Lotta Chocolate Love

posted September 21, 2009
  by Christine Gable, Kiddie Chow

We just love chocolate around here. In fact I’ve been seriously considering buying more than one or two packs of chocolate chips at a time. For it seems like whenever I need to bake a batch of cookies there aren’t any left! But isn’t there an old adage: the more you buy, the more you use … ? So I’m not so sure that buying more will suffice, since it’ll probably just have us all consuming even more chocolate.

Thus we continue to stash our savored little bits in drawers, hide our chunky bars in a desk drawer for when the craving hits, and dole out the chips for daughter’s favorite snack: vanilla yogurt topped with chocolate chips (also excellent with peanuts or sliced almonds).

Luckily I usually have a package of unsweetened baking chocolate sitting in the cupboard, however. It’s one of those handy ingredients that can go from brownies to cakes to cookies—and since the cook adds the fat and sweetener, it’s wonderfully adaptable to personal tastes and preferences. For those diabetics out there, it can even fill that chocolate craving: I was recently talking to a cashier at the grocery store and she mentioned her dad, a diabetic, eats the unsweetened baking chocolate for his chocolate fix. Now there’s a serious and dedicated chocolate lover!

So with chocolate on the brain, I was recently flipping through a new cookbook: The Ultimate Cookie Book from Better Homes and Gardens. A fellow cooking friend from twitter recommended it to me (thanks, Chef Ducky!). It’s a massive compilation of more than 500 tempting treats, plus a whole bunch of secrets for baking better cookies. They even have some hints about types and kinds of chocolate, which can help you keep all those different labels straight at the market.

My daughter and I have been having a wonderful time perusing this book—it’s filled with delightful cookie recipes and pictures which make for good reading during breakfast. We found a recipe for chocolate oatmeal cookies—yum! But since the first ingredient was 1 cup of butter, I did a double take. Sure, butter can be the divine ingredient that gives that crowning glory in rich baked goods and specialties. But when I’m baking cookies that will get consumed as part and parcel of our everyday diet, I’m much more inclined to make cookies that utilize vegetable oil. Light olive oil is my fave—it’s got the mellow flavor that won’t overpower like the stronger extra-virgin varieties, and it helps lubricate and moisten in a delightfully heart-healthy way.

So of course, recipe developer that I am, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I could make a healthier re-mix of these delectable goodies. Sure enough, a couple batches later, I discovered a way to use light olive oil (instead of the butter) and to slash the sugar by a little bit too. The resultant cookies are delightfully soft and satisfying and they even help meet fiber requirements for the day since they utilize whole grain: old-fashioned oats. The trick is to soak them in milk so that their delightful texture adds depth to the cookies, not dryness. Since we were out of chocolate chips, we decided to forgo the double chocolate factor—perhaps the 3 original ounces of baking chocolate would be enough to satisfy even the staunchest chocolate lover, eh?

Success! This is a batch of cookies that we’ll surely make time and again when we’re feeling the urge for chocolate but would like to make ‘em a bit healthier. The oat and chocolate combo is a winner. I highly recommend this cookie cookbook for some delicious reading and inspiration.

Of course, reading good cookbooks often leads to a baking stint too—so read at your own risk!

Next week: Kids Love it: Fast ‘n Easy Whipped Cream


Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 3 dozen
Ready in: < 30 minutes

* 1 cup rolled oats (the old fashioned variety)
* 1 cup milk
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
* 1/3 cup light olive oil
* 1 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 3/4 cup flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the rolled oats to the cup of milk and let set for 3 minutes. This is a good time to place the 3 squares of chocolate in a bowl and melt for 60 seconds in the microwave, stirring well after heating. Now, using an electric mixer, beat together the oats and milk with the melted chocolate, olive oil, sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy, about one minute.

Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda, mixing until well incorporated, about one minute. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes until round and puffy.

Serve warm or cool—delicious with a cup of cold milk.

Christine's Notes: Inspired by the drop cookies on page 76 of The Ultimate Cookie Book from Better Homes and Gardens, this recipe is a variation that does not use butter—instead substituting healthier light olive oil (or another light vegetable oil), and eliminating the pecans since neither daughter nor I prefer nuts in chocolate cookies.

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