Would you like a cookie? ~ Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

Care for a cookie?

Today I made old-fashioned oatmeal cookies with a modern day twist. I totally swapped out the butter for a cool product I just discovered called Earth Balance. It is an all-natural replacement for butter without all of the saturated fat. I also omitted the salt from the original recipe since there is already a little salt in Earth Balance, and I omitted the raisins (simply because I don’t like raisins in my cookies or other baked goods). If you do like raisins, add ½ cup at the end.

I just get so excited when I find healthier ways to make some old favorites and they still taste like my old favorites! I hope you’ll give these a whirl!

The original recipe that I used as my inspiration was already a lightened version from America’s Test Kitchen’s book called The Best Light Recipe.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted and cooled (I used the original stick version, but the kind that comes in the tub should be fine, as well)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position, and preheat to 350.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (oats through baking soda) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted and cooled Earth Balance, egg and vanilla. Stir in the brown sugar, taking care that there are no big clumps remaining. Then stir in the dry mixture to the wet until everything is well combined.

Roll the dough into 24 balls (one leveled tablespoon each) and place them about 2 ½ inches apart on the baking sheets. Squish the tops down slightly.

Bake one tray at a time for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. They should be slightly brown on the edges.

Pair with a big glass of skim milk! 🙂