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The start of a new year is a fine time to bring a few lower fat options to the table. Preferably options that don’t even taste healthy since we’re all still accustomed to the holiday sugar coma!
It was my mission over the weekend to formulate a new oatmeal cookie recipe that both health nuts and cookie lovers would love. It took a few disaster tries (rock-hard batch #1 and strange aftertaste batch #2) but I finally found a winner.
Soft-baked, cinnamon-spiced, chocolate, raisins, thick, healthy, and textured. Third time’s a charm.
To make the cookies, I took a few tips from previous cookies I’ve made. Adding Raisinets instead of regular raisins to the dough? Best last minute cookie decision ever. My Thick Oatmeal Raisinet Cookies are packed with my favorite chocolate bite-sized treat.
What about keeping things a little healthy? My Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are just that – no butter or oil in the whole batch.
Today’s post is the lovechild of both. I wanted a thick, ultra soft cookie exploding with flavor, but not with fat. I sprinkled the dough with chocolate covered raisins and used lower fat alternatives. Following suit to their parents, today’s cookies do NOT disappoint.
The ingredient breakdown is quite impressive. Whole wheat flour, whole grain oats, and protein packed greek yogurt. There’s very little refined sugar, no butter, no oil, and no eggs. Even with the absence of all that, there is still nothing “weird” in the recipe. I hate stumbling upon a healthy recipe only to find things on the ingredient list that I’ve never heard of.
Start with the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, oats, and a pinch of salt. Add a little baking soda to give the cookies some lift and mix in cinnamon and ground cloves. If you’re not using butter in a cookie recipe, you best be using some pungent spices to pack some flavor punch into the dough. I am slightly in love with cinnamon and tend to have the heavy hand when adding it to recipes.
If you like warming spices like cinnamon and cloves as much as I do, you’re going to love today’s cookies.
Next up, the wet ingredients. You’re going to whisk everything by hand. That’s right: keep your mixer in the cabinet! Quick, healthy, AND easy? If I could marry these cookies, I would.
Non-fat greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce take the place of butter or oil. They keep the cookies soft and moist without adding any fat. If you don’t have greek yogurt, use regular yogurt instead. Low fat, non-fat, vanilla, or plain would all be fine choices. Mix the applesauce and yogurt with some vanilla extract.
Sweetening my cookies is a touch of molasses and as little sugar as I could get away with. The first batch of these had no brown sugar at all in them – I have no clue what I was thinking. Eww. The margarita I was sipping at the time may have had something to do with it…
Two tablespoons of molasses and 1/4 cup of brown sugar are all the sweeteners you’ll need. If you don’t have or don’t like molasses, you may use honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar instead. I highly recommend molasses though – it’s more robustly flavored and pungent, giving the cookies that extra “oomph.”
Oh and don’t skip the brown sugar in these. Trust me.
After your wet ingredients are combined, create a “well” in the center of your dry ingredients and slowly pour the wet ingredients in. Kind of like how you make a hole in your mashed potato mounds for all the gravy. :)
Mix it all up until it is *just* combined. The dough will be very, very sticky. Add the Raisinets and some mini chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are optional, but… why not?
I know I always tell you to, but you do NOT have to chill this cookie dough. Using cold dough will prevent your cookies from spreading at all – leaving you with huge mountains of unevenly cooked dough. I learned this the hard way. Rather, scoop the sticky room-temperature dough onto the cookie sheet with a spoon. Gently flatten them down before baking. The cookies will rise quite a bit.
The recipe only yields 1 dozen medium sized cookies, depending how much of the dough you “taste test.” I only got 11 cookies. Ooops? I can’t help it, I’m a cookie dough tasting fool. At least there are no eggs in this recipe, right?!
The cookies only take about 10 minutes in the oven. With no mixer needed and no dough-chilling required, this is the quickest cookie recipe I’ve ever made. All together, they took me 20 minutes. And that’s including the breaks I took to taste the dough. Obviously.
