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Tip 1: Make them more heart healthy.
Swap out some of the butter, margarine or shortening for heart-healthy oils, such as canola oil or olive oil or pureed fruit or even vegetables.
To replace fats with oil: For every tablespoon of butter you replace with heart-healthy oil, you eliminate at least 5 grams of saturated fat from your batch of cookies. (A batch of 2 dozen cookies made with 1 cup butter has almost 5 grams saturated fat per cookie.) In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, we’ve had good luck replacing up to 50% of the butter in a recipe. Keep in mind that when you reduce the butter in a recipe you may lose some of its tenderizing and moisture-retaining properties. Cookies that use some oil in place of butter may be a bit crisper and may dry out sooner. To preserve the best cookie texture, be sure to store extra cookies in an airtight container.
Examples of cookie recipes that use oil in place of some of the butter:
Leslie Malcoun's Pecan Tartlets
From EatingWell: December 2005/January 2006
Catherine Schumacher used to make hundreds of Christmas cookies for her family and friends. She even defrosted frozen leftovers for Fourth of July picnics at her Michigan farm. Her granddaughter, Leslie Malcoun, took over the baking when she got married more than 30 years ago, and to this day spends hours on old family favorites and experimenting with new recipes. Assistant Editor Carolyn Malcoun can't imagine Christmas without her mom's delightful mini pecan tarts.
INGREDIENTS
DOUGH
- 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel), softened
- 1/4 cup canola oil
FILLING
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
PREPARATION
- To prepare dough: Mix whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, butter, cream cheese and oil in a large bowl with a wooden spoon just until a coherent dough forms. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to reduce its stickiness.
- Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350ºF.
- Roll the dough (it will be soft) into a 15-inch log. Cut the log in half, then cut each half into quarters, then cut the quarters into thirds to yield 24 equal portions, about 1 tablespoon each. Press each piece of dough into a mini muffin cup, making a well in the center and pressing the dough up the sides of the tin to form a tartlet shell.
- To prepare filling: Combine egg, pecans, brown sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Divide the filling evenly among the 24 tartlet shells.
- Bake the tartlets for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325º and bake until the filling is puffed and the crust is lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the tartlets out and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
TIPS & NOTES
- Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month. | Equipment: Two 12-cup mini muffin pans
NUTRITION
Per tartlet: 152 calories; 11 g fat ( 4 g sat , 4 g mono ); 23 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrates; 2 g protein;1 g fiber; 18 mg sodium; 32 mg potassium.
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate, 2 fat
24 tartlets
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