The famous New York Times chocolate chip cookies made healthier! Just as good, soft and chewy, but with less sugar, fat and made whole grain.
Today is a bit of a special post. A group of food bloggers and I have gotten together to do a husband appreciation post.
Mr. T’s favorite baked good is without a doubt the New York Times chocolate chip cookies. Whenever I make a new recipe (cake, brownies, whatever) and I ask how Mr. T likes it, his typical response is, “Eh, it’s not the New York Times cookies.”
He’s been asking me for two years to post this recipe and I’ve always refused because it seems like every other blogger out there has already posted it (they’re that good!) and because I didn’t think my readers would like me posting such a nutritional abomination.
So I created a slightly healthier version! He’s happy, you’re happy, we’re all happy. :) They still have that amazingly chewy texture and as long as you use the correct amount of chocolate (I know it’s a lot but just go with it!), you can’t even tell they’re whole grain.
The original New York Times chocolate chip cookies are really the best chocolate chip cookies (and perhaps cookies, in general) I’ve ever had and I can’t control myself around them. I was really shocked that my healthier version was almost as good! And Mr. T’s reaction? He liked this healthy version even better… and he never does that! He’s all about the “naughty” stuff. He said that they were softer and had a little crunch to them (he was talking about some undissolved unrefined sugar).
These were the healthy changes I made to the original New York Times recipe!
- Replaced the butter with coconut oil and reduced it a little bit. I didn’t miss the butter at all.
- Used half coconut sugar and half unrefined sugar instead of granulated and regular brown sugar and reduced it by 6 ounces. They’re still plenty sweet!
- Used white whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour. I wouldn’t try these with regular whole wheat, though. Unless you really enjoy the taste of whole wheat goodies!
- More than doubled the vanilla. Not a healthy change but a good one. :)
This recipe makes 16 large cookies so if I were you, I’d bake a few of them, and then freeze the rest of the dough (already rolled into balls). That way, whenever you have the oven on for something else, you can pop a cookie or two in the oven and truly enjoy them instead of feeling like you have neverending cookies.
And unlike the original recipe, you don’t have to chill these for 24 hours. Just pop ’em in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm them up a little and you’re good to go. And you need to get out your kitchen scale for this recipe! They only cost about $15 on Amazon and are really handy.
So now on to the appreciation part of the post! I asked Mr. T some questions and as you can see, he’s just full of words! ;)
What is Erin’s favorite blog called? Ppppffff – I don’t know.
What is Erin’s favorite prop?
A small and flat white plate which, unfortunately, I accidentally chipped a little. (He killed my favorite plate and I can’t find a replacement! – Erin)If you could have your own blog, what would you call it? I don’t know but it would either be about technology and programming related stuff or about travelling. Or both, but that might make finding a good name even harder.
What do you do for a living and what are your hobbies? I studied business and computer science and now I’m writing my thesis. My hobbies, besides the usual stuff everyone likes doing, are tinkering with technology stuff, and messing with Erin’s webpage.
And now, dear husband, a message for you:Thank you for:
- Putting up with a constantly dirty kitchen. I just get so tired after baking! ;) And there’s nothing I hate more than cleaning.
- Making me a pretty new webpage! (He actually learned all the necessary stuff just for my redesign)
- Always being on the lookout for new props! You’re a great prop shopper.
Be sure to check out what the other ladies have made!
- Lauren from Keep It Sweet Desserts made M&M Kit Kat Cake
- Rachel from Rachel Cooks made Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Shanna from Pineapple & Coconut made Best Ever Chicken Enchiladas
- Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie made Homemade SpaghettiOs
- Amy from Belly Full shared a Fabulous Video!
