"Lower-Cal" Chocolate Walnut Cookies
I mean c'mon, a cookie is a sweet.
It's a treat.
It's an indulgence...
SO no matter what you do or say, when it comes to cookies there is no way around a bit of sugar, a bit of fat, and a few extra calories! SO what happens when you are trying to shed a few pounds AND you get a craving for a chocolate sweet treat?
You do every thing in your power to create a chocolate cookie with a mild caloric punch! (Well, at least that's what I do!).'
With all the rain we were having last week I couldn't escape a "bake session"... I figured it could be a dry run for Valentine's Day (hey, any excuse to pull out the cookie trays!). The only catch is that I would really like to lose a few extra pounds that have been hanging around from the holidays/post baby AND needless to say baking sweet treats in the kitchen is not the best game plan to accomplish these goals (agreed?). BUT with all that being said, I know first hand that goal or no goals life marches on SO how can I enjoy the whims of life (ie. baking on a rainy day - fulfills and nourishes on so many levels) while moving towards my personal health/fitness goals (ie. lose a few extra pounds - fulfills and nourishes on so many different levels)????
Create a chocolate sweet treat that is LOWER in calories. This way I can still bake and still enjoy a d'lishes treat without working against my own best interest!
But I warn you... these are just as they read. A lower-cal cookie. Not super rich. Not super moist. Not super sweet.
They are simple. Chocolat-ey and dry. I would almost compare them to a flourless chocolate cake. The batter is gooey and messy and hard to work with BUT well worth the effort. I suspect a few tablespoons of butter or oil would be bring a whole other layer of richness to these cookies BUT since I was aiming for low-cal, I had to cut a few corners.
Ultimately, my goal was this:
Eat chocolate cookies - - - - - - Don't eat too many calories.
These babies did the job. And with about seventy calories a cookie, I was a happy camper --- satisfied and nourished on soooo many different levels!
Do you have a low-cal sweet treat that you love?? If so, let's hear about them.... we're waiting!!!
"Lower-Cal" Chocolate Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
6 oz dark chocolate, chopped up1 egg and 2
egg whites
1/3 cup
sucanat
1 tsp
vanilla
2 tbsp
white whole wheat flour
¼ tsp
baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup
walnut pieces
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.Line two
cookie sheets with a silpat mat OR spray each with a little cooking spray.
Combine
flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Place
chocolate into a glass bow and pop in the microwave for thirty seconds. Give it a stir and then pop back in for
another thirty seconds or until chocolate is just melted. All microwaves are different so be sure
not to let the chocolate scorch.
Using a
hand mixer, combine egg, egg whites, sucanat, and vanilla until everything is
well incorporated. Once the
chocolate has cooled stir it into the egg and sugar mixture.
Stir the
dry ingredients into the wet ingredients along with the walnuts and then stir
until everything is just incorporated.
Drop 1 tbsp
spoonfuls of batter onto prepared baking sheets and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Makes 24
cookies.
Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 72; Total Fat: 4g; Saturated Fat: 1.5; Cholesterol: 8mg; Sodium: 48mg; Carbohydrate: 6.7; Dietary Fiber: 0.6; Sugars: 5.6; Protein: 1.5Fruit, Nut and Oat Cookies
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- Filed under Baked Goodies, Desserts
- Tagged with Chocolate, Cookies, Walnuts
- Print this recipe
- 6 comments
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Comments
Marcia Altinay :
I love the idea of a low cal treat! especially that has "CHOCOLATE" in it! Although, I'm not familiar with sucanat. Can you tell me exactly what it is?
posted on January 24, 2010 10:04 PM
Dani :
Marcia- Sucanat stands for "sugar cane natural" and is sugar in it's most natural form. It is an unrefined sweetener made from the whole sugar cane compared to refined or turbinado sugar that uses only some of the sugar cane. It has a very strong "molasses" flavor to it and works well with chocolate BUT I find its flavor can be overwhelming to many desserts that have a more mild flavor. If you don't have any you could substitute white sugar and still make a yummy cookie.
posted on January 24, 2010 11:15 PM
Stacy :
Dani,
I'm diabetic, and I've just started using Blue Agave syrup, could I use that in this recipe instead of sugar?
posted on January 26, 2010 7:30 AM
Dani :
Stacy - I'm not positive but I would give it a try if I were you... maybe you could add a few extra tbsp of flour just to absorb a bit of the extra moisture. IF you give them a try with agave, I'd love to hear how they turn out!
posted on January 26, 2010 9:13 AM
Melissa :
Hi Dani, love this recipe and will definitely be adding it to my sweet treats repertoire. I have a three year old who loves my baking and I like to make treats for him every now and again. I actually just put up a white whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe myself - http://meldabbles.com/2010/01/19/recipe-white-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies/ If you every try it, let me know what you think!
posted on January 26, 2010 9:47 AM
meike :
My son LOVED these cookies so much he ate almost the entire batch last night!
posted on January 29, 2010 9:08 AM