low-fat cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

subtitle: more oatmeal

by now, we all know that i'm oatmeal obsessed. (but not quite so obsessed as this guy.)

another birthday called and therefore another baked good. trying to respect the health concious, i stuck with the recent low-fat theme. AND since bday boy was going to be leaving the office early, i figured oatmeal cookies counted as breakfast cookies. because you just can't bake someone muffins for their birthday. and just to anticipate any griping, there really isn't anything boring about cranberry chocolate chip cookies.

if you're feeling my current oatmeal addiction, the serious eats' oatmeal roundup is not to be missed. now back to the bday baked good...

low-fat cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
(adapted from baking bites; original recipe from foodfit)

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1/4 c plain unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  

• preheat oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• cream butter and sugars. beat in the egg, vanilla and applesauce.
• stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and oats until just combined.
• add chocolate chips and cranberries and stir.
• drop tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. bake for about 9-12 min at 375F.
  

makes 2 dozen cookies

cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookies and the milk bar

if you've never been to momofuku milk bar, you should probably check it out. that being said, if you plan to go to the milk bar and can't eat wheat or gluten, prepare to be tortured. of course, i go anyways...

yes, we're talking momofuku, part of the david chang empire. i'm always a fan of women dominating in particularly male fields, so when a ny mag interview came out with this quirky "pastry chef," they had me at female. (call me biased, i just don't care.) the menu can border on absurd: with crack pie, cereal milk, and gummy flavored soft serve, it's just my style. not to mention the cookies, oooooohhhhh the cookies. perhaps ever so more appealing because i can't just waltz in and order one?

my most recent visit (a few bites of crack pie filling and *cornflake* cereal milk soft serve with banana caramel) yielded my discovery of CORNFLAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP MARSHMALLOW COOKIES. take a moment, this is big, i know. i immediately decided, damn those momofuku wheat-lovers, i am going to figure out how to make this cookie! at first i was just going to crush up some cornflakes and throw marshmallows into a normal chocolate chip cookie batter but then i thought better and did some internet research. what i found was this. so someone beat me to the punch but lucky for me, i at least had a recipe to follow. a disclaimer: these things are dangerous. you may eat so many in the process of making them that not only will you feel sick and an oncoming toothache, you will fail to eat a real meal the rest of the day. but then somehow, god willing, you will find room to consume stale popcorn in a movie theater (?!) this is my life. i just blog about it.

cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies (thanks, christina)
recipe adapted from cookiemadness.net

• 1 3/4 cups (spelt) flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cups ground up corn flakes (measure after grinding)
• 3/4 cups coarsely ground oatmeal
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup marshmallows, frozen if you have time to freeze them

• preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. set aside.
• cream butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl
• beat in egg and vanilla.
  
• stir in oil.
• add flour mixture and stir until it is almost fully incorporated, then stir in the ground corn flakes, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. continue stirring until flour disappears.
• scoop up gobs of dough and wrap each gob around 4 (or so) frozen mini marshmallows. try to seal the marshmallows in dough. you should have balls that are larger than golf balls (about 2 inches diameter).
• Space dough about 3 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool.

yields at least 2 dozen cookies

gluten-free microwave cookies

there's nothing like a move to delay blogging/cooking/eating at home. for the past week (ok, more) i've been engulfed in moving type activities. when i finally got into the new apartment with my stuff (saturday), the knowledge that the gas wouldn't be turned on for four more days was almost more than i could handle. let's just take a moment to praise the housing market crash for its overabundance of leftover new buildings that cannot be filled. and therefore, people like me, get to rent units in them for a bargain price and more importantly, to experience NEW AND WONDERFUL KITCHEN APPLIANCES. in any case, the important part for you to take away from all of this is that i have a beautiful, full size stove and oven at my disposal. that means 4 working burners. not one, not two...you get the point. no more mini new york kitchen stove for me! i'm ready to get cooking! however, that was not in the cards.

after this rather traumatic weekend moving experience--to sum it up: it involved two "movers" who turned out to be weak high school students, an amazing part time boxer/mover who saved my life, and an angry landlord knocking on the door of my old apartment while i frantically cleaned and painted--The Baker decided i needed her to come over and make me cookies to help recoup. (isn't it awesome how i have all of these baker friends?! i suggest you try it.) so The Baker came over to make cookies but alas, we couldn't use the oven. that left just two things: the microwave and the george foreman.

i can hear my mom now, "blasphemy! you can't make cookies in the microwave!" another baker...go figure...but here's the thing, i really needed those cookies. and there didn't seem to be any reason to think that it would be a complete disaster. who doesn't eat the cookie dough? so what could you possibly do to it to make it taste bad??!!

our cookie dough of choice was The Baker's own goober puff. now you may know that i'm not so into blogging out my friends favorite recipes. they are theirs to do with what they wish. so i'm just going to tell you that i really think this method would work with any cookie dough (just to note: ours was wheat/gluten-free and on the firmer side) and you can read the tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe below.

no gas cookie method number 1: the microwave
a warning here: these cookies will not look like they've been cooked (you know that whole microwave cooks from the inside out and is incapable of browning thing). they seemed a bit on the drier side the first time we did them. 30 seconds on a greased plate in my new powerful microwave seemed to be just right. still a bit on the drier side which gave them a muffin like texture.

no gas cookie method number 2: the george foreman (and they totally doubted me on this one. just for the record.)
grilled cookies?! YUM! these ones got crusty on the outside and were still moist on the inside. the george automatically smooshes the dough down pretty evenly which makes for a lovely cookie.


the goober puff uses a combination of almond flour and oats. find almond flour recipes here.
or:

ye olde faithful nestle toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe

• 1 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (i, of course, use spelt)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (recipe says to split the regular sugar and brown sugar evenly but i like a little extra brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
  

