Chocolate cookies keep flavor, not fat
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By Elaine Magee
Q. I recently stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and found this wonderful recipe on their Web site. It seems very rich to me, and I wondered if there was a way to lighten them up.
A. If the name didn't sell me on lightening up these cookies, the picture of the cookies on the Waldorf Astoria Web site sure did. The original recipe calls for 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate but I used a combination of cocoa, sugar, and 2 tablespoons canola oil. (This was mainly because I tend not to have bittersweet chocolate on hand and I'm guessing neither do you.) Instead of an ounce of stick butter, I used a couple of tablespoons of whipped butter and replaced the creme fraiche with fat-free sour cream and the 2 eggs with a higher-omega-3 egg and 1/4 cup of egg substitute.
I also trimmed the sugar a little and used whole-wheat flour. For a final trimming, I stirred in 4 ounces of chocolate chips instead of 6. We cut the calories and the fat grams by 33 percent and the saturated fat and cholesterol by 50 percent. We also increased the fiber by one gram per cookie.
If you can't find dried cherries, try dried cranberries or even seeded dates.
The original recipe contains 202 calories, 12 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat, and 32 milligrams cholesterol per cookie if 20 cookies per recipe.
LIGHT TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHERRY COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two nonstick cookie sheets with canola oil spray and set aside.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add unsweetened chocolate and whipped butter and melt chocolate in microwave, on the lowest setting, for about a minute. Stir in cocoa, canola oil, sour cream, hot water and vanilla. Set bowl aside in a warm place (so the chocolate doesn't begin to set).
In large mixing bowl, beat together egg, egg substitute, brown sugar and granulated sugar over low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 4 minutes. Fold (or beat on low speed) the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
In medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then add it to the chocolate batter with mixer on lowest speed. Scrape the sides, then stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts and cherries.
Use a cookie scoop (slightly heaping 1/8-cup) to place mounds of dough on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, being careful not to overbake. Serve the same day they are baked for best results.
Makes 20 cookies.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian and author of "Comfort Food Makeovers." Learn more at www.recipedoctor.com.
