Really Good But Even Better Low-Fat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
I love cookies. L.O.V.E. Since I like to eat them frequently (as in multiple times a day), I’m always attempting to make healthier versions of old favorites like chocolate chip or oatmeal. So I was stoked when I saw this Sun Maid recipe for Really Good Low-Fat Raisin Oatmeal Cookies in honor of Heart Health Month (which was February, but shouldn’t we always promote heart health?) I tried them — and they are really good. But since I can’t leave well enough alone, I made a few little tweaks to the recipe and now I think they’re even better.
So here you have it: Really Good but Even Better Low-Fat Raisin Oatmeal Cookies. And even with my tweaks they still come out to about 60 calories per cookie, so I don’t feel too guilty about the fact that I ate like 5 of them out of the oven and about 5 cookies worth of dough as I was making them.
The little changes I made were to use coconut oil instead of canola or vegetable oil and then to add some shredded coconut to some of the cookies themselves. The coconut oil phenomenon started a while back and since I’m behind the times, I just bought my first jar of organic virgin coconut oil at Trader Joe’s and felt compelled to use it. I love coconut – so I figured it was a win/win. Plus, my husband hates coconut, so I knew it was a good way to ensure that he didn’t eat all of the cookies before I could get to them. Because yes, that’s happened before.
For skeptics that don’t think these could possibly taste as good as oatmeal cookies made with butter, I say, “try them.” No, they don’t have that distinct butter-y flavor/texture, but the coconut oil does a respectable job of creating a chewy, soft cookie with a crisp edge. I can confidently say that these are some of the best low-fat cookies I’ve ever made.
Really Good but Even Better Low-Fat Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
yields 40 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup plain 0% Fage Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, yogurt, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the oats, raisins, and shredded coconut.
- Using a little cookie/ice cream scoop, drop dough by the teaspoonful (large, rounded, heaping teaspoons) onto the prepared baking sheets. Use a fork to gently press the dough down a bit to flatten it (well you don’t have to do this, but I like the way my cookies bake this way).
- Bake for 9.5-10 minutes until very lightly browned – don’t overbake them. This is crucial – they’ll still be soft and not totally set in the centers, but take them out anyway.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and place on a cooling rack – let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a while, then remove them directly to the cooling rack to cool completely. Although you should probably eat a few (milk dunking optional) while they’re still warm — they’re really, really good. I’m not lying — the recipe says so!
Interesting! Making these! Oatmeal-raisin is my favorite type of cookie. If each one is about 60 calories, I calculate I can eat about 20 per day, which is excellent.
Just finished making these! What a great recipe!!
These are a lot easier to make/scoop if you use a small spring handle type scoop, sprayed with no-stick. I used dried cherries and added two tablespoons of mini chips and they were just wonderful. I think this is a versatile recipe that way. What a great addition to my collection. Thanks!!
I love this receipe!! I however did make some changes, I could not find coconut oil, so I used Nut oil instead and also added 1 teaspoon of powdered nutmeg.
YUMMY! even my husband was surprised of how great they taste..
thanks !!
Delicious, thank you!
For your oust meal cookie recipe what can I use to substitute the coconut oil? Is canola fine? Thx so much!
Can I sub the coconut oil with any oil?
Hi Cynthia,
Canola oil should be just fine!
Well, I like crispy, crunchy cookies, as do many others. So there’s no way I’m taking them out in 10 minutes. Raw cookie dough is gross!