Skinny Mini Monster Cookies

Skinny Mini Monster Cookies

By Tara Balcom

One of our family's favorite cookies is the Monster Cookie. My grandmother's recipe makes 12+ dozen huge cookies, enough for a small army! So I quartered it, made some healthy, creative substitutions (trying chia seeds & peanut flour) and wha-lah!! A healthier version that doesn't necessarily "taste healthy". I entered my ingredients in the Weight Watchers Recipe Builder and it said each cookies was only 1 point. I was so excited until I realized I left off the highest point ingredient: oats. (bummer!) So now the cookies only “cost” 2 WW points which still isn't bad. (51 or more cookies from this recipe will yield 2pt cookies. 50 or less will yield 3 pt cookies.) However, they are packed with lots of healthy goodness so they're not just your normal cookie! :) I’m still in the creating/testing phase so check back for a more “refined” finish product! And don't be put off by the crazy list of ingredients. The original recipe had quite a few, then for most of the substitutions I used 1/2 the original ingredient and 1/2 the sub, hence the long list!

I will make another post about my experimenting with chia seeds for those who have no idea what I'm talking about. And yes, they are the same ch-ch-ch-chia! seeds you remember from TV! :)

WW PPV values

2		eggs	4
1		Chia seed egg substitute: 1 T Chia meal & 3 T of warm water	1
2	Tbsp	flax seed meal, butter substitute: 1 TBS flax meal with 3 TBS warm water	1
2	Tbsp	chia gel (see directions before you start)	0
4	Tbsp	margarine	8
½	cup	packed brown sugar	12
¾	cup	sugar	16
¼	cup	honey	8
1	tsp	vanilla extract	0
1 ½	tsp	light corn syrup	1
2	Tbsp	wheat germ	1
1	Tbsp	dry chia seed	1
3	Tbsp	soy protein powder (from bulk bins at WinCo)	1
1	cup	Protein Plus peanut flour	12
2	tsp	baking soda	0
4 ½	Cups	Quick oats	19
4 ½	Cups	Rolled oats	19
3	oz	mini chocolate chips   (from bulk bins at WinCo)	10
2 ¾	oz	Plain M&M's   (you can use more if you want, that just what I had left in the bag!)	10

Before you begin, if you don’t have it ready, you'll want to get your chia gel started (1/4c chia seeds + 2c warm water in a qt jar, shake well, let sit for 10 mins, shake again then refrigerate; can be stored for up to 2 weeks) and your egg & butter subs started (chia & flax, I’ve read you can use chia seeds OR meal for the egg sub, I was experimenting so I ground mine). That way when you need them, they're ready.

I used some of the random things I had in my cupboards left over from other recipes, so feel free to omit/substitute your own ingredients, taking into account their effect on overall points.

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a large mixer beat 2 eggs (could do whites, but I wasn't sure how much subbing I could do!), 4 TBS room temp margarine, 2 TBS of the flax meal w/ water mixture (butter sub),  2 TBS chia meal w/ water mixture (butter sub), sugars, corn syrup & vanilla. Mix well. (goal here is to add volume/air to the butter/eggs)

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: wheat germ (optional), dry chia (optional but only adds good stuff!) soy protein powder (optional but helps add nutritional value) 1 cup peanut flour (or reg peanut butter, but this is 1/4 the points & fat as reg PB!!), oats and baking soda. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to the mixer and combine until well blended. Add chocolate chips & M&M's, and any other goodies you prefer (again, taking into account the points values).

I used a smaller cookie scoop (got it at Target) and filled a cookie sheet covered w/ parchment with dough balls to flash freeze them - and verify my count. This recipe made exactly 70 cookie balls (minus the couple of spoonfuls of dough my husband ate!). This step is optional if counting how many cookies the batch makes isn't important to you. If you're counting points however, it's what makes these 2 pt cookies!

Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten. They don't spread so you don't have to have them too spaced out. Bake at 350° for 9-10 mins. Let sit on cookie sheet for a min or two then transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy!!!

I welcome and would appreciate any comments, suggestions, ideas you may have. I already have a number of ideas of how I'm going to tweak this recipe the next time I make it. I was really hoping for 1 point cookies, so it's back to the drawing board for me! But I'm now armed with more knowledge of how to use some of my healthy ingredients and excited to see what I come up with next!!