For some of us – baking is a hobby, but how do you bake your favorite cookies, cakes, etc when you know you will eat the entire pan?
Last night, just like every night, my two-year-old wanted to make cookies so I decided we would make them just a bit healthier. Here is what we did for starters for the basic chocolate chip recipe. I didn’t go crazy and replace everything – just yet – I think this satisfied my husband’s sweet tooth as well.
- Recipe called for 1 cup butter – substituted half butter for applesauce
- Recipe called for 2 1/4 cups of flour – substituted 1 cup of of ground flaxseed
This is a great way to start to help make your favorite recipe just a bit healthier. Here are some more ways that I have found to be very helpful for fat replacements.
- replace half butter or oil for pureed fruit (baby food or applesauce)
- replace a third to half the flour for whole-wheat pastry flour or milled flaxseed
- replace oil or eggs for ground flaxseed
- replace oil with nonfat Greek yogurt
- replace oil or fat with pureed beans
- replace sugar with natural sugar substitutes such as stevia or combination of stevia such as Truvia or Purvia
- replace half the sugar with applesauce, bananas or pureed pineapple but also remember to increase the flavored (such as – recipe calls for 1 tsp vanilla – increase to 1 1/2 to 2 tsp of vanilla)
More specifics on healthy substitutions to come!
Check out the Cranberry Walnut Cookies in the recipe archives – this is a great example of MANY substitutions! Use chocolate chips instead of dried cranberries.
