cookies without butter

There are always fresh homemade cookies in this house and it’s usually what we have for dessert. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite because oats provide good fiber and even dark chocolate has health benefits, so this is a win-win recipe. There’s no butter in this easy recipe – I use avocado oil instead – but you can use another vegetable oil if you like.

I’m always torn about how long to bake them. The less you bake them the softer they will be but I also like browned edges so I left the baking time open to between 12 and 14 minutes. I also realize that all ovens and baking sheets are different so you can judge the baking time that works for you. Either way it’s a simple recipe for old fashioned oatmeal cookies but with new fashioned dark chocolate chunks. My husband says, “Everything is better with chocolate!” He’s after me for a chocolate meat loaf! I don’t see it happening. Click here for the recipe. (not the chocolate meatloaf, the cookies! ?) – jenny jones

Here is the whole wheat version of my chewy oatmeal dark chocolate chunk cookies (above). When I can find whole wheat pastry flour I always make them this way. Whole grain cookies make a healthier dessert and these easy cookies are 100% whole grain. The ingredients are basically the same as the white flour version (except for the flour swap) but the technique is as little different – but still very simple. You freeze the dough before baking.

To make these whole wheat chewy oatmeal dark chocolate chunk cookies click here for the recipe. – jenny jones

It seems that I’ve been making these crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies a lot lately. They keep well, there’s no white flour, they have lots of fiber, and instead of chocolate chips I’ve been using part of a 70% dark chocolate bar (the one that’s good for you), chopped up and added to the final batter. Of course the toasted nuts add a lot of extra flavor.

They are big – about 5 inches across – so we usually split a cookie for dessert. But then we split another one because… well… because I’m in charge in the kitchen and I said it was okay. Today I also made salad, salmon patties, and spaghetti with chard for dinner. Then we had half a cookie for dessert. That’s the truth. We each had half a cookie for dessert. What happened after that is… quite frankly… confidential. ?  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Isn’t everything better with chocolate? Today I made my incredibly easy peanut butter cookies but upped the game by adding dark chocolate chunks and extra peanuts. Oh My! They are so good and so easy. These peanut butter cookies have no flour so they’re even gluten free. This is a simple one bowl recipe and I just added some chopped up 70% chocolate bar and some additional chopped salted peanuts. I don’t think I’ll ever make them plain again.

You could use chocolate chips but using a plain dark chocolate bar is a healthier choice. Just use my original recipe for peanut butter cookies and add about 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks or peanuts or 1/4 cup total mixture of both.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Here’s a closeup of my Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are big! These are the ones made with 100% whole grains and no butter. Before baking you press them flat with a fork and they spread even more when they bake and come out super thin and crispy. I made them last night and the recipe makes twelve. There are five left. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

This may be the easiest cookie recipe ever. No mixer, no flour, no butter, and only five ingredients. Well… make that six. It’s my peanut butter cookie recipe but this time I added chocolate chips. Wow! They were so good I made them twice this week. It’s a winning combination: peanut butter and chocolate, and even healthier by using dark chocolate chips so I just had to share my “new” recipe.

This recipe is so flexible that next time I might add some extra chopped peanuts too. This simple recipe is so easy, even if you don’t bake, you can make these cookies. – plain or with chocolate chips.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Any cookies that are crispy, have lots of fiber, no butter, and taste great are my kind of cookies. It’s this kind of cookie that I always have around the house so there’s always something sweet available. I make almost all my cookies with extra light olive oil but you can use any vegetable oil.

Sweets will always be part of my diet so I try to make them as healthy as I can. And crispy cookies like this keep well. I put them in a zip top plastic bag and keep them refrigerated for weeks and they are still great. They’re big, too. This recipe makes a dozen big 4 to 5-inch cookies. Have one for a healthy, high fiber dessert or as a snack with a glass of milk. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I couldn’t decide what kind of cookies to make today. I often make my giant breakfast cookies but I wanted something different. I like my crispy oat cookies too but I wanted something with even more fiber. So I made a hybrid of both cookies and LOVED them. They are super crispy and as with most of my cookies, they have no butter and no white flour. I followed my recipe for Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with these changes:

~reduced oats to 1 cup

~added 1/2 cup All-Bran Original Cereal

~used one egg instead of two egg whites

~doubled the vanilla

~added about five chopped mission figs

~added about 3 Tablespoons shredded, sweetened coconut

I baked them at 350° F for 16 minutes and they were perfect. Crispy. Not too sweet. Easy recipe. I like these healthy cookies so much they are now a new recipe here on my site.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Weekends are my favorite time to bake. As soon as I get up and make my green tea, I start puttering around in the kitchen. With breakfast on my mind I remembered that I was out of my giant breakfast cookies so they were first on my list. This time I used a mixture of prunes and figs and added a few extras chocolate chips. I baked them for 14 minutes so they turned out more crispy than usual. I often have one of these yummy cookies after breakfast but I also have them for dessert. There are 4 grams of fiber in each cookie! Click here for my recipe.

Next, I started my sesame see breadsticks. I just ran out of those too and I hate to have my salad without those crunchy breadsticks. I make them so often that I got a breadstick pan with holes to help them bake from the bottom. There’s no place I know where you can buy fresh breadsticks like these so I make them at least twice a month. This picture was taken before I put them in my warming drawer to rise.  Click here for the recipe.

While the breadsticks were rising and the oven was already hot, I saw that I was down to one granola bar so I made more of those too. It’s the easiest recipe – just mix everything in a bowl and bake. But you do have to press down really, really hard before baking to keep the bars together. I use a spatula that I press down onto the bars before baking and I press all over for about a minute so they set well while baking. Oh, I almost forgot – there’s another granola bar in my purse (I always carry one just in case). Click here for my easy recipe.

Well, I just thought I would share what I cooked today. And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms who cook, or just eat when someone else cooks – that’s how it should be on Mother’s Day. – Jenny Jones

It must be Sunday morning because I’m making breakfast cookies again. Here they are before baking. There are three things that are a constant in my kitchen (besides me)… three things that when I almost run out, I make more. They are: breakfast cookies, granola bars, and tortillas. This morning I ate my last breakfast cookie, there’s one tortilla left and I made granola bars yesterday. So it’s breakfast cookie and tortilla-day today.

Are you wondering why these three? Because you can’t buy anything even close to homemade tortillas. My granola bars are out of this world. And my breakfast cookies may not be pretty, but they are fantastic, especially if you want more fiber in your diet. Those are chopped prunes you see there… or wait… those could be pieces of dark chocolate!

My recipe uses bran cereal, whole wheat pastry flour, and oats (did I mention there are 4 grams of fiber in one cookie?). Then I add some moist chopped prunes (they do not taste like prune cookies!) and either chocolate chips or this time I chopped up some of a dark chocolate bar. And here they are all done…

These are cookies of substance, great taste and texture, and many health benefits. Dark chocolate benefits the heart and all that fiber benefits your digestive system and keeps you regular. As for prunes, besides fiber, they are very high in antioxidants. Prunes benefit your eyes, heart, immune system and can help prevent bone loss.

Just like people, don’t judge this cookie by its appearance. It’s what’s inside that matters. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones