Sonia came over recently and asked me to try these Zucchini chocolate chip cookies she made. They were soft and sooooo tasty – I could've eaten no more than 15 at once.
“Healthy” Desserts?
Don't we wish! I can't go that far and say these are “healthy”, they have sugar in them after all, and that stuff is bad news. (Read more about that in the comments section at the My Dark Secrets post.) But a little now and then, if the rest of your diet is pretty healthy and if you don't have diabetes (or pre-diabetes), should be OK. (However, read a much more knowledgeable bit of info about this topic of healthy treats in the comments below from Anna!)
Having said that, still, these are healthier than most treats you could have. Just that they're homemade is a huge jump from store-bought. And the zucchini…that's obviously healthier. Then you make them with butter and eggs and part whole grain flour, and this recipe even calls for honey for most of the sweetener – yes, much better than a lot of goodies you and your kids could be eating!! (Most cookies in the store have trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, refined/highly processed white flour, preservatives, artificial colors, etc.)
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
For Step One (see instructions):
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1/3 cup palm or coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup honey raw and local is best
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
For Step Two (see instructions):
- 2 cups white flour I use Bob's Red Mill
- 2 cups whole wheat flour sprouted pastry flour is best – visit my resources page for where to buy
- 1 teaspoon baking soda I use aluminum-free
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg I tried omitting this in mine
Additional Ingredients:
- 2 cups finely shredded zucchini local and organic is best
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine eggs, butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Combine white flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
- Then blend the ingredients from both bowls together and then add the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 10-15 minutes. (Mine were ready in about 9-10 minutes.)
Let me know what you think!
- In the mood for more chocolate? Try this organic hot fudge sauce recipe
- Maybe I should tell you about my dark secrets…
- If trying to figure out how to feed your family healthier meals stresses you out, just start slowly with these Rookie Tips
Barb says
Is Anna’s blog no longer active? The links don’t seem to be working for me and I would love to get more information.
KitchenKop says
Bummer, I can’t get it to work, either! I’ll see if I can get her via email.
Jeanmarie says
Thanks, Kelly! I did try a coconut flour/almond flour blend and it worked quite well. Too well, in fact, I’ve been eating them like crazy. I’ll try the coconut butter cookie recipe next.
KitchenKop says
Here you go!
Original cookie post:
https://web.me.com/againstthegrain/Against_the_grain/Blog/Entries/2007/11/18_Coconut_Butter_Cookies.html
Cookie update post:
https://web.me.com/againstthegrain/Against_the_grain/Blog/Entries/2008/9/2_Gluten-Free_Coconut_Butter_cookie_recipe_update.html
KitchenKop says
Jeanmarie, I’ll email her and ask her for the link!
Kelly
Jeanmarie says
Kelly, is it possible to post a link to Anna’s butter coconut cookies? She didn’t mention the name of her blog so I don’t know how to look it up. In my limited experience Bruce Fife’s recipes aren’t that great, but at least they’re a starting point for using coconut flour, so if someone has improved his cookie recipe I’d like to try it. I like the idea of coconut and almond flours combined, maybe with a touch of sprouted wheat or sprouted spelt flour to improve the texture. Anyone?
KitchenKop says
Crappy carumba, that link disappeared, yes that’s the one, I’ll go see where it went off to…
So you like the hard sprouted wheat better…interesting, I’ll give it a shot. Thanks, Christine!
Kelly
Christine Kennedy says
Hi Kelly,
This wouldn’t happen to be the recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? It sounds like it. I made this recipe about a month ago, and it was awesome! The kids loved them! And, I used ALL sprouted wheat flour. I also wanted to let you know that I have been experimenting with my sprouted whole wheat flour. I decided to use HARD wheat berries. So far, I have made cookies, pancakes, muffins and quick bread. Everything has turned out great. I compared it to my ground SOFT flour (not sprouted) and everything I make with it just crumbles to pieces when you are eating it (ex. muffins). So, I am happy to report that HARD wheat works very well, and is actually my preference for all baked goods.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
I wish I was a “small spoon” kind of girl, but sadly, I’m a huge pig when I get going.
