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
Cookies were delicious. I made half of the recipe with whole wheat flour (ran out of all-purpose) and 1 egg in place of 1 egg white + skim milk. I chilled the dough for about an hour. Unfortunately, the cookies did not spread much in the oven. I’ve had the same issue with another cookie recipe from this site. I think I will flatten the cookies more before baking.
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies Elaine! Not all of my cookie recipes spread in the oven. Butter is what typically makes cookies spread, and since my healthier recipes use a lot less than typical recipes, it’s common to need to flatten healthier cookies before baking. 🙂
My experience with “healthy” cookies isn’t good. They usually crumble or the coconut oil taste is very prominent or they don’t spread and burn. I don’t follow a strict diet or anything but, as I’m sure you know, it’s very annoying when you try something over and over and it.just.doesn’t.work! I found chocolate chips for sale today and going to try these soon. Here’s to hoping that they will work!
That’s completely understandable Jay! Most of the time, healthy cookies don’t spread while baking because they contain less butter than traditional recipes. When the cookie dough is heated, the butter begins to melt, which causes the cookies to spread. (The same is true for coconut oil.) Less butter = less spreading. Also, if you chill this cookie dough, you must flatten the cookies to your desired thickness and width before baking since chilling basically eliminates any spreading. I hope you enjoy these cookies!
I just finished baking a batch of these cookies- let me just say, they are PERFECT! Everything about them is spot-on. First, you have the directions and the whole post in general, which is helpful and easy to follow. Then there is the cookie itself: soft, chewy, and the perfect amount of sweetness. I have never tried a chocolate-chip cookie recipe where chilling was required, but then again, one of the only few I have tried and have stuck with is the Nestle toll house cookie recipe! The chilling certainly makes a difference, and the extra two hours in the fridge were entirely worth the wait. Luckily, I only had to wait about ten minutes, minus cooling time, for these cookies to bake. Thank you SO much for spending so much time on this recipe, it is my new favorite! 🙂
Your sweet words mean the world to me — thank you Emma! ♥ I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Hi Amy, these cookies look and sound really yummy and I am dying to eat one but healthy is very misleading, they are far from healthy with nearly 4 teaspoons of sugar in one cookie :(((( – I must decline very sadly !!
You know 6 teaspoons of added sugar is the maximum daily intake limit to be “healthy” !!
If there was a substitute for all the sugar and they turned out as good you would be a God 🙂
I made these cookies tonight and was very disappointed. I followed the recipe and the dough was too try so I added a little mill and had to use a mixer. Then it was so sticky it stuck to the mixer. I love cookie dough but this was bland and chewy. I chilled the dough for about an hour and baked for only 10 minutes. They stayed in balls and tasted horrible. I have no idea why they were so bad.
I’m sorry the cookies didn’t turn out for you; that must have been disappointing. If the cookie dough was too dry, then there was too much flour in it. How did you measure the flour? I’ve found that when scoop directly from the container using the measuring spoon as opposed to when I lightly spoon and level (using this method), I end up with 1.5 times as much flour. This would definitely dry out the cookie dough and cause the problems you explained. Also, low fat cookies generally do not spread while baking. This is because butter makes the cookies spread, and since this recipe has less than half of the butter of traditional recipes, the cookie dough must be flattened before baking. Try using a spatula do flatten if the cookie dough is too sticky!
Hi Amy, i just wanted to say that i absolutely love these cookies, they are the only cookies i ever make and i have also done different combinations like instead of just milk choc chips i put in some white choc chips and some glace cherries and they are delicious, i recommend trying it.
I’m touched by your kind words Sally — thank you so much! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the cookies and coming up with so many delicious combinations! 🙂
I just finished making these cookies – and they are relish! Because I am on WW, I weighed each rolled up dough cookie to make sure they were the same size before popping them in the oven. I went with .5 ounces each. I realized 44 cookies this way and they are not skimpy at all. I did use lite butter and egg whites that come in a container, but they still turned out great.
Thanks for a great recipe!
“delish”
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the cookies Sandy! 🙂
Making these for my mother, hope she likes them! Is is okay to chill the dough over night?
You’re so sweet to bake these cookies for your mom Carly! Yes, it should be fine to chill the dough overnight, but you’ll need to flatten the cookie dough before baking to your desired thickness and width because it won’t spread in the oven after chilling for that long. I hope you both enjoy the cookies!
Just found this recipe. Could I use whipped butter instead of regular butter to make these even more low fat? Or do you think the consistency would change?
I wouldn’t recommend that substitution. Cookies need a certain amount of fat for both flavor and their chewy texture, so the whipped butter would result in cakier cookies with more of a muffin-like texture. I hope you enjoy the cookies if you try them Kari!
I made these with normal butter and while they tasted good, they had a muffin like texture. I measured the flour the way your link says to, but I’m not sure what went wrong. I know it’s not your recipe though – this happens with almost every single cookie I bake. Regardless, they were delicious!
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies’ flavor Kari! If all of your cookie recipes turn out cakey, and not just this one, then it’s most likely because there’s too much flour in the dough. It’s extremely important to use a light hand when using the spoon and level method! To prevent myself from adding too much flour, I often use a fork instead of a spoon. Take the measuring cup in one hand, and the fork in your other hand. Scoop the flour from the container with the fork, and gently shake the fork back and forth over the measuring cup to let the flour lightly fall in, like a sprinkling of snow. The best way to guarantee that you’re measuring the flour correctly is a kitchen scale! This is the inexpensive model that I own, and it’s worth every single penny. I hope that helps! 🙂
Trying these cookies out ^.^ your site is going to be a life saver for my new diet especially because I am a self confessed bake-aholic
I really hope you enjoy the cookies Lilly! Being a self-confessed bake-aholic is a good thing — I should know! 😉