White Out Oatmeal Choco Chip Cookies

I am so excited about this recipe.
1: It was a shot in the dark that worked!
2: It's a healthier version of something we all love!
3: It received my husband's seal of approval! He said, "They're really good, Babe!" It doesn't get much better than that for me. :-)
I started out to make some cookies for some friends and decided to get creative and come up with a chocolate chip cookie devoid of white sugar. I'm sure it's been done before, but not by me. I always thought chocolate chip cookies were the one place where you just shouldn't mess with the original basic components. I was wrong! WooHoo!!!

MY SWEET SECRET








Maple Syrup

PURE maple syrup. I love the stuff! You can use it in so many different places to sweeten so many different things, and it's better for you than granulated sugar. Granted, it should still be used in moderation just like any other sweet thing, but it's good stuff. I used it in this cookie recipe in place of the white sugar. I had to increase the amount of dry ingredients to compensate for the extra liquid. The results were a crisp cookie on the outside and soft light cookie on the inside. In this particular batch I added white chocolate chips because that's what my husband likes, but to make a pure "white out" cookie, just leave them out. I hope you enjoy them!














White Out Oatmeal Choco Chip Cookies
Copyright 2012 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
2 Eggs
1 t. Almond Extract
2 1/2 cups Quick-Cooking Oats
1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour (I use King Arthur's - milled from hard white spring wheat rather than red wheat)
1 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Kosher Salt
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 bag White Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (or a whole bag of semi-sweet if you're going for a pure "white out" recipe)
1 cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat oven to 375
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, creme the butter and brown sugar until well combined and creamy.
Add the maple syrup, eggs, and almond extract. Mix on medium speed until well combined.
Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until combined. Continue adding the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing after each addition until well combined.
Add chips and cranberries, mix quickly at medium speed of mixer, or mix by hand until chips and cranberries are well incorporated.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake 10-11 mins.

NOTE: Health food stores also carry carob chips and other types of chocolate chips made with natural sweeteners. I don't know how they would work in this recipe, but it might be worth a try. Maybe that will be the next thing on my list to play with.......