Healthy Desserts

Bring dessert back into your house tonight with these two healthy, tasty, fabulously clean recipes that I created for my own grandchildren!

*Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies*

Ingredients:

2/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup cooked oatmeal mashed with ½ small banana
3 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup 60% or greater cacao chocolate chips

Note: If you don’t want to use the chocolate chips, they could be very easily substituted with raisins, nuts or dried fruits of any kind.

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Mix all ingredients together, except the chocolate chips, in a food processor. You should have wet, sticky dough after pulsing. If you do not have a food processor, you can make the following simple changes: Chop almonds into small pieces. Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, stirring and mixing well with a fork, to incorporate dry ingredients with honey and cooked oatmeal.
3) Using your spatula, scrape dough into your mixing bowl and mix in chocolate chips.
4) Spoon dough by large spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
5) Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until slightly browned on top and firm.

One serving = 2 cookies

Variation: You can press the dough into a square glass pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees for delicious cookie bars if you’d like!

*Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins*

(Makes approximately 30 mini muffins)

Note: making larger muffins is not recommended. This batter works far better when made as mini muffins.

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder mixed with ½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 egg whites
1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup apple sauce (no sugar added)
2 tablespoons Grape Seed oil
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 (15 oz. can) pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Directions

1) In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and pumpkin spice.
2) In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine.
3) Combine the liquid into the flour and stir until smooth.
4) Spoon into mini muffin tins (I used non-stick with a light spray of Grape Seed oil).
5) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6) Cool before eating. You can refrigerate these for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months if properly wrapped and stored.

Nutrition Info:

1 muffin= 1 serving

Calories: 56
Fat: 1 g
Saturated fat: 0 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 52 mg
Carbohydrate: 10 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 3 g
Protein: 2 g