- Liz from The Lemon Bowl made Lebanese Meat Pies (Sfeehas)
- Cassie from Bake Your Day wrote about The Guy Across The Table
- Erin from The Law Students Wife made Chicken Stir Fry with Thai Peanut Sauce
- Heather from Sugar Dish Me made Bourbon Apple Shortcakes
- Dorothy from Crazy For Crust made Pretzel Toffee Peanut Butter Cookies
- Lauren from Climbing Grier Mountain shared At the Table with Mr. B
- Tanya from Lemons for Lulu made Reese’s Peanut Butter Caramel Bars
- Jen from Jens Favorite Cookies made Chocolate Pudding
- Diane from Created By Diane made Rocky Road Cookie
- Nikki from Seeded at the Table made Oatmeal Cream Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Meagan fron A Zesty Bite made Something Fabulous
- Taylor from Greens & Chocolate made Butterfinger Blondies
- Amanda from i am baker made Classic Cheesecake with Double Crust
- Kristy from Boys Ahoy made Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash
- Lauren from Healthy. Delicious. shared 10 Guy-Approved Recipes
- Erin from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts shared a Round up of Hubbies Favorites
- Rachel from Set the Table made Mexican Chocolate Shake
- Julie from Julie’s Eats and Treats shared her Hubby’s Top 10
- Stefani from Cupcake Project made Graham Cracker Waffle Cones
- Katerina from Diethood made Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic and Olives
- Betsy from Java Cupcake made White Chocolate Everything!
- Kimberly from The Daring Gourmet made French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze
Healthier New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 16 large cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (240 grams) refined coconut oil, room temperature (should be like softened butter - do not use melted coconut oil! The dough will be very greasy and the cookies will come out badly. Chill the coconut oil for 10-20 minutes or until firm if your room temperature coconut oil is melted.)
- 6 ounces (170 grams) coconut sugar
- 6 ounces (170 grams) unrefined sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 15 ounces (425 grams) white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 pounds (566 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips (for dairy-free, use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)
Directions
- In a large bowl with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, cream together the coconut oil, coconut sugar, and unrefined sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat.
- Beat in the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips.
- When well combined, add in the chocolate chips.
- Roll into sixteen 3.5 ounce balls and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper.
- Place 6 balls on the cookie sheet and bake for 11 – 14 minutes. The cookies might still appear slightly undone in the middle but they will continue to bake.
- Remove the cookies along with the Silpat or parchment paper from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 3 – 5 days. They'll be gone much sooner, though, promise!
Adapted from New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
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83 comments on “Healthier New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (100% whole grain, dairy-free)” — Add one!
7 comments are awaiting moderation!
Could you post an actual recipe with proportions? I don’t find things useful when I have to do the math. No I DONT care that you have a loving husband who “tolerates” your messes instead of helping you clean the kitchen. Upgrade your expectations.
Thank you for your incredibly valuable input! Now I’m going to suggest that you find a recipe site like Allrecipes or Food Network and not a blog. You could check out the original New York Times cookie recipe here, but then again, it doesn’t have “proportions” either and they make you create an account to view the recipe. By the way, my husband does almost all the dishes and chores around the house. But thanks again for your judgement and comment! These kind of comments make my day. :)
Hi Erin,
Can we use coconut sugar instead of the unrefined sugar? That is can we use 12 ounces of coconut sugar instead of 6 ounces of coconut sugar and 6 ounces of unrefined sugar?
Also can you please clarify – when you say 6 ounces of coconut sugar do you mean 3/4 cup or do I have to weigh the sugar? Same question for the flour and chocolate chips.
Btw. I made your oatmeal raisin cookies and they were unbelievably delicious!
Thanks…Rena
Hi there! I think I first tried making the cookies with all coconut sugar and they didn’t come out like I wanted them to. You can definitely use all coconut sugar, but they’ll probably be browner and not as thick. 6 ounces of sugar is 13.6 tbsp. The flour would be 3.4 cups and the chocolate chips would be 3 1/3 cups. But I definitely recommend just using a scale to make sure things are accurate. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them! And I’m so happy you liked the oatmeal cookies. :)
thank you Erin, will give it a try and keep you posted…rena
Hi can we use olive oil instead of coconut oil. Refined sugar instead of coconut sugar. I tried your other cake recipes it was yummy . :)
You can use 6 ounces brown sugar and 6 ounces granulated sugar if you like. I’m not so sure about olive oil, though. Olive oil is liquid and coconut oil is solid at room temperature. Sorry I can’t give you a more definite answer! I’m happy you enjoyed the other recipes. :)
These were yummy with white whole wheat flour, but super yummy with whole wheat pastry flour. Thanks for sharing these amazing cookies.
