5 easy tips to make your chocolate chip cookies healthier
- To make chocolate chip cookies healthier, consider adding nuts for a boost of protein or antioxidant-rich dark chocolate chips.
- Swap out butter, which is high in cholesterol, for a healthier fat alternative like olive oil or avocado oil.
- Exchanging all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour and refined sugar for coconut sugar will add more fiber and minerals to your chocolate chip cookies.
- This article was medically reviewed by Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD, nutrition and wellness expert with a private practice based in New York City.
- Visit Insider's Health Reference library for more advice.
Whether you're a serial stress baker or just someone seeking to satisfy a sweet tooth, there are ways to ensure baking doesn't compromise your health.
Insider spoke with Gina Keatley, a certified dietitian-nutritionist at Keatley MNT, about ways to feed your baking and cookie addiction while maintaining a balanced diet.
"Being healthy is all about balance. If we're going to have cookies, first, they should be delicious, but at the same time we should pack as much tasty nutrition in as possible," says Keatley.
Here are five easy ways you can make your chocolate chip cookies healthier without sacrificing flavor. We even baked them ourselves using this recipe, but any will do. We used the same measurements in the recipe for each substitute.
1. Use whole grain flour for added fiber
Whole grain flours are much more nutrient dense than all purpose flour because they retain all parts of the grain kernel — hence the name "whole" grain. As a result, the American Heart Association recommends that at least half of the grains you eat be whole.
"Whole grain flour can have up to four times as much fiber than all purpose flour." says Keatley
Whole grain flours are also rich in vitamins and minerals. However, different whole flours have different nutrient profiles. That's why Keatley suggests rotating multiple types of whole grain flour into your baking schedule to get a variety of nutrients. Some options include:
- Whole oat: Due to its high fiber content, this option is great for those looking to manage their weight and lower their cholesterol
- Whole wheat: This is a good source of manganese, which is an essential trace mineral that is involved with many processes in the body such as metabolism and bone formation.
- Buckwheat: This option is high in resistant starch, which is a starch that resists absorption by the small intestine and instead ferments in the large intestine. This process helps feed the good bacteria in your gut and aids digestion.
- Whole grain-rye: High in insoluble fiber, whole grain-rye helps with bowel movement, making it a better choice for those struggling with constipation.
2. Add nuts for a protein boost
Nuts are a good way to get some plant-based protein. Protein is important for overall health because our digestive system breaks it down into amino acids — the building blocks for bone, muscle, cartilage, and skin. Additionally, protein rich foods help stimulate the release of glucagon, a hormone that helps prevent blood sugar from dropping too low.
Nuts are also a high-fat food, but don't fear — they're the good kind of fat. Nuts mostly contain unsaturated fat, which aid in reducing LDL cholesterol levels, which can help decrease the risk of heart disease.
In a healthy diet, a moderate amount of fats are important to include because they are used to transport specific vitamins, such as A, E, D, and K throughout the body.
Some nutrient-packed options to add to your cookies include:
3. Swap dark chocolate for milk chocolate to load up on antioxidants
Dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids than milk chocolate. Milk chocolate has a minimum of 10% cocoa solids while dark chocolate contains a minimum of 35% cocoa solids, however most dark chocolates contain more.
Cocoa solids are rich in antioxidants, specifically flavonoids. Flavonoids are a molecule found in dark chocolate that have antioxidant properties and have been linked to improving heart health.
Dark chocolate has around two to three times more flavonoid content than milk chocolate.
The percentage, often shown on the label of dark chocolate products, indicates the percentage of the chocolate that contains cocoa solids. Generally, the bitterness of chocolate increases as the cocoa solids percent increases. Keatley says the sweet spot to get the nutrients from the cocoa without having chocolate that is too bitter is around 70%.
4. Ditch the butter for a healthy fat alternative
There are three types of fat:
- Saturated fat: This type of fat includes foods like pizza, butter, and milk. The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of saturated fat in your diet, especially for people that need to lower their cholesterol.
- Trans fat: This type of fat is common in fried foods and baked goods and they are made through a process called hydrogenation. This process adds hydrogen to liquid oils to make them solid. These types of fats are the worst for your heart. They raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower your HDL (good cholesterol) levels, which is associated with increased risk of heart disease.
- Unsaturated fat: This includes monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These types of fats include peanut oils, flaxseed oils, olive oils, avocado, and fatty fish. When swapped in for saturated and trans fats, they can help improve cholesterol levels. They are associated with lowering cholesterol levels and reducing inflammation. Also, adding a small amount of unsaturated fat to a low-fat meal may help you feel full longer and control weight.
While the different chemical makeup of fats make their interaction in the body unique, Keatley says, "calorie wise, there is almost no difference between fats, they are all around 250 calories per serving." One serving is two tablespoons or one ounce of fat. Though the calories may be the same, unsaturated fats are the most health-friendly fat.
When it comes to choosing a fat alternative for baking, Keatley suggests the healthiest options are those low in saturated fats, contain some monounsaturated fats, and high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are a polyunsaturated fat that is associated with improving heart health.
A couple examples of fat alternatives that Keatley suggests include avocado, canola, coconut, flaxseed, olive, and soybean oils.
It's best to swap the ingredients when your recipe calls for melted butter because the liquids will react similarly in the oven since they are both fats. Generally, the rule of thumb is 3 tablespoons of olive oil per quarter cup of butter.
5. Swap refined sugar for coconut sugar
Sugar is a carbohydrate that provides your body with energy. Outside of that, it doesn't have any real nutritional value, which is why it's considered an "empty calorie" food because it contains calories, but lacks nutrients.
Coconut sugar, which comes from the sap of coconut palm, is a healthier substitute for standard sugar because it contains important minerals like potassium, magnesium, and sodium. These elements are necessary for activating certain enzymes in the body for normal function.
Additionally, coconut sugar is a better choice for those with prediabetes or diabetes because it has a glycemic index of 35 compared to standard table sugar which is 65. The glycemic index indicates how a carbohydrate will affect blood sugar levels. Foods that have high GI levels cause your blood sugar to rapidly peak then fall. Carbohydrates with low rankings digest slower for balanced energy.
That said, coconut sugar contains about the same amount of calories as standard sugar. Keatley says it should not be considered a healthy food because the high sugar content outweighs its nutritional value. It is, however, still a good alternative to standard sugar, especially in baked goods.
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