Cherry Oat Cookies
American Heart Association Low-Fat And Luscious Desserts Copyright 2000
2 ¼ cups dried cherries, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries, or a combination I used cherry flavored craisins and only a 6 oz bag (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 ½ cups water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons light tub margarine I used Promise stick margarine
2 tablespoons acceptable vegetable oil
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
whites of 3 large eggs
1 ½ cups rolled oats, uncooked
¾ cup oat bran
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small, heavy saucepan, bring cherries and water to a boil over medium-high heat; boil for 4 to 6 minutes, or until cherries are plump, stirring occasionally. Drain cherries, reserving 5 tablespoons liquid; set both aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream margarine and oil. Add brown sugar and vanilla, beating until light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg whites and beat until smooth, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper. Add reserved cherry liquid, beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture with mixture running. Add rolled oats, oat bran, and cherries, stirring just until incorporated.
Using a small-portion scoop or tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto heavy ungreased baking sheets or regular baking sheets lined with cooking parchment, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheets to cooling racks and let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Last weekend my cookies went completely flat. This weekend they didn't spread at all - not one bit. Maybe that was because I used stick margarine since that's what I had on hand.
These were good but I think if the recipe had included a bit of salt, they could have been much better. They were sort of flat tasting due to the lack of salt. This recipe is from the American Heart Association and if you're on a strict diet for health reasons, these would probably be quite a nice treat. If you're not the healthiest eater and used to rich treats, these won't knock your socks off but they're a filling, low on guilt and really, not awful at all (though next time I would definitely add some salt). I forgot to copy the nutritional information but there are about 100 calories in 2 cookies (recipes should make about 72 cookies) .
This cookbook was from the library. The American Heart Association doesn't mess around. They certainly want their recipes to be appealing but health comes first.
Question of the Day: Do you have any health problems (or a genetic predisposition to health problems) that affect the way you eat?
3 comments:
So far we're relatively healthy but both of our families have Type II diabetes (especially hubby's). My family also has high blood pressure and heart disease. Hubby's family has high cholesterol and heart disease. So we do try to watch things but we aren't as strict as we can be, obviously.
No,we're all healthy,thank goodness.I do try to cook a few meals a week low-fat.
I'm an insulin dependent diabetic so I have to be really careful about sugar. I can usually have a bite or two of dessert, but thats it. And, I have to watch my carbs too.
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