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

(Adapted from Sun-Maid)

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!