That’s good to know! I’ll have to try that. Thanks so much for your feedback and your tip. :)
hi!can i used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour?
Yup! :)
Hi I just made them for my 4 year old, who has a diary and nuts allergy. We made it together and she loves it! There are not many good recipe out there which are diary free. I made it in the late afternoon, and my hushand said it was delicious and worth the wait for a late afternoon snack. Thank You for your rceipe! If u have more of these wonderful receipe, send them my way. Cheers!
I’m so happy that they came out well for you and that your little one liked them! A good deal of my recipes are dairy-free and you can find them here. I hope that’ll help. :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
I love these cookies!! They are completely amazing. The dough is thick, but I just massaged it with my hands and that did the trick to mix everything. Also, I used 5oz organic brown sugar, and 5oz organic unrefined cane sugar with great success! I also didn’t refrigerate them (bc I wanted them NOW). I made rounded cookie scoop balls, put them on the sheet, and baked them on convection for 11 minutes (12 if you want them crunchier, as my mother demanded). Happy baking!
I might skip the chilling step sometimes, too. ;) So happy that you enjoyed them! Thanks for the feedback. :)
Used whole wheat flour instead of ‘white whole wheat.’ Worked great. Not too heavy or dry. Thanks for the nondairy recipe!
I’m happy to hear that regular whole wheat worked out well! Thanks so much for the feedback. :)
I loved this recipe! How many calories are in one cookie?
I’m happy you liked them! But I’m afraid I don’t know about the nutritional info, though. You can copy and paste the ingredients into this recipe analyzer and it’ll tell you all that. :) Thanks so much for the rating!
I just made these cookies. They are excellent. I used a bit less flour and chocolate than indicated in the recipe since the dough was getting too dry. I will use a tad less sugar next time. Thanks! :)
I’m so happy that you liked them! Thanks a bunch for the feedback. :) And less sugar sounds great! They are quite sweet.
I loooove these cookies in their original form and the healthier version look JUST as tasty. YUM!
My husband NEVER chooses the healthier option either! I wonder if he would make an exception for these cookies?
I stumbled across your blog/site today and looove it! I’ve been going crazy looking through basically every recipe on here and am so excited to try them – these cookies are happening tomorrow! Looking at your different sugars, I wondered what you think of stevia? Do you have any opinions on it or tips for using it as a substitute? Thanks!
Hi Melissa! I’m happy you found the site. :) I have nothing against Stevia but I’m afraid I’m not experienced with it. I use it in my smoothies and love it, but I’ve never actually baked with it. Some readers have asked me to experiment with it (and I’d love to eat less sugar!) so I’m going to try. And I really hope that you enjoy the cookies! I’d love to hear how they come out. :)
LOVE these! Do you think I could go all coconut sugar and cut it down even more? Can’t wait to try these!!
You could indeed do that! They’re plenty sweet so reducing the sugar wouldn’t be terrible (but as you know, it might affect the texture ;))
Erin, there are brilliant! Can’t wait to try your healthy version! :)
These cookies look so thick and soft – I want some now!!
I will admit that have never tried the NY Times cookie before. And it has everything to do with the nutrition information. I mean I love baking, but if something calls for 3 sticks of butter and I’m getting only 18 cookies, I’m basically eating 1/3 of daily calories from a freaking cookie. (Maybe slight over exaggeration) Bu I do like the sound of these cookies. :) I have never baked with coconut sugar, so this should be interesting.
