Despite the porcelain Peter Rabbit cookie jar prominently displayed on our kitchen countertop, Mom only preheated the oven once every month or two to fill it with homemade treats. Instead, she dropped Little Debbie chocolate snack cakes or oatmeal cream pies into our insulated lunch boxes for our desserts at school. But on the rare occasions she plugging in the handheld electric mixer to cream butter and sugar, she always turned to the Nestle chocolate chip bag as her recipe.
My younger brother and I anxiously hovered in the kitchen, pleading to help place spoonfuls of dough onto the stained baking sheets. We needed to supervise the bowl as she scraped and shaped. Make sure to leave some for us, Mommy!
Sitting cross-legged on the tile floor, I drew a line down the center of the wide metallic mixing bowl. I smooshed my finger around my half in straight lines to get my fair share of the “leftover” cookie dough, while my brother haphazardly scraped his side in squiggles and circles. Mom generally pretended to forget about a couple of chocolate chips in the bowl too, and we divided those evenly, sneaking an extra one from the bag if necessary to even our shares.
When the timer dinged and Mom granted us permission, we grabbed a warm cookie from the cooling rack and sank our teeth into the soft dough. Melted chocolate oozed across our fingertips, which we happily sucked off before reaching for more.
Eight years later, as a high school freshman in Health Class, I stared at the Food Pyramid as I soaked up the teacher’s lecture. Less sugar… Lower fat… Sweets in moderation… That afternoon, I eliminated the Tollhouse recipe from my repertoire and vowed to bake only healthier low-fat cookies.
In the ensuing decade, I realized one fatal flaw: most low-fat cookies didn’t feel right. With proper ingredient ratios, they could taste as rich and sinful as their indulgent counterparts, but their texture fell closer to that of a cake-like muffin than a soft and chewy cookie.
So 2 months ago, I challenged myself to create the ultimate healthy soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. After 7 different batches, my 10 taste testers agreed: this is it!
I started with the butter because it was the biggest obstacle in developing a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe. After countless tweaks, I noticed a trend. To achieve a chewy texture, the cookies needed a minimum of 18% of their calories to come from butter (or margarine). Anything less resulted in a bready muffin texture. Six tablespoons for 2 dozen cookies provided the perfect amount of chew.
To further increase their chewiness, I used melted butter. This means you can stir the cookie dough together with a spoon. No electric mixer required (and one less thing to wash)!
Although other bakers and bloggers proclaim that extra egg yolks also increase cookies’ chewiness, I completely eliminated them and just added egg whites to lower the fat and cholesterol. Don’t worry, the cookies will still be chewy! We started with the perfect amount of melted butter, remember?
Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature! If still cold from the fridge, they’ll chill the melted butter and partially turn it back into a lumpy solid. Not good! To warm up your egg whites the easy way, place the entire egg in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes while measuring the dry ingredients.
I also mixed in a touch of skim milk to increase the moisture and better balance the liquid-to-dry-ingredient ratio. Feel free to substitute whatever you usually store in your fridge: 1%, 2% whole, rice, almond, soy… We want to keep these cookies simple so you don’t need to buy any strange new ingredients!
We’re going to add more vanilla than most recipes require. Extra vanilla mimics a buttery flavor, without the excess fat and calories. You’ll need 4 teaspoons for these healthy cookies.
While the Tollhouse cookies call for half white and half brown sugar, I opted for all brown. Brown sugar increases the moisture and chewiness of these skinny chocolate chip cookies and also adds a subtle hint of caramel. Yum! Either light or dark brown sugar will work.
As you probably predicted, I reached for regular all-purpose flour for this recipe. It is imperative that you measure the flour correctly (see here for details). Adding too much results in dry, crumbly, muffin cookies instead of the extra soft, extra chewy ones we want. Sprinkle in a little salt for flavor, and you’re all set!
As for leaveners, I selected baking powder. Some recipes list baking soda as well, but I omitted it for 2 reasons: (a) to simplify the ingredients list and (b) the cookies lack a good acid source to activate it. (Baking powder = baking soda + added acid. Yes, I’m still a chemistry geek at heart!)