You’re going to love how soft and flavorful these are! It’s hard to believe that such simple, healthy ingredients can make a cookie this irresistable. The only fat in these cookies is from the chocolate chips and raisinets. Crazy.
I nearly ate the entire batch myself in two days. For dessert, a snack, my workout fuel, and a midnight munchie. With nothing to feel guilty about in the recipe, you may as well call these cookies your breakfast. I know I did.
I’m already dreaming up a peanut butter version of these!
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makes 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup yogurt (greek yogurt, plain, vanilla, low fat, or non-fat will all work)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons dark molasses (molasses is highly preferred - honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup will work though)
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup Raisinets
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir. Mix in molasses and brown sugar until no sugar lumps remain.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Gently mix together until just combined and no dry lumps of flour or oats remain. Do not overmix. Dough will be very sticky. Fold in the Raisinets and chocolate chips.
- With a spoon, drop cookies onto prepared cookie sheet, slightly flattening each mound. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on a cookie rack. Cookies remain fresh and soft in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days. Cookies freeze well.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: sallysbakingaddiction.com
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
A low fat cookie masterpiece!
My similar recipes include:
Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Dark Chocolate Raisinet Apricot Granola Bars
Thick Oatmeal Raisinet Cookies
Soft Gingersnap Molasses Cookies
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh. My. Gosh. Raisinets. Are. My. Favorite. Candy. How did you know? Headed to a girls weekend this weekend. Buying ingredients tomorrow and baking Thursday. Will they be ok until Saturday in my cabinet? Pray for control. Thank you for such a good idea! I love reading your blog!
raisinets are MY favorite too katy! I miss you. I wish I could join your girls weekend. Or that we have have coffee date next time when we’re home. or a baking date? Yes, they’ll be fine for two days – they’ll stay nice and soft. I’m praying you won’t eat them all. I had NO self control. You are so sweet to comment! Have fun this weekend!
You mentioned my biggest recipe pet peeve–I can’t stand the recipes that are filled with tons of obscure ingredients of “diet foods” that no one actually keeps in their homes or understands the purpose of. These look like perfection, and I especially love using the raisinets!! I always make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and literally today at the store, I was thinking about how I should make some with raisins, then quickly decided that was a silly idea to choose raisins over chocolate, but this is the best of both worlds! YUM!
Ari @ Ari’s Menu recently posted..White Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie Bars
Exactly. I prefer familiar ingredients that don’t cost me a fortune and require a google search and a trip to the health food store lol. chocolate + raisins = best of both worlds with a raisinet, yes! i LOVE raisinets.
I am so with you ladies on this!! I always get turned off by recipes that have these “healthy” ingredients I’ve never heard of and I’m sure would cost a pretty penny for me to buy and then only use a tablespoon of it in the recipe. So glad your recipes steer clear of these ingredients.
Yay for raisinets!
Ali @ WHOLEistically Fit recently posted..Confessions of a Healthy Cheapskate
Ali, I’m glad you’re with me on that. I try to stick to simple ingredients for any recipe of mine. Especially healthy ones!
What a great recipe! I never thought of using raisinets in cookies! I love the idea!!! They look so good!!
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers recently posted..Cinnamon and Raisin Granola Cookies
You did a great job on these! Making vegan cookies is HARD – they don’t want to hold together and stay stuck together OR they turn into dense bricks. Yours look amazing for no butter, eggs, and just applesauce and yogurt (which could be vegan). And then throw in some whole wheat flour, and another baking challenge. And no real sugar – boy you wanted to give yourself a challenge! And clearly, you did an amazing job on them.
I would secretly go around and pick out all the Raisinettes and gobble them up!
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Seven Minute Microwave Caramels
These cookies are SO soft – much like the soft pumpkin oatmeal cookies i made last fall. They’re dense and hearty, yes – but for having no eggs, hardly any fat, and little brown sugar… they are like soft oatmeal bars in cookie form. picking out the raisinets? i like your style!
FYI: Raisinets are not vegan.
Right I know, but her overall dough base is very easily kept vegan and the Raisinets can be omitted.
