Cutting the Fat in Cookie Recipes

If you’re looking to slim down your cookie recipes without giving up on the flavor, try these tips for reducing the fat in your favorite recipe:

• Using fruit purées to lower fat — Start with half the amount of puréed fruit to replace the fat called for in a recipe. You may need to add more if the cookies are too dry. Keep mixing to a minimum — too much added air will cause the cookies to rise in the oven, but deflate as they cool. Bake the cookies for the least amount of time stated in the recipe, adding more baking time if necessary.

  
  



• Replacing bad fats with good fats — Replace butter or margarine high in saturated fat with a small amount of oil (like canola) that is high in unsaturated fat in your cookie recipes. A good general rule when substituting oil for butter is to use 1 tablespoon of oil in place of 4 tablespoons of butter. Think of butter as an accent flavor rather than a main ingredient. Use parchment paper or nonstick vegetable oil on your cookie sheets to ensure a reduction of the fat in your cookies. Also, reduce the sugar in the recipe by two or three tablespoons, and the finished cookie will be close to the original full-fat one.

  
  



• Using egg whites to cut fat in place of whole eggs — Two egg whites are equal to one whole egg. You can also determine the number of egg whites by measuring them in a liquid measuring cup. One-half cup is equal to three large egg whites.

  
  



• Reducing fat by cutting down on nuts — Although nuts are delicious, they still have a lot of fat. Cut the amount of nuts in recipes by one-third to one-half and replace some of that with flour. You can also toast the nuts to enhance their flavor.

  
  

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