Chocolate chip cookie like this rye flour crunchy one is easy to like as a cross between a dessert and a breakfast cookie.
…Where some like their cookies soft and cake-like. Some like them oven-warmed. And some like them crispy or chewy in parts. To each her own.
And sometimes you like an old-fashioned-hearty-styled, light crunch cookie. Especially when it’s so easy to make.
That’s what this giant cookie is out of the oven.
It’s the crunch that makes it satisfying.
And soft chocolate chips add to the taste and mouth experience.
Which btw, these are mini chocolate chip morsels so it’s not as much as it looks like… it’s many more.
…And a non-issue if you like chocolate. 😋
But however your chocolate chip cookie ends up looking like, this one is one of the easiest baked dessert or cookie you can make.
And it’s lacking granulated or brown sugar on low-sugar-dessert-purpose, as the sweet tastes comes from the chocolate, or you can add maple syrup or a little sugar of your choice if you want
It’s up to you what you make, as it won’t break your cookie texture.
This is not a bake you need ingredient amount precision with especially if you just want to satiate a sweet craving. That can be satisfying in itself!
It’s made from these simple ingredients: rye flour, chocolate chips, egg white, and 1/2 Tbsp of softened butter (or a slim pat with a bread knife).
Even a fraction of a tablespoon of butter adds to this cookie without adding many fat calories if that’s what you’re after.
And rye and butter are a delicious pairing. The mild nutty rye is not strong and earthy like whole wheat.
If you’ve never tried rye flour, this cookie is a good way to try it out.
Because all-in-all, it’s a simple one-bowl mix.
To make this rye chocolate chip cookie, measure out 1/3 cup rye flour and add to a bowl (or even simpler, use the bowl that has measurement marks as your bowl).
Smoothly blend in one egg white and softened butter. You can do this with a spoon and by hand.
Let cool-chill in the fridge for a few minutes.
Then bring out the dough and flatten with the palm of your hand, into a rustic circle (roundish shape).
It will be about a 4- inch cookie before it goes in (and when it comes out).
Then add your mini chocolate chips on top (…and yes, you can add them inside the dough mixture before it goes in the fridge).
And if you use regular size chocolate morsels, you can use less than mini-morsels. Up to you!
These cookies do not have to be cookie cutter.
When I worked as a Doubletree Hotel catering manager, we had daily access to their fresh baked dense chocolate chip cookies that were rustic shape.
Those were my breakfast-fill in on some mornings, and they were like double size (double chocolate chip cookies). That could’ve been the hotel logo. 🍪🍪
Had I known about an ingredient like rye flour as more available to source, and more fiber-sourced, I would have made these at home decades ago to fill the hole from my work chocolate chip cookie memories.
Rye is a healthier ingredient with about 22 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams of flour.
That’s like double what’s in whole wheat flour. And far and above, hands-down no comparison to all purpose flour that only has 3 grams or less.
Sometimes all-purpose flour is what’s needed for baking texture, but not for this cookie, so why not go aw-rye? 😊
And if you want double crunch, leave the chocolate chip cookie in the oven a little longer. or let the cookie cool out of the oven and put back in the heated oven for 5 minutes.
…I like to do this when I’m doing multiple bakes. So while the cookie is cooling, I’m baking or heating up something else in the oven. There’s not wasted heat. And that’s something you can do too to be energy efficient in your home.
And now you’ve got what you need to make these double crunch chocolate chip cookies.
Gingerbread cookie is a non-negotiable for me. It’s a happy holiday cookie tradition.
…For you too?
My healthier (but delectable) recipe version is below (that doesn’t compromise taste!).
This is a sweet tray of puffy and light bread cookies. There are 12 regular cookie cutter size and 10 smaller ones (22 cookies total) that took 12 minutes to bake in 325°F/165°C. B-ready?
These are healthy conscious cookies that you can learn more about below.
…Because I think healthy ingredients are delicious and belong in everything happy food made.
And the first question I ask myself is: does this recipe have any anti-inflammatory food value?