But I would like to look up your coconut cookie recipe.
And you’ll be glad to know that based upon your recommendation, I threw away my container of vital wheat gluten. Something didn’t set right with me when I put a tablespoon into my bread dough now and then, and your comments solidified that for me.
Thanks, Anna!
Kelly
Anna says
Thanks, Kelly!
Have you tried the butter coconut cookies (on my blog archive)? It's a tweaked version of Bruce Fife's from his coconut flour cookbook (highly recommended for CF pancakes and such, if you can't give up those things but want non-wheat versions). Bob's Red Mill makes a nice coconut flour, but it isn't stocked at many places (though they might order it if they stock other BRM products). CF is not cheap ($6-7/bag), but less is used (my 24 cookie recipe uses only 1/2 cup) so unless one is baking all the time … Plus, what is the point of cheap ingredients that damage the body?
Coconut flour can't be used 1:1 to replace all the wheat flour in conventional recipes, but you can substitute up to 1/3 with pretty good results. With all-coconut flour recipes (or any non-gluten flour), I recommend using recipes written for the non-gluten flour for best results. You'll need more binding ingredients without gluten, so you'll find most recipes need more eggs than usual (in my view that's a good thing).
And gluten is pretty nasty stuff. When I used to bake bread I added extra vital wheat gluten for better bread characteristics (& gained weight). Then when I began to lower my carb intake, I bought low carb breads and such and they are frequently made with extra wheat gluten. That's when my thyroid function really started to slow in a dramatic way. I avoid gluten now. It doesn't do the human gut any good and there's good evidence that it has a harmful effect. Check out Peter's Hyperlipid or Stephen's Whole Health Source (somewhat less technical) blogs for lots of good research data on the nastiness of gluten if you really want to know more.
Back to cookies – the coconut butter cookies are a bit hit with my son's gluten-free friends (& my son), but otherwise, no one seems to know they are "odd", except coconut haters (an they don't count). I sometimes use almond flour instead of coconut flour, too.
Also, my chocolate truffles are pretty darn, good, too, if I do say so myself. Neither should be consumed with abandon (they do have a bit of sugar), but I find they fill the dessert niche well.
Crema di Mascarpone is another favorite dessert (usually I serve it in tiny espressso cups or cordial glasses with tiny spoons – hard to gobble that way). I've been making CDM lately to stuff in fresh fig halves, now that fig are ripe (I have a small tree). The figs are more than sweet enough and the creamy richness of the mascarpone and egg yolks balances the sweetness of the fruit.
See, I'm not totally sour on sweet… 🙂
Ciao, bella.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Anna,
Never apologize for putting the TRUTH out there!!! (Especially when it’s so well-written – geesh, you put my writing to shame.)
I do believe what you’re saying, really I do, (and even added a blurb in the post above so people would read your comment), but at the same time, I just love my sweets now and then – cookies being one. I hope and pray I’m not putting my family’s health at risk, though, and will have to seriously watch how often I make cookies. Instead I do need to switch to less starchy treats like you suggested. I’m thankful for your much-needed reminders about this.
Also, I have begun to LOVE spelt flour and use that more. I know that is still starchy, but at least it’s a less-messed-with crop and healthier in my opinion.
I’d love to know more about using coconut flour – does it work in recipes cup for cup with the same amounts as you’d use for other flours?
Off to check out the websites you listed…
Thank you again for being willing to “be contrary” – if we don’t know the truth (or aren’t reminded enough in my case!), then our health with suffer. You did us all a great service with your comment! (Much as I wish what you said wasn’t true! Did I mention I love cookies?)
Thanks, Anna!
