Cranberry Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Please don’t think I’m cruel for posting a cookie recipe during diet season. If you are denying yourself your favorite foods, rather than eating reasonable amounts of them you’re likely to feel deprived and give up and gain all the weight back. Enjoy the things you love, just in moderation.

These cookies have less fat and are made with whole wheat flour and dried fruit to make them better for you. However they are still cookies, made with butter and sugar, and as such their consumption should be limited.

Want to make your favorite cookie healthier? You can replace up to ½ of the fat in the recipe with ½ as much applesauce and turn the oven down 25 degree cooler than in the original recipe. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, instead use ½ cup butter plus ¼ cup applesauce and 400 degrees rather than 425 degrees. You may also replace ½ of the all purpose flour in a recipe with a whole grain flour with little change in taste.

Afraid you’ll eat the whole batch? Scoop cookies onto a lined cookie sheet and place in freezer. When they are frozen, remove from cookie sheet and put in an airtight container or zip top freezer bag. This way you can pull out as many as you wish to bake. Pull cookies out of the freezer and bake as usual.

Cranberry Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 40 small cookies

1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons applesauce, unsweetened
1 large egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup dried apricot
Spray oil


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, applesauce, orange juice, and vanilla extract.

In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mixture and mix until smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips, dried fruit, and nuts (optional). Feel free to use your favorite dried fruits.

Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls (use a cookie scoop for even distribution) onto baking sheets sprayed with oil. Wet fingers and gently flatten cookies.

Bake until slightly brown around edges but not set in center, about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Nutritional Analysis: 59 Calories; 2g Fat; 1g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 31mg Sodium.