The Oxymoron of "Healthy Cookie"

Those two words -- healthy and cookie -- do not belong in the same sentence, usually. Cookies are wonderful sweet treats, and the more butter and sugar and stuff in 'em, the better! Healthy foods can, of course, taste good; but cookies that have been redeemed nutrition-wise generally don't earn the exalted adjective "delicious."

Until today.

I've gotta pat myself on the back -- Tom challenged me to make a healthy cookie, and I think I've done a pretty good job! I admittedly haven't run the recipe through any calorie/fat/sugar algorithm to test it. But since I cut the butter by 2/3, cut the brown sugar by 1/3, used dark chocolate instead something like M&Ms, and there are lots of oats as well as whole wheat flour, I like to think I've performed a mitzvah ([MITZ-vuh] = good deed).

They're not as addictive as, say, that heroin-like substance the Girl Scouts call Caramel De-Lites (a.k.a.: Samoas), with all the gooey caramel and luscious chocolate and coconut. But they're still pretty good ... and I've eaten enough of 'em to be able to state that truthfully!

These cookies are soft and sweet, with just a hint of crunch from granola. You can eat a couple and still feel as though you're indulging in a treat, but without also indulging in guilt. I'm a girl who spent 13 years in Catholic schools and who now considers herself kinda/sorta Jewish -- I know a little somethin' 'bout guilt! Trust me -- you won't have any of that if you bake and enjoy these ... :)

Oatmeal Granola Cookies

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Brown Cow Cream Top Maple Yogurt (substitute vanilla, if need be)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
2-1/2 cups quick-cook oats
1 cup maple granola
1 2-ounce dark chocolate bar, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, yogurt and brown sugar. Stir in egg, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add flour, oats and granola; stir in chocolate.

Form golfball-sized balls with the dough, and place them 2" apart on the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly, then bake the cookies for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.