I also stirred in cornstarch. Cornstarch helps the cookies stay thick and moist. It sounds strange, but it’s been my secret weapon for many of my cookie recipes! (See here, here, here, here, and here.)
Finally the most important part: the chocolate chips! My tongue dances and my eye roll back in my head a bit every time my teeth hit a large gooey chunk of melted chocolate, whereas disappointment sinks in on the bites without. To counteract the latter, I measured out regular semisweet chocolate chips for the big burst as well as minis to ensure every bite contained some chocolate. Most taste testers agreed that they preferred a 2:1 regular-to-mini chip ratio.
To mix up the dough, simply whisk together the dry ingredients, stir the wet ones in a separate bowl, combine the two, and fold in the chocolate chips. So easy! I usually reserve about half of the mini chocolate chips to press into the tops of the dough just before baking as a pretty finishing touch. They look so tempting—they’re practically begging you to eat one!
Before popping in the oven to bake, you must chill the dough. Chilling is mandatory for thick cookies. Try to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. I prefer chilling mine for 4 hours, but I know that’s a struggle with out-of-control cookie cravings!
These lightened chocolate chip cookies require barely any time to bake—just 10-12 minutes. They will look and feel slightly underdone, but they’ll continue to cook while sitting on the warm baking sheet.
Whew, that was a lot of information! Here’s a quick recap of the key components of the Ultimate Soft and Chewy Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
»» less butter, and melted for chewiness
»» more vanilla for buttery flavor
»» brown sugar for moisture and chew
»» cornstarch for softness and thickness
»» regular and mini chips for more chocolate throughout
»» chilling for thickness
»» baking 10-12 minutes for softness
Ready for a tall glass of milk and a big stack of cookies?
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
Psst… My newly released Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes like these chocolate chip cookies! Learn more and buy your copy here!
| The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (84g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slighlty
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) skim milk
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (192g) coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (56g) regular chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and egg whites until small bubbles form (about 15-30 seconds). Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the brown sugar, smearing out any clumps along the side of the bowl. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the regular chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips. Cover the top with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. (See Notes.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough into 24 balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly to about ¾” thick. Press the remaining mini chocolate chips into the top of each. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the warm baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Do NOT overbake these cookies! After 10-12 minutes in the oven, they’ll still look and feel slightly underdone, but they’ll continue to bake and set on the warm baking sheet for the 10 minutes after.
For a vegan version, use coconut oil or margarine in place of the butter, 1 tablespoon Ener-G + ¼ cup warm water in place of the egg whites, and non-dairy milk in place of the skim milk.
For a gluten-free version, see this recipe of mine.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour.
It's extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using the method outlined in the links above or a kitchen scale. (I highly recommend a kitchen scale! This is the one I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent. I swear by it!) Too much flour will make your cookie dough dry and your cookies turn out cakey or crumbly.
For a more decadent treat, I highly recommend using these dark chocolate chips in place of the regular chocolate chips!
{gluten-free, clean eating, vegan option, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Could I use Splenda Brown Sugar Substitute, or is it imperative i use regular light or dark brown sugar?
I’m not entirely sure, Milka; I haven’t tried that before with this recipe. Since you’d only need half the amount of Splenda Brown Sugar Substitute, there might not be enough liquid to soak up all of the flour, but you could try adding a few teaspoons of milk to compensate. I’d love to hear how the cookies turn out if you do try the Splenda!
I tried to make these but my butter and egg whites curdled. Now, I know that it’s not your recipe so much as I’m not a baker and I have no patience but did that happen because the egg whites weren’t at room temp yet? I have set out 2 eggs and have walked away and will try these again later but I wanted to make sure. I don’t want to waste more product.