And if the recipe calls for sugar, butter, or flour, how can I get by with as little of it without compromising taste and texture?
…Especially because I discovered adult eczema in 2020, and in 2021 when I ended up in the hospital emergency room from skin inflammation, as a recurring second eczema flareup.
But before those 2 years I was already passionate about an anti-inflammatory diet for prevention reasons.
….And thankfully from health awareness and better lifestyle choices, haven’t felt the irritated skin effects since those stinging first years.
I’ve stayed food conscious and haven’t given up non-negotiable happy sweet foods… that would be a life not worth living (in my opinion).
But I’ve learned how to not tip-the-scales with food. Everything in moderation still (and even more as you age).
…And you can adopt an anti-inflammatory lifestyle if you’re wanting to optimize longevity and be more kind to the body we care for. You and I only get ONE
Reading healthy diet books is something I’ve been passionate about since I was a young adult.
Today I’ve zero’d in on a few for life…
The anti-inflammatory diet is forefront. It makes healthy sense to me and in my life where all signs pointed down that path.
I think for everyone that follows, destiny leads you down your best road.
…And after my real life eczema experience, I was convinced eating and living anti-inflammatory year-round was the #1 plan.
An anti-inflammatory diet includes plant-based foods and a lot of the same foods you’d find on a Mediterranean diet… In case you’re wondering what diets it’s kissing cousins closest to.
I like how the diet has little case “a” for “anti” as it encourages food variety choices in specific food categories. Our bodies opt for (and crave) biodiversity in our biomes.
In anti-inflammatory diets, the biggest difference is the focus is on preventing foods that cause daily inflammation.
…Like granulated sugar and gluten flours are common big offenders… and then as each person is different, there are specific individual foods you learn about with your body, as you go and test.
And as funny as life can be… of course, I turned out loving baking… and SWEETS! Challenge-ON.
And at first I learned the hard way.
Because when you’re first learning to bake, you find ingredients that work foolproof to achieve the cake or cookie you want after it comes out of the oven.
And there’s not usually an easy baking path (or many recipes out there) making treats we’ve come to love out of healthy food substitutes that taste just as good!
So then you end up with powdered sugar for icing or vegetable shortening for texture.
But I slowly learned that didn’t have to be the only way.
Like learning to ride a bicycle or ice skate…
It took time for me to tweak and test and learn what healthy and creative paired ingredients would work to not compromise textures and tastes.
Sometimes it took many fails to find wins in the oven.
And I have high sweet taste bud standards.
…’Cause I was raised on all those processed American sweets that were allowed in my weekly childhood diet.
But then daily I also learned about healthy foods from my mom’s balanced dinner plates of protein, veg, and carbs… and I kept my gourmet ox tail, squid soup delicacy, and trying persimmons at home experiences to my young self.
Because back then, no one my age wanted to stick out. And I knew my food experiences were so different than my classmates.
Especially when I had whole wheat bread sandwiches I wanted to hide on school field trips, when white bread was the glorified lunch bag sandwich.
I survived those times and forgot all about them. The were overshadowed by all the happiness I felt going to the grocery store and seeing food variety and abundance.
…Mostly the kid accepted snack kind that kept me happy for days.
…Like Twinkies, and Ho-Hos.
When I was younger, I would’ve been thrilled if you added a drip sugar IV to my veins,
Cookies especially were my weakness (and still are my faves today).
And then gradually evolved to sourcing sweet ingredients and making my own batch of cookies from scratch.
This is where a homemade gingerbread cookie is still hands-down the one that makes me the happiest with the balance of sugar and spice… and my cookie version is actually more aligned to a Chai tea spices.
…And goes great with a cup of Chai. 🫖
But it’s definitely a cookie in every sense where it has some (but a lot less) butter and sugar.
From taste and texture, you’d never know it has less sugar and less butter than most comparable cookies out there.
And that’s good (for the body’s health) because when you eat less sugar, you crave less.
Because sugar is still fact-fully known to be an addictive substance, like a drug.
Sweet addiction can come from a batch of cookies.
So often I use honey, fruit, and monk fruit that are anti-inflammatory good and work for many bakes.
