way I only have to bake one batch in one pan once.

These really are good, I don't think anyone would guess they have been altered to be healthier than the average cookie.  And they have now be taste tested by a few other randomly chosen research team members who randomly showed up for dinner, who said they were "too good."

Too good!  Well, that is about as good as it can get when hidden veggies are concerned!