Sunday Sweets

For the month of October, Laura and I have decided to have Sunday be "sweet" themed. This weekend I decided to recreate one of my favorite cookies. I LOVE the cranberry and white chocolate sugar cookies at work. The texture is incredible, and in every bite you get a bit of sweet from the cranberries and chocolate. These cookies are about 4-5" in diameter and definitely made with white flour and butter.

Of course, in true FNF fashion, I decided to give them a little makeover. I think the hardest part of giving cookies makeovers is figuring out what to substitute for the butter. I have made cookies in the past using part margarine, but the final consistency was more cake like and didn't work out for cut out cookies. Since I wasn't going to cut these out or ice them I figured Smart Balance would be just fine.

Here are all of the ingredients:

I started by creating the cookie "base." Basically everything but the festive additives. I was afraid of over mixing the chocolate pieces if I added everything all at once. Once the base was combined thoroughly I added in the fun stuff.

When making a good lower calorie cookie, the fun stuff makes a huge difference. This recipe was hard to really cut back on the calories simply because the chocolate and dried cranberries are naturally calorie dense. One day I may try to make this cookie without fun extras to see how the base would be on its own.

What are some of your favorite "fun extras" to put in cookies?

I did stick the mixture in the fridge for awhile to let it set up. The cookies don't set very well just because I used the Smart Balance instead of butter and probably the use of applesauce. When you are scooping the dough onto the baking sheet you can mold the dough to have smooth rounded edges if you want since it is so soft.

Here is the final product:

The cookies tasted pretty good and were very light for a whole wheat cookie. One noticeable difference was the texture. These cookies are very cake like. One of my favorite characteristics of my cookies from work is the slightly crunchy texture. I will have to play around with the recipe to see if I can ever fix that.

Here are the stats for each cookie (the batch made about 27):

Calories: 90

Fat: 3.4

Sodium: 48

Fiber: 1.4

On a non-food note...aren't my blog helpers adorable?!

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup Splenda
¼ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
¼ cup Egg Beaters
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Chia seeds
½ cup Cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips
¼ cup almond slivers

Combine all ingredients except the last three in a medium bowl. Fold in last three ingredients until distributed evenly.

Chill dough for 20 minutes.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough out onto baking sheet covered with a Silpat. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for a few minutes then remove from baking sheets and let cool thoroughly on a cooling rack.

What's Up Wednesday

What’s up with everyone hating on prunes?

Before I was a dietitian, prunes only brought thoughts of my grandmother in her retirement home. Now, in my mind, prunes have many more redeeming factors including a delicious taste, fiber and antioxidants.

I don’t know if y’all have noticed the change in labeling for prunes. Back in 2000 a new movement was made to change the name to “dried plums.” I guess manufacturers assumed that a new name would help get younger folks to accept the fruit. I am not sure if it actually worked. In my mind no matter what it is called it still looks like a prune when you eat it. I think a social stigma still exists that keeps younger generations from pulling out their snack baggies full of prunes at the lunch table.

In a clinical setting, prunes make me think of keeping your GI tract moving. I have always assumed that it was the dietary fiber that helped prevent constipation. In fact, each dried prune only has 0.6g fiber. For a female to meet her recommended 25g of fiber each day, she would have to eat 42 prunes!! Let’s hope nobody tries to do that because prunes don’t just have fiber, they also have a natural laxative called dihydrophenylisatin.

In moderation, prunes can be wonderful snacks that can be beneficial for GI health. Below are a few of the prune products I found in my local grocery store. On the Sunsweet website I noticed that they have come out with 60 calorie packs of prunes. That would be a yummy sweet treat to pack with a lunch!

What is a food that you love that people might find strange?

Here is a recipe I came up with for Oatmeal Prune cookies. The nutmeg in this recipe gives these cookies a very Christmas time flavor. They would be perfect paired with a small glass of light egg nog. If you are not much for the “Fall” flavor of these cookies you can always omit the nutmeg and increase the cinnamon a bit. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Prune Cookies
½ cup Smart Balance Light, softened
2 tbsp canola oil
¼ cup low fat buttermilk
½ white sugar
½ cup Splenda
½ cup Splenda Brown Sugar Mix, packed, plus extra for dipping
½ cup egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups quick cooking oats
½ cup diced prunes
½ cup golden raisins

In a large bowl, cream together the Smart Balance, oil, buttermilk and sugars. Slowly add egg substitute and blend well. Stir in vanilla.

Sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, just until mixed. Slowly stir in oatmeal. Gently mix in the prunes and raisins.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put silicone baking mats on cookie sheets. Using a tablespoon, scoop out servings of dough and put them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Gently flatten each cookie with a fork dipped in the brown sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are toasted brown. Allow cookies to cool 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.