But not great for a traditional gingerbread cookie.
…So cutting down the sugar and butter is the best bet… and especially if you don’t want to tip-the-inflammatory-scales.
That’s the game I play every time I eat something with sugar. And is the game that many of play to some degree without knowing it.
They’re hidden inside the body and can develop into chronic diseases like Diabetes 2 fastly on the rise.
Balancing blood sugar is at the heart of may health issues.
So every little bit of healthy effort, helps. And for building good habits. Of course the sugar compromise took experimenting with and my sweet desire switch didn’t happen overnight.
But these days, you’ll find me adding granulated sugar rarely… with a few bakes like a small brown packet for scones that makes 8 pieces. It just wouldn’t be the same crunch and joy without.
And adding 1/4 cup sugar plus some candy zhugh for a gingerbread cookie recipe this size to make a worthwhile joyful tray. 🍥
…We’re born with sweet taste buds on the front of our tongues for a reason.
But in my lessons learned, you don’t need to add powdered sugar icing that takes a high amount of sugar to make a little impact. And that adds to sugar addiction points if you’re counting.
You also only need 2 pats (2 Tbsps) of butter and NOT a whole stick for decadently good cookies!
Shifting butter also works toward a better anti-inflammatory mission.
My motto version: enjoy a sweet and then eat some carrots in between. And better yet, bake in some carrots (or your go-to list of anti-inflammatory foods) in your sweets. 🥕
When you use rainbow-healthy 🌈 ingredients that can help lower your grocery bill (I find), you can make your own food dishes and baked goods that make your mouth sing and smile.
And as win-win, you’re winning anti-inflammatory points when you partner with your body’s healthy tastes. 😊
Like when you add anti-inflammatory spices to a lower fat gingerbread cookie. 🫚🧡
This is a delicious gingerbread cookie that is more cake-bread-like and full of warming spices.
Servings 14cookies
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
2-1/4cupswhole wheat and all purpose flour
2Tbspbutter, melted
1eggbeaten
1/4cupmolasses
1/4cupbrown sugar
1/4tspsalt
1tspbaking soda
1/2tspground allspice
1-1/2tspground ginger
1/2tspcinnamon
1/2tspcardamom (optional)
white chocolate for icing (optional)
Instructions
Fully combine ingredients to make cookie dough. It will look like moist cookie crumbs.
Add dough to plastic wrap and tightly wrap pace to make a rectangle.
Refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer you let the dough rest, the spices will aromatically meld in (for up to a week in the refrigerator)..
Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookie shapes. This will make about 14 regular sized cookies.
Preheat oven (and refrigerate cookie tray while waiting for preheated oven to heat up).
Bake on 325°F/165°C for 10-15 minutes. Cookie bottoms will have darker baked brown marks.
After cookies have cooled, you can add icing. Icing: melt white chocolate in a double broiler. To make more, add a small amount of refined coconut oil.
Smear white chocolate to tops of cookie and zhugh with decorations while the chocolate is not set.
Oatmeal raisin cookie is one of my favorites. This one is all oats. And no flour. And it has breakfast ingredients… maybe instead of a bowl of oats?
Sure, you can add chocolate, but I sometimes like a pure wholesome oat-y raisin cookie (…maybe you too?) where the raisins are the stand out morsel-size ingredient. And raisins bring out the Earl Grey tea tastes that are in this cookie.
And this gluten-free big cookie has 40 raisins. You can’t dodge ’em if you tried.
There’s a raisin reason (or raison in French) for the cookie … that makes it a good breakfast starter with healthy breakfast ingredients!
And if size matters to you…
This oatmeal raisin cookie recipe is for 6 inches across that is great on your 8 inch plates. Or take with you in your car trips when you want fewer crumbs.
It has crumbs, otherwise it wouldn’t be a satisfying cookie… but it holds together nicely.
And better than granola that’s droppable, and one jerky hairpin turn away from needing a vacuum.
You will have finished this cookie by then. 😋
Like my younger self would have. When I found the hard and crunchy store-bought ones worthy.
