2 Sweets for Santa: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
PIN IT!There is something so comforting about oatmeal. Whenever I am sick, tired, feeling blue or mopey, one of the first foods I turn to is oatmeal. I’m not sure if it’s the consistency, the flavor or the nostalgia I feel after I take my first bite, but oatmeal never fails to help me relax and enjoy the moment. Although I’ve been known to eat oatmeal for lunch and dinner, I’m also absolutely obsessed with it as dessert! As much as I enjoy the traditional oatmeal raisin recipe, it’s fun to switch it up every now and then and switch out the raisins for cranberries, almonds, M & M’s and my favorite, chocolate chips! Why not turn two amazing cookies into one? I brought these with me to Christmas and my grandma enjoyed one every morning with her coffee! The main ingredient is oatmeal, after all, so I’ll argue it’s a breakfast food!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
What You’ll Need:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
How to Make Them:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
- Combine butter and sugars into another bowl and cream.
- Stir egg and vanilla into butter mixture.
- Add flour and oatmeal mixture into the butter mixture.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Spoon cookies onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Nutritional Information per cookie: 125 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
3 Sweets for Santa: Cream Cheese Bites
Happy Holidays! I know it’s a bit after Christmas, but what can I say, I got busy! I don’t get to spend a lot of time with my family now that I’m over 7 hours away. So when I’m home for the holidays, the last thing I want to do is be on my computer when I could be spending time with them! But I’m back with 3 additional cookie recipes for Santa! Since Santa’s gone, why don’t you save these delicious bites for yourself or take them to the office? With each cookie containing less than 100 calories, you can enjoy it guilt free! I know I can’t go cold turkey on holiday sweets, so weaning myself to just one may be the best idea!
Cream Cheese Bites
What You’ll Need:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 ounces block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
How to Make Them:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
- Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, butter, cheese, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat until light and fluffy.
- Add flour mixture and stir until crumbly.
- Shape dough into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While cookies are cooling, prepare the glaze by combining 1 and 3/4 cups of powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- When cookies are cool, drizzle glaze over the cookies and let stand for 30 minutes until glaze is set.
Nutritional Information per cookie: 85 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein and .5 grams of fiber.
4 Sweets for Santa: Maple Spice Cookies
Spare the gingerbread men this year and enjoy this savory/sweet cookie instead! [Via]
If you are a fan of gingerbread, is this cookie for you! The spice in these sweet treats taste like a softer version of gingerbread, which make them easier to eat [at least in my book!] As cute as gingerbread men are, I just can’t handle that much of the flavor! And after eating a few thousand gingerbread people and houses, I think Santa will be eager to try a different variety of spiced cookie. The maple icing and crunchy walnut topping give these cookies the right amount of sweetness.
Maple Spice Cookies
What You’ll Need:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 large egg
Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon skim milk
- 2 teaspoons butter, softened
How to Make Them:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix butter and brown sugar together.
- Add syrup and egg, mix well.
- Add flour mixture.
- Spoon batter into round mounds and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before you ice.
How to Make the Frosting:
- Combine sugar, syrup, butter and milk into a bowl and stir.
- Let cookies cool completely before icing.
Nutritional Information: 98 calories, 3.4 grams of fat, 1.3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.
5 Sweets for Santa: Pumpkin Chip Cookies
This will be a VERY quick post because I’ve already blogged about these delicious cookies! Remember these pumpkin chip wonders? Well, after doing some thinking, I thought Santa would love them for a few reasons. First, they are different than your standard sugar/chocolate cookie and that poor man needs some variety! Secondly, they are healthy and low fat. Third, they taste like chocolate pumpkin pie! For the entire recipe and original post, click here. Stay tuned today for the 4th sweet for Santa!
6 Sweets for Santa: Almond and Cherry Cookies
Although it’s fun to take a break from cookie baking, I’m jumping back into the mini sweets full force for these last few posts. Cookies are universally associated with Christmas and make delicious gifts! These almond cherry cookies with melted chocolate are no exception. Whether you are bringing them as a hostess gift to a holiday party or swapping them in your office cookie swap, these tasty and easy cookies will be a huge hit. And for the big guy? He’ll love them too! Who doesn’t love cherry and chocolate?
Almond Cherry Cookies with Melted Chocolate
What You’ll Need:
- 1/3 cup whole almonds
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup coarsely chopped cherries
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 large egg white
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
How To Make Them:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grind almonds and sugar in a food processor until almonds are ground. Be careful not to over grind as the mixture will become paste. Pour mixture into a medium bowl.
- Add cherries and flour into the same bowl.
- Add oil, egg white and vanilla and almond extracts; mix with a wooden spoon until well mixed.
- Roll dough into little balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Once cookies have cooled, drizzle chocolate over them.
Nutritional Information per cookie: 100 calories, 4 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.
