School Lunch Filler: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Now that I have a kindergartner, I have to pack a lunch box every day. (Of course school lunch is not an option around here, but that's a topic for another post. Here's a synopsis of it: YUCK.)

I was a cold lunch kid growing up, and happily ate peanut butter and jelly, Pringles, and homemade brownies for lunch pretty much every day. And Kool-aid in a thermos, too! Remember how that black cherry Kool-aid would stain the thermos? That gravy train ended when the dentist told my Mom I had three cavities. Oops. No more Kool-aid for me.

My goal is to mix things up a bit for Drew's daily lunch. There will be some PB&J, but I have already mixed it up with some turkey wraps and some PB&H (honey), and today he took leftover spaghetti and meatballs. I do like to include something home-baked for dessert, though. Last week I made the Flax Everything Muffins. This week it's a version of the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook.

These are delicious cookies, but I have two issues with the recipe:

• It calls for 6 tablespoons of margarine. I hate margarine. Not only does it not bake well, but I also don't like the unpronounceable ingredients in the yellow goo. I'd much rather use butter knowing that it came from cream. Yes, it's got saturated fat in it, but if your diet is otherwise low in saturated fat, I don't have a problem with butter. I did, however, cut the amount of butter in this recipe to 3 tablespoons and used 3 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce to make up the difference. 
• It also calls for 3/4 cup of brown sugar. I think that's a lot of sugar considering that the cookies already contain 1/2 cup of banana and raisins to add to the sweetness. I used 1/2 cup, and the cookies are plenty sweet. The next time I bake these, I will use 1/3 cup. I've been cutting the sugar way back in a lot of recipes and finding that it does not adversely affect many baked goods. Maybe it's that I've gotten more sensitive to sugar, or something.

So, here's my modified recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with banana and zucchini puree. Side note: I made these with Kate, and when she saw me dump in a 1/2 cup of zucchini she declared that it was "Disgusting" and has refused to eat the cookies. Sigh. For the record, the rest of the family loves these cookies.

This morning Zach was packing his lunch and asked if these were available for him to eat too. "Sure," I said. "They're healthy, right?" Zach asked. "Well, let's not get crazy," I replied. "They're still cookies, but they're healthy for cookies." 

Modified Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 TB butter
• 3 TB applesauce (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup banana puree
• 1/2 cup zucchini puree
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

3. In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and applesauce with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the banana and zucchini, add the egg white, and stir just until blended. 

4. Add the flour mixture and raisins, stir to combine.

4. Drop the dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 4 to 5 minutes until they are firm enough to handle, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

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Workout of the Day

P90X Plus: Interval X, then Insanity: Asylum - Overtime