Our house is packed with the insatiable mouths of three pre-teen boys. Feed them and one hour later my guys pop back into the kitchen saying “I’m hungry.” It’s so difficult to figure out how to keep their bellies full. We do healthy meals — lots of pasta (whole wheat and gluten free), rice, beans, veggies and proteins (beef, chicken and fish) topped off with fruit and milk. And we try for healthy snacks like ham sandwiches and other things that have protein. But my kids always want something sweet. A few years back we started baking our own healthy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and fudges brownies regularly once or twice a week! This helps us in a lot of ways. First off, the baked goods taste yummy. Second, we save a lot of money. Third, I have been able to experiment, cutting way down on the sugar (I cut it in half!), substituting dark chocolate chips, adding in a touch more sea salt, and mixing in one half whole wheat flour. The kids haven’t even noticed these small changes yet they are eating a much healthier cookie! We have brought these to many soccer games and the other kids seem to like them too.

So — drumrull please — for this week’s Weekly Wrap Up, I’m delighted to be sharing our family’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

(adapted from simplyrecipes.com)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes Yield: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Do not over-bake these cookies! The edges should be brown, but the rest of the cookie should be very light in color.

If you use salted butter, cut the salt called for in this recipe to 1/2 teaspoon.

Ingredients 1 cup (1/2 pound or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (try substituting 3/4 of this total quantity with whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips (try for bittersweet)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

3 cups rolled oats (I use organic gluten free oats. Do not use instant)

Method 1 Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease two large cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. 2 In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add the brown sugar and white sugar, beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla extract. 3 Mix flour, salt and baking soda together in medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips (and nuts if desired). Stir in the oats. 4 Spoon out the dough by large tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie. 5 Bake until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Note that the cookies will seem underdone. That’s okay, they will firm up as they cool. 6 Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Then carefully remove them, using a metal spatula, to a wire rack. Cool completely. They will be quite soft until completely cooled. Store tightly covered. Please let me know what your family’s favorite baked good is, and even share a recipe if you can!! You can send it to contact@cloudmom.com. Oh, and don’t forget to enter our weekly giveaway below! Happy fall! Melissa Weekly Giveaway Prize: One (1) $25 Amazon gift card.

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