I was complimenting her for the great job she did veganizing a cookie dough base because that’s not always an easy task. And from there, the sky’s the limit with what add ins to include or not.
Averie @ Averie Cooks recently posted..Homemade Cookie Butter Peanut Butter
I know you were complimenting her and I agree she did a great job.
I only wanted to mention that Raisinets are not vegan because someone new to veganism may assume they are based on your post.
haha these look too tasty for healthy cookies. I was writing up a post today for some healthy cookies I made and I laughed at how you didn’t put brown sugar in the first time, I did the same thing only I tasted the batter and was like eww mollasses isn’t going to do it this time. I don’t know what raisinettes are but they look like choc covered raisins, if they are then mine wouldn’t make it from the bag into the batter. I love them. These cookies look fantastic.
Sally – only gluten free baking recently posted..Back to Basics – 3 Ingredient Gluten Free Sponge Cake (no butter)
oh they were so terrible without brown sugar when i made them. eww! it’s crazy how much different and wonderful they taste with only 1/4 cup of it thrown in though. raisinets are chocolate covered raisins, yes – and i am in LOVE with chocolate raisins like you! thanks sally!
These look awesome! I am always looking for a healthy treat to cure my HUGE sweet tooth! I read you were dreaming up a peanut butter version. YUM! Have you ever used PB2? I always put a couple tablespoons of that into my granola. You get the peanut butter flavor without adding more “wet” ingredients. Plus only 1g of fat and only 45 cal! It’s also good to add in smoothies!! I love love love peanut butter and always eat more of it than I should, so this was a good alternative for me to use! haha
Hi Kelly, I’ve never used PB2 in my baked goods before, but have used peanut flour in smoothies and sauces before. I do like that it won’t (generally) have an effect on the baked goods consistency since it’s merely a powder. Thanks for the suggestion Kelly!
Heavy handed on the cinnamon… I feel you on that, happens every time I make oats for breakfast.
Loving the healthy cookies, as usual! I have to admit, I’ve gotten to be pretty decent at making low fat cookies and treats, mostly thanks to substitutes like Greek yogurt. But the one thing I do still need to address is lowering the sugar. I like the idea of adding molasses, since it is so flavorful. Although that might only work in certain spiced recipes like this one. Hmm, food for thought, I suppose.
Liz recently posted..Mini Chocolate Doughnuts with Peanut Butter Icing
I love how you worked so hard to perfect this recipe!! Awesome job. They look absolutely delicious!! I haven’t had raisinets in so long, but you’re making me want to go out and buy some.
Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?! recently posted..January: National Oatmeal Month!
I have a lifelong supply of raisinets in my pantry right now and I love using them in recipes!
Ooooooh raisinets!!! My favorite movie snack! These sound delicious. Healthy cookies make me happy
Shaina recently posted..A Twist on Taste at The Rebel House
best movie theater candy EVER. glad you’re with me on that one Shaina!
Thanks for the recipe! I’m a vegetarian with a vegan-ish slant from time to time, so I like that these cookies are delicious and easy to vegan-ize!
However, if I use real yogurt, I want to try these with this amazing flavor of store-brand yogurt, Caramel Spice Cake. I know, it sounds like it should be bad for you, but it’s actually non-fat, low calorie…and perfect for cookies like this! I love the cute little raisinets sitting around in your pictures. 
caramel spice cake yogurt? ok, i need to find that. I recently had “Boston Cream Pie” flavored yogurt from Yoplait. Insanely creamy and tasty, and it’s fat free. I need to experiment with different flavors in these cookies sometime. thanks for the suggestion sweet caley!
I bought a bag of these and had the oatmeal cookie idea in mind.
Whoa, Sally! These look incredible! I would love nothing more than to call these my breakfast cookies
ashley – baker by nature recently posted..Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti Dipped in White Chocolate
I tried once using applesauce and yogurt in cookies and let’s just say it wasn’t pretty
But these, of these cookies look amazing, Sally! You did it! Delicious and healthy cookie – what’s not to love!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet recently posted..Caramel Pear Brown Butter Baked Oatmeal
when substituting applesauce/yogurt for fat – i’ve run into plenty of disaster recipes as well. you really have to perfect the ratios of either. They are a tough “cookie” to master! Thanks Anna!