I thought they were the eat-as-many-as-you-like wholesome cookies. Ya know what I mean?
I was years from understanding why healthy really mattered… and knowing that a few baking minutes is all the difference between crunchy vs. soft-baked.
And not from an artfully messy table of food ingredients that I imagined.
For a Softer Cookie:
With ith the magical oven, you can make the cookie even softer if you want with a simple ingredient tweak.
If you want to make a smoother (less oatmeal bumpy) and cake-y cookie… and don’t mind the gluten, then you can add some whole wheat flour.
Or my fave way is to add buckwheat flour that’s naturally gluten-free despite “wheat” in the name.
If you add 1/2 cup gluten flour, you can fill a 9″ pan of cookie that’ll turn out more like a cookie-cake. There will be a little rise and it’ll be softer and spongier like a cake so it’s easier to cut.
You can even cut a cool geometric star pattern shape like this gigantic chocolate oat cookie (cake?) that’s doubly starred ⭐️⭐️ with an orange star inside the kaleidoscope cut star pattern. Do you see it?
The cuts are good for tearing and sharing, and will impress most and especially science fair aged-ones.
But if you prefer a solid cookie or wouldn’t miss the raisins, you can try this low-sugar oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that looks a lot like the signature C.C. cookie 🍪 I sat next to when I was a Doubletree Hotel catering manager.
But the baking recipe I share is without any of the sticks of butt-ah that made it paperweight heavy.
And now that we have all the cookies out of the bag, the ingredient that ties all the cookies together is the oats.
With all the grocery variety shelf options these modern days, old-fashioned oats are the best value… they cost minimal and are minimal processed (vs. instant oats). And wherever you shop, it’s usually next to the 1-minute oats.
The slow oats are the better option. And since you’re baking them and not making oatmeal, they’re time-less.
The magical oven will work out that cooking time process.
…Maybe why oatmeal is part of the famous oatmeal raisin cookie’s name.
And while oats bind the cookies together, what makes this oa-tea cookie recipe a special-tea is the Earl Grey tea choice added to the cookie batter.
The tea is good for a couple reasons (or raisins 😊). Earl Grey is a brisk bergamot black tea that can be strong. And maybe why it’s U.K.’s traditional tea. 🇬🇧
…And I’ve been adding a few raisins to drinking Early Grey tea that gives it a bergamot forward citrus flavor. The raisins plump up. Give it a try!
Earl Grey is good for breakfast or an afternoon tea. And a perfect cookie pair fit where you can do tastings with different cookies like starting with an oatmeal raisin cookie. You could try a holiday lemon cookie.
Early Grey is versatile, but had ladylike (adult) tastes. Like other black teas, it’s usually sweeter (vs. green tea = bitter). And raisins mellow out all those tastes and flavors for a smoother drinking ride.
The tea also plumps up the raisins. And you could plump up raisins in your enhanced puffery oatmeal raisin cookie if you pre-soak them in brewed tea before you add to your cookie batter.
But if you don’t have Earl Grey tea on hand, for cookie batter, you can sub with/use milk , coffee, or any liquid as substitution.
No need for a panic store run. You can get creative and use the same Dry January warm beverage you’re also brewing and drinking on hand. If it’s good as a drink, it’ll be better in a cookie! 🍪
How easy… as promised for this One-Bowl oatmeal raisin cookie.
And if you’re wondering if this cookie will be sweet enough (as it calls for no table sugar like most cookies), you can add healthier natural sweetness that come straight from the source like maple syrup or honey.
If you’re feeling Pitta (e.g. signs of feeling irritated, have warm skin to the touch, or breaking out signs) maple syrup will help you out as it’s a cooling ingredient. Fitting why it’s a staple up north. 🇨🇦
So now you have an American oatmeal raisin cookie with English-speaking cousin country ingredients.
And if you’re feeling cool, you may want a warmer ingredient.
Sinus-congested Kaphas can use honey in your cookie batter. Raw honey helps to loosen up the gunk and if you’re feeling slow going.🫖
Plus a dry oatmeal raisin will be good for drying out Kaphas that tend to have moist skin.
