You’re one of two people when it comes to desserts:

Someone who likes soft cookies or someone who prefers crunchy cookies.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of soft cookies. Especially soft, warm cookies straight out of the oven along with a glass of milk to wash them down. In my opinion, dessert doesn’t get any better. (Well, unless you add ice cream, that is.)

However, I’ve found that in order to achieve perfectly soft cookies you must first under-bake them slightly and second add a bit extra butter or shortening to the batter.

Of course, while this soft-cookie-producing method may yield the best chocolate chip cookies imaginable, it does nothing for your health. In fact, by adding extra butter you’re simply adding extra fat to the recipe, and by under-cooking the cookies you’re risking the horrid possibility of salmonella (although, if you’re like me and can’t stop yourself from eating the raw batter, you’re already at pretty much as high-risk as you can get!

Well, today I was scrolling through Pinterest and came across a recipe for soft-baked chocolate chip cookies. And I thought to myself: there has to be a way to healthify this so that you can make perfectly soft cookies without any butter or even sugar at all!

So I set off to create the healthiest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. And believe me when I tell you: I succeeded!

These cookies are extremely soft, moist, and light- without the addition of any butter, sugar, oil, or even gluten or dairy! Instead, they’re sweetened with honey, made with peanut butter instead of oil or butter, and utilize gluten free flour to ensure even the most gluten-intolerant person can enjoy these babies!

Each cookie is only 80 calories, full of whole grains and natural ingredients, and actually something you can feel good about eating. And, in all honesty, it tastes just as yummy as any other soft-baked cookie you might find on Pinterest, but with half the calories and none of the guilt!

Whether you like crunchy or soft cookies, trust me when I tell you you’re going to be a fan of these regardless! 🙂

Soft Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• 1 c gluten free baking mix (or 1 tsp baking powder and 1 c flour)
• 1 c old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c natural peanut butter
• 1/3 c honey
• 1/2 c egg whites (or 2 eggs)
• 1/2 c natural applesauce
• 1/3 c dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add peanut butter, vanilla, honey, and applesauce to a bowl and stir together. Add dry ingredients and egg whites and stir until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Grease 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Scoop 2 tbs of the batter onto the pan in the shape of a cookie. Repeat until all the batter has been used, spacing cookies out by 2 inches. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies have risen and are golden-brown on the bottoms and golden on the sides. Remove and let cool. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 80

Fat: 3g

Carbs: 13g

Protein: 2g

(Yields 2 dozen cookies)