Healthier monster cookies
These are truly healthier monster cookies. Not so much sugar and the fake artificial colored candies.
I have been searching all over the internet for a healthier version of a healthier monster cookies but I couldn’t arrived to one that I really liked.
All monster cookies out there have tons of sugar, 2 cups to be exact, way too much in my opinion. For my healthier monster cookies I decreased the sugar to 3/4 cups and I still found the cookie super sweet. I didn’t want to decrease the sugar any further because I thought the cookie recipe would get compromised.
Next time I will keep the sugar to a maximum of 1 cup, which is plenty, or even just 3/4 cups. I don’t think the cookie recipe will get compromised because by using 1 1/4 cups the cookie came out perfect.
This recipe only has about 3 tablespoons of the milk chocolate colored candy M&M’s, way less than what other recipes called for out there. I hate all of the artificial coloring these have. They didn’t have trans fats, which was great, but the artificial color was just a bummer.
Maybe next time I will just used the M&M’S for decorating the cookie so that I could use even less of them! Next time I will use these which are made with natural ingredients.
I thought these monster cookies were sensational. A bit on the sweet side so if you make them I would suggest using 1 cup of unrefined sugar at most. I don’t think your cookie recipe will get messed up by doing so.
I don’t know if I will be including these healthier monster cookies for my Christmas gift bag this year because I have other cookie recipes that I also like a lot. Will see because these cookies were a super hit.
Enjoy!
On the left picture you can see how the batter turned. I only used 2 tablespoons of M&M’s in it but next time I will skip them and just add them on the top of the cookie before baking. Also, next time I will used 1 cup of sugar instead of the 1 1/4 cup. I thought they were still very sweet. All and all, these monster cookies were sensational.
PrintHealthier monster cookies
Miryam's original recipe
Yield: 34 cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil or 8 tbsp butter, at room temperature
3 organic eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 cup crispy brown cereal
2 tsp aluminum free baking soda
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup craisins or raisins
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup cacao nibs, optional
2 Tbsp unreal milk chocolate candies, or M&M's, plus an extra Tbs to decorate cookies over the top.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.
Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix through with a spatula.
With a medium cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, drop batter onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a few extra healthy M&M's on each cookie before baking. Flatten the cookies with your hands or a spoon a little bit before placing them in the oven.
Bake 10 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies for about 5 minutes on cookie sheets and then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 34 cookies. 1 serving = 1 cookie
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
Have you ever had these?
http://getunreal.com/unreal-41
They are tasty and use vegetable coloring.
You could also try these:
http://www.sunspire.com/products/bulk-milk-chocolate-sundrops
Jennifer,
thanks you so much. I will definitely find these to buy from now on :-)
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I feel like something called a “Monster Cookie” doesn’t really lend itself well to healthiness :)
Lovely photos, though!
But they ARE healthier than the normal monster cookies, Colleen. :)
Anyway, these look lovely and I love the Christmas colors. Good job on the sugar reduction! I bet they’re amazing even without all the added sweetness.
I am so happy you posted these :D I’ve been wanting to “healthify” monster cookies for a long time now but it was a daunting task that I’ve been putting off(and putting off some more). I gotta try these :)
Heidi, I am adding these cookies To my Christmas Goodie bags but when I make them again I will use 1 cup of sugar rather than the 1 1/4 cup, it was still too sweet. I can’t imagine how they must taste with 2 cups though…. yuck!!
Very good cookies. Three suggestions:
1) No mention of baking soda in the instructions, only in the ingredients. Was I supposed to put it in or…?
2) Doesn’t make as large a batch as advertised
3) Mine held together better after 15 minutes in the oven
Great recipe, seriously, just thought I’d add those
Tyler,
thanks for the feedback.
I actually mention in the instructions, after adding the eggs and the vanilla, to proceed mixing in the rest of the ingredients, which includes the baking soda :-)
About the baking time, it would depend on the oven, that is why I give a range. In some ovens you might need 10 minutes to bake the cookies while in others you may need 15, like in your case. Maybe I just have to increase the minute range :-)
I used a medium cookie scoop, and since the cookies do spread they become quite large cookies. I just don’t know what your definition of large cookies are, but for me these are large cookies.
Thanks for the suggestions, thanks for leaving feedback and thanks for visiting my blog :-)
Hi there. Yesterday I bought one monster cookie from whole foods market and I liked it. I asked the baker there if their baking powder contain Aluminum and she showed me the packaging bag, it does not contain any Aluminum. I thought to make them home like I made whole wheat muffins, so I found your blog which is the first. Me too I hate adding sugar to my baking goods, I sweet my muffins with apple sauce, bananas and raisins , but still not that sweet which it is ok for me. I’ll try your cookies with same sweetner and I’ll see. Thank you
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Have you tried using maple syrup or coconut sugar to replace the refined sugar
I use sucanat, which is unrefined, but you can use coconut sugar if you like. I don’t know about maple syrup since it is in liquid form. Thanks for visiting my blog.
This looks like a great recipe, my only question is the brown rice cereal. My old recipe only uses rolled oats. So I’m wondering if you added the cereal for a reason or did your original recipe call for the cereal.
My original called for it but you can use do them without I am sure :-) Just add a bit more oats. Thanks for visiting my blog.
My husband has such a sweet tooth, I was looking for a recipe that had less sugar but with all his favorite components. This is, by far, his favorite cookie, and I have made it multiple times already. Sometimes, when he comes home with bags of groceries, it will mostly consist of the ingredients listed here. Subtle hints, I guess!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, we will be using it for years to come.
If I could rate it, it would be 5 stars.
Oh wow that is awesome. I am glad he likes them so much. I need to make them again soon :-) Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you! Made these tonight and they are exactly what I was looking for. The sugar was perfect, not too sweet with only 3/4 cup. I made them too big, seemingly no matter how small but eventually I got it right.
I also think I will add cinnamon and or cardamom next time to the batter. Delicious!
Made these cookies and they are really good!!
In error I added baking powder instead of soda but managed to remove most of it before i mixed it in. I then added the soda. Mine didnt really spread out , wondered if this could be why?
Sorry I had a couple more questions.
Did you use large or quick rolled oats and do they freezer well. Thanks!
I am not sure. Did you forget to flatten them out a bit before baking? I normally do as they don’t flatten themselves that much. I use regular size rolled oats not the quick kind and yes I believe these would freeze great :-)