And with all the mouthful deets, I think you’re ready to make this ready-to-be-eaten cookie.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (One-Bowl Easy) with Earl Grey Tea
This is a simple to make dry and healthy cookie or biscuit version of the beloved oatmeal raisin cookie, that is paired with a brisk Earl Grey tea ingredient and good for afternoon tea or a breakfast accompaniment.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, british
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
2/3cupground oats
1Tbspmaple syrup (or honey)
1Tbspbaking powder
1TbspGreek yogurt
1/8cupEarl Grey tea
2Tbspraisins (or 40 raisins)
1tspcocoa powder
1tspvanilla extract
1egg
pinch of salt
Instructions
Spray your baking pan with baking spray or brush light olive oil. You can use your round cake pans.
Make the one-bowl cookie batter: Combine ingredients with a silverware spoon but reserve the Earl Grey tea and raisins.
Optional: brew your Earl Grey tea and add the raisins to the warm tea. This will help plump raisins up. You can do for some, all, or none. And then add the tea and about 3/4 of the raisins (30 raisins/1.5 Tbsp) to the cookie batter.
Shape your cookie with your spoon and a knife or offset spatula is helpful. This makes one 6 inch cookie or a few smaller cookies.
Add the remaining raisins on top so they're visible.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 25-30 minutes for soft-crispy cookie doneness preference. Enjoy!
Notes
Earl Grey tea and a few raisins pair well, as raisins enhance the tea flavors (bringing forward the sweet citrusy notes in the tea). Give it a try in the dry cookie and in drinking tea.
1⁄4teaspoon ground cloves(or 1/2 tsp of allspice if that's what you have on hand)
6tbspunsalted butter (or substitute with 1 TBSP coconut oil)
3/4cupdark brown sugar (reduce to 1/3 cup for less sugar and still have a delicious and nice cookie!)
1large egg
1/2cupmolasses
1/4cupoats
Instructions
In a large bowl, add dry and wet ingredients.
Melt coconut oil add to bowl.
Roll out cookie dough to about 1/8" to 1/4" cookies.
Bake on 350°F for about 10-12 minutes.
I share the traditional old-fashioned recipe (below) that I’ve been using FOR-ever and that I spiced up even more this year! XOXO
Every year is a ‘lil different, and as a creator, I like to challenge myself to make new creations and not stick with the same cookie cutter ones over and over again… haha. As a healthy recipe developer, that means evolving into even healthier bakes.
And this helps me so that I keep outta Kapha imbalances in the kitchen. Btw, the level of Kapha dosha is relative to each of our bodies, but eating healthy, balanced meals always helps to prevent trouble down the road…
Which is part of the natural order that this life is… it’s not a matter of if… it’s a matter of when. And you can stay on the healthy side starting with body-mind awareness.
One of the symptom intersections is your feelings that constantly shift. They help guide you, and other times steer you down a rabbit hole.
And if you want to stay feeling peaceful, joyful, and happy (and be productive) all the time (…like when I’m relaxed baking healthy gingerbread cookies), then keeping the Kapha mind balanced is important.
Some examples of what will make the difference are your steadfastness to boundaries. And your commitment to yourself and to others involved. And finally, plowing through and making it easy on yourself in everyday situations that come up.
And that all starts in the mind.
So… when negative thoughts enter, dismiss them by replacing them.
The problem for many people is they don’t even know when they’re getting pulled down by negative information and thoughts…well, because that’s their mind.
And we don’t naturally challenge our own thoughts. That’s not something we’re born knowing how to do.
What most of do learn is how to challenge other people’s thoughts and opinions. Sound familiar?
Especially this time of year when it’s easy for stress to settle in trying to get end-of-year goals accomplished and fit into holiday-hoopla 🎉 that can be overwhelming for the mind-body. And not always bring out the best in us.
Our mind-body is connected in such a way that if you have a Kapha mind where you’re stuck in negative strongholds, feeling lazy, or find yourself accumulating clutter, that can easily turn into a couch potato Kapha body imbalance.
