Chocolate Mint Cookies, a lightened up version

Continuing with my quest for holiday baking, I sought to find a mint flavored cookie recipe over the weekend.  I searched around on many sites and browsed through my own cookbooks.  This recipe looked really appealing but I didn't want to use two sticks of butter!  I took a chance and made quite a few substitutions.  I'm very pleased with my results.

My cookies might not be as sweet as the original version but they are still delicious on the palette with a lot less fat.  Who needs that extra holiday guilt anyway?  I even managed to add a bit of protein and fiber with my changes too.  Try it and see if your family enjoys it as much as mine did. 







Chocolate Mint Cookies, lightened up
Adapted from Fat girl in a skinny body - but let's face it I changed the recipe quite a bit!

(Makes four dozen cookies)

2 cups of unbleached flour (I used white wheat flour)
1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar
1/2 cup of all natural sugar or sweetener alternative (I used Stevia)
1 stick (1/2 cup) of light butter, softened
2 large eggs
2/3 cup of cocoa powder (I used the Hershey's dark chocolate brand)
1/3 cup of fat-free yogurt (I used Greek vanilla flavor)
1/2 cup of applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp peppermint extract (This is the key ingredient to give it the minty flavor.  Don't skip it!) 
1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (white, dark, milk chocolate, mint or any variety you like best)
*I used white chocolate chips because that is my husband's favorite 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place parchment paper on four different cookie pans.

(Cook's Note: Parchment paper is the way to go with baking (see below photo)!  No sticking!  No scraping the pan!  Best of all, no mess to clean up!)




In a medium size bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.   In a separate larger bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter, brown sugar and natural sugar until fluffy.   Add in the eggs, applesauce and yogurt.  Blend for about two minutes.  Add in the peppermint extract and mix for another minute.   Then place the cocoa powder in the bowl and beat on high until blended.  Pour the flour mixture slowly into the wet mixture and continue beating on low until mixed and moistened.  Then gently fold in your chocoalte chips (or mint chips, peanut butter chips, toffee bits or whatever you have on hand).   I used white chocolate chips.



Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the parchment paper.  (Cook's Note: An ice cream scooper works well for this).  Leave about an inch between cookies so they do not stick together.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes before eating or handling.   Enjoy!






Since this makes four dozen cookies, I automatically froze half of them for a later time.  To do this, I placed them on a platter and inserted them directly into my freezer.  Let them freeze for about four hours.  Then remove them and place them in freezer safe plastic bags (such as Zip lock).  To defrost them, simply remove from the freezer, and place out on the kitchen counters still in the freezer safe bags overnight or for several hours until they reach room temperature.  Trust me, they still taste as if they were freshly baked in the oven!  Your guests won't know the difference. 

And this is a great method to use for when your spouse tells you at the last minute that he volunteered to bring something for the office Christmas party.  Yeah, I speak from experience!

(Mandy's Tip: I have begun replacing most recipes that call for plain yogurt with Greek vanilla flavored yogurt instead.  It gives the food additional protein and better flavoring. It has worked really well for me!)