Cowboy Cookies, Ma'am.

Dear Blog,

(sometimes this blog reminds me of the diary I kept for most of my life starting at age 12)

Many people have made the comment "I'd rather die than change my diet" well... ok!

AND also, when folks question the way I choose to eat, or even poke fun at me, I often say "I'll be the healthiest one in the graveyard!"

That's my rant, that is all I want to say about that. On to cookies, Cowboy Cookies!!!

NOT your average "Laura Bush-style" Cowboy Cookie!

This morning I had a HUGE craving for cookies (not unusual) and had intended to make a variation on Hannah Kaminsky’s latest macaroon that is circulating in the blogosphere BUT deciding this cookie was way too full of saturated fats for this little plant-strong duck, I decided to veganize and lower the fat/sugar content of one of my old favorites, the “Cowboy” Cookie. For those of you who do not know what a Cowboy Cookie really is, basically it is a cookie that a cowboy (or girl) could take with them out on the dusty trail for all-day sustenance, kind of like a predecessor to the granola bar.  This cookie featured big in the news when George Bush ran against Al Gore and their wives got into a cookie recipe war but I was making these cookies well before that ill-fated election when I worked at The Lodge on Little St. Simons Island. The guests loved ‘em and believe me there was nothing healthy about them.

Low fat cookies are always a challenge to make really deliciously and pass off to non-believers. These cowboy cookies are not really “on the plan” as D likes to say, but they are much healthier than the original & turned out thumbs up by my standards although I am not a fussy cookie eater! I almost haven't met a cookie I wouldn't eat :-) Here is the recipe & nutritional content for the cookies I made this morning along with a link Laura Bush’s award-winning Cowboy cookie recipe (you’ll have to find the nutritional content for that one on your own but I’ll bet you can imagine). Yes, her cookie won the Family Circle contest, perhaps a sign of what was to become the 2000 election outcome??

Lower-Fat Cowboy Cookies

Oven: 350 degrees 8 min.

Ingredients:

½ c. non-hydrogenated softened vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance stick, could've use canola oil)

2 T peanut butter

½ c. ea. brown & granulated sugars

Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (I used Bob’s Red Mills)

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. unbleached white flour

½ c. whole wheat flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 ½ c. old fashioned oats

¼ c. ground flax meal

¼ c. unsweetened coconut

½ c. vegan choc. chips

½ c. raisins (I used Craisins cause that’s all I had)

Method:

1. Beat margarine, peanut butter & sugars on med. speed with electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add Egg Replacer & vanilla extract. Beat well
3. Add combined flours, flax meal, baking soda & cinnamon; mix well.
4. Add oats, coconut, choc chips & raisins or craisins; mix well, with much difficulty J
5. Drop by rounded tablespoonsful onto baking sheet ( I always use a sil-pat but a non-stick pan would do) & flatten with hand or glass.
6. Bake for 6 – 8 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes about 30 cookies

Nutrition Information / serving

Calories   Carbohydrates   Protein   Fat   cals. per gram

 152              23                  2              5           4

Percent Calories from
Fat	Carbs.	Protein
29	60	5

* NOTE: I used an online service to calculate nutritional info. It is only as reliable as the source.