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Chocolate Chip Cookies, Healthy (P, TNT)
Source: Self
Yield: About 5 dozen

2 sticks unsalted margarine, softened
1/3 cup dark molasses
1-3/4 cups white sugar
1 heaping tablespoon of pareve soy unflavored yogurt
2 eggs, out of refrigerator for about 1/2 to 1 hour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup additional all-purpose flour, if needed
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 rounded teaspoon of baking soda
1 scant teaspoon of salt
2-1/2 to 3 cups of pareve chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup pecan pieces, broken (optional)

Pre-heat oven set at 350°F.

Take all the quantities of measured flours, bran, and wheat germ, and the salt and baking soda and stir them together in a bowl. Set aside.

Place the softened margarine and the sugar and molasses into the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat at low then medium speed until well mixed.

Add the vanilla extract, eggs, soy yogurt, and mix well at low then medium speed. The mixture may look like it is curdled but that is OK.

Now start adding the flour mixture at lowest speed about 1/4 cup at a time, until all is well mixed.

When all the flour mixture is incorporated into the batter, take out a heaping teaspoon of dough and put it on a cookie sheet covered with parchment. Place several chips onto cookie. This is your test cookie.

Bake for about 10 minutes until puffy and lightly browned. Cool briefly in freezer, then examine and taste. At this point, most of the test cookies are thin, flat, and chewy. I add more all purpose flour, about 1/4 cup and bake another test cookie. If still too flat, add 1 more 1/4 cup of flour. Test again. You do not want to add too much flour as that will give you a dry crunchy cookie. Usually between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of additional flour will give the right combination of chewy puffy cookie. The additional amount seems to depend on the humidity of the weather as well as the type of flour.

Now that you have determined that the batter is correct, stir in the rest of the chips. And the nuts if you want. Place heaping teaspoons of batter onto the cookie sheets leaving an inch of space around. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly browned and the puffy stage is starting to subside. Let cool and then remove from cookie sheet. Store in a covered container. They may be frozen.

Poster's Notes:
This makes a heck of a lot of cookies but they disappear so very quickly! The bran and wheat germ and whole wheat flour make them a little healthier than the average chocolate chip cookie. I have made these with regular margarine and with nontransfat margarine. Both turned out fine. I have experimented with substituting 1/4 cup of fructose for an equal amount of the white sugar, since fructose has some benefit over plain sugar. The cookies were fine but watch well - with fructose, they brown quicker. On the other hand, fructose supposedly helps to make a less dry cookie. I have not used butter for many years as I want the cookies to be parve, but you can probably use butter and milk yogurt if you wish.

Posted by Rochelle Eissenstat

Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A