Kelly
Anna says
I’m trying really hard not to rain on this parade with my contrarian views on sugars and starches (there is little difference in blood glucose spikes from white table sugar, Rapadura, and Sucanat, or white flour and whole wheat flour). But, but, but…oh, sorry Kelly, here goes (I feel like I am “stealing candy from a baby”):
The bottom line is, there’s a *lot* of fast absorbing starch (glucose chains) and concentrated sugars (glucose and fructose) in this “treat”, no matter how many healthy marketing or “perception” labels are attached to the recipe or the major ingredients, zucchini notwithstanding. Loading up on starch and sugar just to ingest a little bit of zucchini is throwing the baby out with the bathwater, IMO.
Disclaimer: I don’t really like zucchini (well, except hidden in zucchini bread and zucchini chocolate cake, so that means I don’t prepare or eat zucchini). There are other ways to get my veggies without starchy, sugary zucchini desserts or even zucchini. More zucchini for those who like it, right?
If it was only that, I’d keep mum. But it is the idea that lots of flour (even whole wheat, which raises blood glucose just about as fast as white flour does, despite the hype one hears about whole grain flour) and sugar are ok as long as there is some zucchini along for the ride is making my fingers itch.
And too many people rely on a presumably healthy glucose regulation or not being diagnosed with diabetes yet, not having a weight issue, or not having a strong family history of diabetes. That shouldn’t give false assurance that it is ok to consistently consume ingredients that force high post-meal insulin levels and unnaturally burden the pancreas (I learned this the hard way). High insulin levels are implicated in a number of other disease besides diabetes, too, including cancers and dementias, too.
Except for Type 1, diabetes, as it affects most people, takes decades to develop, and it is usually well-progressed before diagnosis occurs (like many other common “chronic” illnesses, diabetes is more of a continuum than a “you have it or you don’t” sort of thing).
The rate of diabetes diagnosis is rising world-wide. The latest research is indicating that the situation isn’t as simple as Type 1 (autoimmune) and Type 2; there any many (fairly common) identified and as yet unidentified genetic factors as well as metabolic-corrupting environmental issues. Given that nearly 6 million people in the US have diabetes and don’t even know it (which means that many more are on their way to developing it), I’m really hoping that one of these days our culture is going to get away from so many sugary and starchy snacks, which are not part of our long evolutionary history. Sugar and starch aren’t the cause of diabetes, of course, but avoiding the these obvious metabolic stressors is a primary line of defense against further metabolic damage and health degradation, and helps to sidestep the issue of diet-induced high blood glucose.
And I’m not even going to get into the immunological issues with wheat, but the starch into glucose isn’t the only issue with wheat/grains (gluten-gut damage, opioid factors in wheat/grain proteins which induce overeating, etc.). But suffice it so say that there is a lot if research to suggest avoiding wheat isn’t a bad tactic.
Does my “down on sugar and starch” rant mean I’m against all desserts? Heck no, but I do think it is better to stick to desserts (in moderation) that don’t have the double-whammy of both high sugar and high starch, such as homemade ice cream, baked custard, and alternative non-starchy flours (like coconut flour). It does take some time to wean ourselves down to a lower sugar content in these desserts, too, but it can be done (by that time, conventional commercial and homemade high sugar desserts often taste cloyingly sweet).
And we really do need to be careful about the manufacturers of these ingredients unduly influencing our perceptions of what is “healthy” and what isn’t. Their marketing is very persuasive and seductive, and is designed to appeal to our biases.
Ok, I’ll go sit in my contrary corner now. 🙂
www dot bloodsugar101 dot com/
diabetes dot niddk dot nih dot gov/dm/pubs/statistics/#allages
Nixi says
Just a recipe I needed! I have 3 zucchini’s waiting to be made into something. I was going to try bread but I have plenty for both that and cookies. 🙂
Michigan Mom2three says
How interesting Jenn! Kinda like how Arabica coffee (grown in Brazil) tastes differently than Columbian coffee! Similar also to all the different teas – did you know that darjeeling is the same tea plant, but it’s the soil it grows in that gives it the fragrant flavor???? Thanks for the info!