I’m sorry Heather; it must be really disappointing to have that happen when all you wanted was a plate of warm homemade cookies! When you say the eggs whites and butter curdled, do you mean that there were little bits of solid floating around? If so, the butter was still too warm and the eggs were still too cold when you mixed them together. That isn’t the worst thing in the world though; I’ve actually gone ahead with the recipe after that happens and the cookies still turn out just fine. I hope your next batch turns out perfectly! 🙂
oh ok. I threw it out thinking it wouldn’t work. that’s good to know. The eggs had been out for about 40 minutes and I’m pretty sure the butter was too hot….like I said I have no patience. haha. I haven’t tried it again yet but I will here shortly. I was waiting to see what your thoughts were. Thank you for the response. Looking forward to having some healthier yummy cookies soon 🙂
It’s so hard to have patience when it comes to cookies! My little trick is to melt the butter first, before pulling out any other ingredients, and stick the eggs in a bowl of warm water (about 65-80°F) right after. That generally gives both enough time to come back to room temperature while I mix up the dry ingredients. I can’t wait to hear how the cookies turn out for you!
That’s a really good idea! I let my butter sit when I was making your oatmeal raisin cookies while I was doing the other stuff, but I was like crap, I didn’t set the eggs out and I know it takes awhile to hit room temp. I, somehow, didn’t think to set them in warm water. Thanks for the tip!
I’m so glad you like the tip! I almost never bring eggs to room temperature just by letting them sit out anymore… The warm water trick is just too easy! ?
I want to try these so badly! Do you know any nutritional information? We’ve been calorie counting (even small snack like one cookie)and seeing results so I don’t want to start anything unless we can keep track. :/ any help would be FANTASTICO!
Good for you Gail!! That’s wonderful that you’re already seeing results already. Congratulations! The Nutrition Information label is included in a link directly below the recipe. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the cookies! 🙂
Oh shoot! Sorry, I totally missed that! I’m letting my egg whites sit out as we speak! Can’t wait to try these. 🙂
No worries Gail! It’s easy to miss. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies!!
I made these today and I dont think I will be able to test if they are going to be soft and chewy in a few days. My husband and kids wont quit eating them. I did take a picture though! So at least I can prove I did it! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, I needed the indulgence(Healthy)!
I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed the cookies Allison! That’s a huge compliment that they’re eating them so quickly there won’t be any leftovers. 🙂 I’m always craving cookies, so it was fun (and practically necessary) to come up with a healthier version!
Amy, I have my eggs on the counter right now! Just wondering your (chemist) thoughts on adding flax or rolled oats or using part whole wheat flour in the recipe?
I think that adding a little flax or using part whole wheat flour would work for these cookies! For the whole wheat flour, I wouldn’t substitute more than about a third to half (although I’d probably recommend sticking closer to a third) of the total amount. I’m not entirely sure about the rolled oats. Oats tend to absorb more liquid than flour, especially during chilling, and I’d be worried that the cookies might turn out a little drier or cakier. If you added oats, I’d probably say to reduce the amount of flour by a bit and avoid chilling the dough (or at least no more than 30 minutes), which should help prevent that cakier texture.
If you’re looking for a whole wheat oatmeal cookie, I’d definitely recommend my blueberry oatmeal cookies! You could easily substitute the chocolate chips for the blueberries, and that recipe contains enough moisture that adding flax would be perfectly fine too. Just another option! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of either set of cookies Valerie!!
The very delicious! I also want to try by all means! I’m glad to have met a nice recipe! Thank you!
You’re so sweet Sayuri; I really hope you enjoy the cookies! 🙂
These look amazing! I am baking some right now…although when I halved the recipe I forgot to re read and halve the milk! Hopefully they come just as good! Thank you for making them lighter! My sister and I are trying to eat better and yet we crave sweets once in a while so these look perfect!
Thanks Vanessa! Your cookies should be fine even if you put in a full tablespoon of milk. The only thing that could happen is that they just spread a tiny bit more on the baking sheet, but they’ll still taste the same. 🙂 It’s wonderful that you and your sister and trying to eat healthier! That’s often hard with the amount of tempting unhealthy desserts we encounter, so good for you for sticking to your goals!
The recipe of re-milk?
If it is, please let me know.
Thank you for your consideration.
I’m sorry; I’m not entirely sure what you mean. Would you mind clarifying?