I loooove his answers!! Can’t believe he broke your favorite prop… how long did you have him in the dog house? ;-)
The cookies look incredible! That first photo might have made my heart skip a beat.
Love these cookies! Great post!
Get out of town! These look incredible, Erin! What a fun snap of your Mr., too, haha. Hope you both have a happy weekend!
Such a sweet tribute to your husband! Love these cookies, your healthier changes (plus doubling the vanilla, yes!) sound amazing!
Oh my – these look heavenly!
AND they are healthy!!! I have to try these!
Can’t wait to try these! I’ve been baking a ton of choc. chip cookies lately and I’m definitely in need of a healthier version. Also, I found a helpful conversion website as I don’t have a scale to weigh out the grams!
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html
Love that you created a healthier version of the New York Times cookies!
I love his honesty in not knowing your favorite. These are so fun to read, thanks for sharing, Erin!
Love this healthier update that you did on these but you kept the cookies still looking totally amazing.
I’m looking forward to trying these OH SO FABULOUS cookies they look to die for! It’s fun to see all the answers your husband had, must be fun to be able to work on your blog together! *jealous!!!
I love when an ordinary cookie gets healthy face lift! And boy does this deliver! Fantastic! I love the husbands! They are a fun, patient bunch with an endless amount of support! How lucky we are!
He’s a prop shopper??? LUCKY!
LOVE these cookies, pinned!
That photo from your trip is killer!!! And full of personality! My other half’s answers were pretty similar– Pffft! I don’t know– sounds about right!
Love this cookie recipe! Since I have never actually made the NY Times cookies (abomination I know) I’ll just make yours and will totally never know the difference because I am sure they are awesome.
I love the note you wrote for your husband, thanking him for certain things. That is adorable :)
Sweet post, sweet hubby, sweet cookies. Love everything about this Erin (and I”m always too tired from my baking to do dishes too ;-) )
So sweet that one of his hobbies is tinkering with your webpage. Lucky! I can’t believe he liked the healthier cookies better. They must be amazing!
I’m telling you, make hundreds of these and hide them. Feed to husband when appropriate. You know like as a thank you for buying you new props… ha ha
Aww, what a nice thing to do a husband appreciation post! You’re a lucky girl to have such a good helper around the blog (and hopefully the kitchen). :D P.S. These cookies look just like I remember them. Can’t wait to try them!
These look a-MAZ-ing! I have to agree with “all of our husbands are cracking” us up. Aw, your poor plate! And good for him for, um, admitting it.
Now these I gotta try, Erin. Coconut oil is a life saver! And my freezer is currently full of cookie dough balls lol. I roll them, freeze, and bake when I want.
Love that photo of your hubs! My fiance (not hubby just yet!) would adore them. He loves all cookies, healthy or not. ;)
Ha! Your hubby is so cute! Love this interview and I’ll take 57 of these cookies!!
A great prop shopper? That is a keeper for you!!!
I can’t wait to try these!!
Adorable, funny AND good with technology?!? Consider me jealous! Will have to try this recipe, I love your adaptations!
Why do you live so far away, I want these cookies now!!! Great interview with Alex, I think our husbands would get along well – you need to move here :)
what a fun concept for a post! I too have been playing around with making my favorite choc chip cookie healthier. I made a pretty good one a year or so ago, but I am always looking for more ideas. I haven’t used coconut sugar yet.
They look AMAZEBALLS. Seriously DELISH. HI HUBBY!
these look way better then the original. I’ve never actually made them (for fear I’d love them too much… plus I never know a day in advance when a cookie craving will strike!), but these I HAVE to make. Have you tried swapping out the egg at all? Not opposed to eggs, just too lazy to go to the store.
These look amazing, better not let my husband see them, lol!
Ooooh now these sound incredible! I love that you changed the flour out…that’s always a great place to start in making cookies a little better!
Love that last picture of him! And the cookies…of course!
Love these!!! Pinned to save for later!!
This healthier version looks pretty darn amazing! All of our husbands are cracking me up:-)