• preheat oven to 375° f.
• cream butter and sugar.
• add egg and vanilla, mix well.
• mix in flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
• stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
• bake tablespoon sized drops of batter for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
  

outrageous chocolate cookies

i wanted an impressive dessert recipe that wasn't too over the top, for a bbq i was going to. i almost hate to say it but martha stewart is just the woman for the job; specifically martha's cookie of the day. now being that i was going with martha, i sort of feel as though my first batch of her outrageous chocolate cookies was bound to be a failure. once i had completed mixing everything together, i was left with a batter...not a dough. uh oh. i tried baking a batch anyways but the cookies were runny and therefore very flat and crispy. i was quickly brought back to a failed martha meringue box project my mom and i had tried one time.

the failed batch (still tasted yummy):

ok, so i panicked. you know that whole rule about not making something new for company? well i ignore it. i made a few phone calls and thought long and hard. i decided to refrigerate the batter for a little bit. bingo! the batter firmed right up and the resulting cookies were soft, chewy and the perfect amount of crazy chocolatyness. i even drizzled a bit of melted white chocolate on top of them (really not necessary). they were a hit. bottom line: these cookies are awesome. go make them. now.

after refrigerating the batter:

outrageous chocolate cookies (from martha stewart) makes 2 dozen large cookies

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (or chocolate chips)
  
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose (spelt) flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)

• preheat oven to 350 degrees. heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. in another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• in a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. mix in flour mixture until just combined. stir in chocolate chunks/chips.
• drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. don't overbake! cool on sheets 10 minutes.

flourless peanut butter cookies

while we're on the subject of flourless cookies (i swear, HOW did i not know about this stuff?!) here's another one for you! and let me just reiterate that i'm totally into this flourless cookie thing because they also happen to not contain a great deal of added fats, so i can feel pretty awesome about eating them.

so apparently, these flourless peanut butter cookies have been an internet sensation for quite some time but i didn't discover them until a recent thekitchn post. these cookies are dangerously easy to make and quite yummy. if you don't like peanut butter, these might not be the cookies for you. a couple of pointers when making these cookies:

1. don't smush them down too flat! i may or may not have done this and some of my cookies turned out rather biscuit like (not necessarily a bad thing). if you leave them a bit thicker, you'll get a chewy center. mmmm.
2. i added chocolate chips to some of the tops of mine. definitely recommended: peanut butter and chocolate, you just can't go wrong.

sensational peanut butter cookies (from thekitchn)
makes 18 cookies

• 1 cup peanut butter (ALWAYS natural chunky peanut butter. i also happened to use salted because that's what i had, which was fine, but i wouldn't necessarily recommend it).
• 3/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• additional sugar for rolling

• preheat oven to 375.
• mix all the ingredients up in a bowl. roll walnut-sized pieces into balls and roll balls in the additional sugar.
  
• place on a parchment-lined (or foil-whatever you have) baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
  
• push chocolate chips into dough
  
• bake for 10 minutes. remove and let cool before removing from baking sheet.

flourless chocolate cookies at café angelique

isn't it amazing when you discover something you should have already known about? this is precisely what happened to me last weekend when my blood sugar took a dangerous dip and the search for caffeine got desperate. sadly, it always seems to be my mother that witnesses these episodes (saint that she is). "i think there's a place around this corner," i gasped. moments later, we walked into cafe angelique in soho. the last thing i expected to find was a flourless chocolate cookie. seriously, how did i never know such a cookie existed?!

and what a cookie it was...these ones were very plump and tall, crispy on the outside and dense and fudgy on the inside. serious chocolate hit. walnuts provided a good chocolate contrast and additional crunchiness. chocoholics unite! even more surprising was the simplicity of the core ingredients: egg whites, cocoa, sugar, and walnuts. so, they were practically healthy! and at $2.50 each, almost a bargain.


here's a recipe to try from nymag (although i haven't attempted it yet, so no guarantees here).

françois payard’s flourless chocolate-walnut cookies (courtesy of nymag.com)

• 2 3/4 cups walnut halves
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• preheat oven to 350. spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant.
  
• let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them.
• position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
• in a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
  
• spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking.
  
• slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

friday night at whole foods

friday night, i concluded a rough week with an evening at whole foods. my surrogate big sister and blogger treated me to tea (jade cloud) and snack (gluten-free snickerdoodle). it was just what i needed to wrap up an otherwise stressful week. my cookie was delicious and it felt extra special because i rarely ever eat snickerdoodles. although gluten-free, the texture was good--light but not too crumbly. it was the first time i have noticed this brand but gilbert's gourmet goodies makes cookies and cookie dough without gluten, nuts, soy, milk, or corn. in addition to being sold at whole foods, they are also available here.

among other things, we ended up discussing soy. soy is controversial for environmental and health reasons, which is a complete bummer for those of use who are vegan, lactose intolerant, and/or insert other dairy free reason here. modern day soy consumption seems to have been revolutionized by silk, giving the soy milk market a delicious, readily available option. additionally, soy milk is the go-to milk alternative and is available in many restaurants and stores, so switching to another alternative seems intimidating. i drink and eat soy because of my lactose intolerance and other health issues. therefore, i have decided to switch my milk alternative at home to almond milk to cut back on the soy consumption, even if only just a little. a quick comparison:

silk light plain (1 cup)
70 calories
20 calories from fat
2g fat
30% calcium and vitamin d

almond breeze unsweetened original (1 cup)
40 calories
30 calories from fat
3g fat
20% calcium, 25% vitamin d

and if you're looking for a friday night hotspot, union square whole foods might just be the place.