On the dissolving – I make sure that I cream VERY WELL when I’m using the sucanat. I cream the butter, sucanat and eggs until it’s very fluffy. This helps the texture tremendously.
Shauna
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
GREAT scoop, Jenn, thanks! 🙂
Jenn says
FYI,
There IS a difference between Sucanat and Rapadura. Yes, they are both made from unrefined sugar cane and the process of filtering, drying and sqeezing is the same. But here’s where they differ slightly: Rapadura is harvested in Brazil. Wholesome Sweeteners’ Sucanat is made from sugar cane grown in Costa Rica. The woman I talked to from Wholesome Sweeteners said the flavors are different because the cane is grown in different parts of the world. The other small difference is that Rapadura is ground finer than the Sucanat. The nutritional value is the same for both. I would recommend trying both because they do lend a different flavor to your recipes. Also, they don’t dissolve as easily as regular sugar. Bottom line: Sucanat and Rapadura are nearly the same, but not exactly.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
I’d love the recipe! Post it here if you don’t mind, it will flow well with this post. Thanks!
FreedomFirst says
Ooohhh, I really have to try these. I was just about to make a second batch of Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes – I’ll give you the recipe for them if you’d like. But I’ll try these instead.
Michigan Mom2three says
Hmmmm maybe the Rapadra is a bit different – but I always thought they were the same thing. Mine seems to be the same. I will say that I have to be careful not to put too much in. I can’t sub it for ALL of the sugar, just the brown sugar. For example, in my chocolate chip cookies, I use 1 c sucanat, and 1 c cane juice crystals (in the original recipe, it called for 1 c brown sugar, 1 c white sugar.) In my granola, I use 1/4 c raw honey, 1 c sucanat (original recipe called for 1 c white sugar, 1/2 c brown sugar, 2 T honey.) The honey and sucanat are more strongly flavored,so I can reduce the total overall sugar in many things. In muffins, I used 1 c sucanat instead of 1 c white sugar. They were a little darker, but tasted great.
I wonder if the Rapadra is a different brand of the “same thing”, and that’s why it’s a little different? I think the Rapadra bag says “evaporated cane juice” and that’s what my Sucanat bag says too.
I also am willing to bake some things for my kids, or to have very occasionally – because my big evil is high fructose corn syrup (or any corn syrup of any kind). I buy NOTHING with that in it! Sugar is metabolized normally, not so with hfcs.
Shauna
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Shauna,
Are you sure it’s the same thing? I’ve tried Rapadura in things before and it’s SO strong that I don’t like how it comes out. The Rapadura I’ve had – actually Rapadura brand – is a dark brown powdery consistancy. But the Sukanat I’ve tried has the bigger sugar crystals and isn’t AS brown and does work well in baking.
I love this recipe with part sugar and part honey – so it’s better than ALL sugar, but the taste is still perfect.
Kelly
Michigan Mom2three says
OOOOHHH I’m going to try these today! I need to make something for my kids, and I’ve got more zucchini coming out of my garden than I can currently eat! (And I’ve already done a half bushel into zucchini relish!) Thanks for the recipe!
Oh – and I’ve had really good luck substituting Sucanat (brand name Rapadra – you can get it a Harvest Health, but I pay a fraction of the cost per pound by getting it in a 50lb bag from my Natural Foods Wholesaler, I split the bag with a friend.). Sucanat is “evaporated cane juice”, and what I get is organic. It has a more molasses taste than brown sugar, and sometimes it will give your baked goods a slightly “darker” color when baked, but I don’t mind. It’s flavor is similar to brown sugar, and sucanat will raise your blood sugar the least, and the slowest, of all the sweetners. I use the raw honey/sucanat blend in many things. (It’s called that because it’s known as SUgar CAne NATural, but the brand name you see in the stores is Rapadra. Same thing.)
Shauna