One easier way to know if a Kapha imbalance is causing our negative moods is if we’re feeling depressed or withdrawing from certain activities we’re usually drawn to or have been in the past.
And as we know, the ego tries to fool us, so to outwit we have to be doubly smart, pausing before reacting and making wise choices that influence our day.
Those stubborn Kapha mind mood tendencies can linger. But if you know what to do, you can get out of excessive Kapha faster and into feeling good. And erase hovering dark clouds that can easily become your weekend. Or gradually settle in for a season if you’re not careful.
But we can change this pretty easily one choice at a time…
We can turn off the external negative messages and listen to more uplifting ones. And that includes shutting off the news after getting the accumulated hour-or-so daily scoop.
This subtle shift helps for subtle situations…
For example, you could be having a bad morning where everything seems to go wrong and deciding in your mind that it’s going to be a bad day since the start was rough.
But by allowing uplifting thoughts to enter in to influence the rest of your day or lean into gratitude for what you DO have, that will help brighten your perspective that becomes self-fulfilling.
I know that can sound pollyanna-ish, and is not always easy if you’re in a miserable situation like a job you hate, or a living situation or relationship that isn’t working out.
BUT, you can better program your mind to work for you. If we can walk and chew gum and think thoughts at the same time, then we can do this! We are capable.💪
One way we can help ourselves is having a consistent activity where we’re learning and improving. That takes the focus off of our thoughts. You may already do this.
In the activity that calls you, you don’t want to miss a moment in what you’re doing. This improves your skills and helps your head game. You then look forward to the activity in your day that helps your entire day.
And something else you can easily do…
Change your environment. Maybe you start doing your activity in a warm, sunny spot. That can be outside. These days, there are no limits to where you can work or catch a break as we’re a virtually remote society that can access anything anywhere.
As a Vata, I like to mix up where I work. I use a desk, a closet, outdoors… it just depends on my mood. And that’s how I get things done productively: I change my scenery options.
And maybe that’s you… or you like the same zone you always are in as that’s your designated spot. And if that’s you, then maybe having a photo or a reminder of something to look forward to in the future like some R&R or an adventurous trip, will also help.
And if holiday overwhelm is taking over these days, let the reason for the season keep you grounded. Let Scripture verses provide comfort and wisdom, and help guide you.
And stay cozy warm uplifted and listen to cheery Christmas music 🎼and jingles… and better yet find your creative outlet. Get into your groove.
For me, this last weekend was partially about creating healthy gingerbread cookie dough.
And a Chai Oat healthy gingerbread cookie was on tall order to provide more holiday baking inspiration that’s both healthy and happy.
I wasn’t the only one as the Cookie Wars marathon was all over the media networks. And gingerbread was one of the themes like every year… it’s nice to be able to count on some things!
And I’ve been using the same base recipe that’s more happy than healthy.
This original recipe has been with me since 2004 when I printed it out. It was adapted from a Joy of Cooking recipe.
And I’ve been tweaking it up every year.
And backing up, decades ago, it was common to use shortening for cookies and Southern sweets, so finding a butter recipe with 3 grams of fat per cookie was a big deal because that’s what people cared about (the fat in calories). These days, we know there are healthier fats we can use to bake with…
So, I’ve evolved this once-a-year December recipe using coconut oil to give a nice consistency and dough to work with.
Planting a healthy gingerbread tree
Ahh… an early winter healthy gingerbread cookie tree!
I added my notes in ( ) and below to my enhancements to this collaborative recipe. 😊
Easy Chai Gingerbread Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour (add oats)
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3⁄4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup oats (optional)
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves (or 1/2 tsp of allspice if that’s what you have on hand)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (substitute with 1 TBSP coconut oil)
3⁄4 cup dark brown sugar (reduce to 1/3 cup for less sugar and still have a delicious and nice cookie!)
1 large egg
1⁄2 cup molasses
You can mix this all in one bowl. I like to bake on 325°F because cookies bake quickly. This’ll be about 15 minutes but it’s good to watch the oven.
