Supremely Chewy, Peanut-Buttery and Chocolatey Chippy

There is just something about chocolate chip cookies… something indefinable, that makes people react to them in a certain way, feel about them in a special way and treat them in a different way from other cookies. They are loved by everyone. I have yet to meet a person who hates chocolate chip cookies. It just comes down to having different degrees of “like”. It almost seems like chocolate chip cookies speak to each of us at a primeval level. They are comfort food, even for those of us who did not grow up on milkshakes and chocolate chip cookies!

I made low-fat chocolate chip cookies for Christmas. Yes, I know, they are not very Christmasy at all. But they are so loved by kids and adults alike, and they are a sure fire way to bring smiles to faces. Plus, I really wanted to “make right” my previous somewhat unsuccessful attempt at making chewy reduced fat chocolate chip cookies.

These ones made from this new recipe were a resounding success! Best of all, no one knew they were low fat (until they were told)! Surely, that must be the defining “test” for a reduced fat cookie, and a chocolate chip one at that. These cookies were really chewy, and really delicious (if I may say so myself ). Even I was impressed with how the recipe turned out. I wasn’t quite expecting it. The peanut butter added wonderful aroma and taste to the cookies. The smells that were emanating from the kitchen as the cookies baked… Ahhhh… Pretty close to culinary heaven!

1 ¼ cup plain flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup reduced fat margarine
1/3 cup light peanut butter
¼ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. The flour, oats, baking soda and salt were combined together in a bowl.
2. Using a wooden spoon, the sugar, reduced fat margarine and peanut butter were creamed together in a separate bowl. The buttermilk was added, and mixed well.
3. The dry ingredients were added, and stirred in.
4. Finally, the chocolate chips were added and folded in.
5. The batter was dropped by the teaspoon-ful onto baking trays that had already been sprayed with cooking spray. Next, using the back of the teaspoon, sprayed with Pam, the cookies were gently flattened to about ¼” thickness.
6. They were baked in a 350F / 175C oven for about 10 minutes. Be sure NOT to OVERBAKE. Even when done, these cookies felt extremely soft, as if they were completely undone. They were removed from the baking tray immediately and allowed to cool on wire racks. Within 1-2 minutes, they started to firm up, and were beautifully soft and chewy!

Notes:
• I recently read that in reduced fat or low fat baking, the method of measuring out the flour is very important to the success (or not) of the recipe. Apparently, the normally practiced “scoop and sweep” method (i.e. dipping the measuring cup into the bag of flour and sweeping the excess flour off the top) is not suited to low fat baking, and can adversely affect the texture of the final baked product. Instead, a “spoon and sweep” method should be used. This is where the measuring cup is placed on a plate (or some other flat surface that can catch the excess flour), and a spoon is used to stir the flour in the bag (to aerate it slightly, as flour kept in the bag can become compacted) before lightly spooning it into the cup. The measuring cup is filled until it overflows, before the excess is swept off to level the cup. Apparently, the difference in the weight of flour measured by the two different methods can sometimes be as much as 20%! This will definitely make a difference to the texture and crumb of the final product. I agree with the rationale behind this. I think aerated flour is absolutely essential for helping give baked goods a nice, light crumb. Which is why…

• I sieve all my flours whenever I bake, even for cookies (and for cakes, I usually sieve twice). And I think I will, from now on, practice the new “spoon and sweep” method for measuring flour for all my baking, and not just for low fat items.

• I don’t recommend using reduced fat margarine that has less than 50 calories and 5g of fat per tablespoon. I think margarines that are “lighter” than these parameters would probably not produce a tasty end result, and will affect the texture too much.

• I did receive a comment from one person that he would have preferred more chocolate chips in the cookies, so this would be an option to consider. Maybe using ½ or 2/3 cup of chocolate chips instead.

• These cookies do spread a little when baked, so a 2” space should be left between each cookie.

• Low fat or reduced fat baked goods are very sensitive to being overbaked. It is best to check for doneness before the stated time is up.

• I was initially a little surprised by how soft these cookies were even at the end of the stipulated baking time. For my first tray of cookies, I thought they were still uncooked even at the end of the full baking time because they were still so soft, and I returned them to the oven for a couple of minutes more. But they were in actual fact already done. Thank goodness they did not end up overbaked. They came out of the oven very soft, and firmed up immediately upon being removed from the oven. As long as they are lightly browned on the edges and on the underside, they should be done.

• I actually made 2 sizes of these cookies (dropping the batter by the tablespoon-ful and by the teaspoon-ful). The former baked out to about a 3” diameter cookie, and the latter to about a 2” cookie. With this recipe’s batter portion, I could make 11 larger cookies and 16 smaller ones. I think the batter can comfortably produce about 30 2-2½” medium-sized cookies.

• There wasn’t much of a difference in baking time between the smaller and larger cookies, with the smaller ones going in for roughly the same amount of time or maybe just one minute shorter.

• Overnight, these cookies became even chewier. When eating them the next day (assuming there are still any leftover ), I prefer to warm them up first in the toaster oven for 1-2 minutes.

• Finally, I actually even sat down and tried to calculate the calories/fat content of these cookies! Can you believe it? So, for those who are interested (or care about such things), the larger 3” cookies each have approximately 110 calories and 3.8g of fat, whilst the smaller ones have about 75 calories each with 2.6g of fat. And… if the full batch of batter is divided out to make 30 equal sized cookies, each cookie will have 80 calories and 2.8g fat.

Guilt-free indulgence. How about that?

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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