I love baking with yogurt and molasses. They are not only good for you but make recipes soft, chewy and tasty. I’m posting a new quick bread recipe tomorrow that uses both those ingredients! Two words, salted pistachio…
~Reba
Reba recently posted..“Cream” of Broccoli Soup- Vegan
Reba, I cannot even WAIT to see your bread tomorrow! Thanks so much
Yum! These cookies look great, pinning this recipe for later
Meghan @ After the Ivy League recently posted..WIAW #16 and New Running Shoes!
perfect! Meghan, let me know if you ever make them sometime.
Another healthy recipe for the books! These look awesome. After seeing your Thick Oatmeal Raisinet Cookies, I always use Raisinets in my oatmeal cookies now! Such a brilliant idea. And I love that the first batch might have gone wrong because you were drinking a margarita! I’ve definitely experienced similar disappoints for the same reason.
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection recently posted..Skinny Pumpkin and Cream Muffins
Yes – do not drink and bake. Ha! Thanks Elaine, I always think of you when I post healthier baked items. We are both health nuts at heart.
These look fantastic Sally! I adore raisinets and oatmeal cookies are always a good choice in my opinion.
Herbivore Triathlete recently posted..Kitchen Scraps Homemade Vegetable Broth
raisinets are my #1 choice at the movie theater or when i’m plopped on the couch and want a munchable sweet treat at home. they are fantastic in oatmeal cookies!
i love simple healthy foods too. none of that weird stuff! this sounds like a winner
sarah k @ the pajama chef recently posted..Mexican Cornbread Pot Pie
Awww oatmeal cookies. Definitely nothing better than that.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) recently posted..My Exclusive Interview with Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi
I am not a big raisin eater, Raisinets are a totally different matter! I LOVE them! Love them even more in a heathy cookie! Good thing you tried that third time because these look amazing!
tanya recently posted..Italian Beef and Pepperoni Soup
i love both raisinets AND raisins but hand me a chocolate covered one any day – I’ll happily chose those over the former.
Thanks Tanya! I’m glad the third cookie batch turned out so wonderfully.
I think my morning comment went to spam, boo! So this is just me testing out to see if it is working again, and to tell you again how much I love your healthier recipes.
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes) recently posted..Mini Chocolate Doughnuts with Peanut Butter Icing
why does that always happen Liz??? My spam catcher is intense. I always think of you when i’m baking with greek yogurt, peanut butter, or something healthy with oats!
I made these this morning, and aside from a textural issue (mine turned out a bit too chewy, almost bread like?), they were delicious! Thanks for the healthy recipe- I could definitely use more of those this year!
Hi Hanna! They cookies are indeed soft and chewy. I’m glad you think they are delicious. Have many more healthy recipes to come. Thank you!
I love these! I need to get on the low-cal cookie wagon. I know I can come here for inspiration!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted..Vegan Brownies
I made raisinette banana bread and I loved it!
Oatmeal cookies are my fave…I bet I would love these!
Luv What You Do recently posted..Cleaning Up
How did you know that oatmeal cookies are my absolute favorite kind of cookie? Oh and those added raisinets – freaking GENIUS!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious recently posted..Asian-Style Cobb Salad
oatmeal cookies are my favorite type of cookie as well – they make every bite so chewy! thanks Chung-Ah
Oh boy! YAY! I love that you made healthy cookie, that you worked so hard to perfect them, and that they look like they have a nice texture! I made some oatmeal raisin cookies yesterday and yours are healthier.
I don’t mind fat but these have so much less sugar. Good going, Sally!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking recently posted..Banana Orange Avocado Smoothie
What do you put on your baking pan and why do you use that instead of placing right on the baking pan or parchment paper?
Thank you!
Hi Kate, I line my cookie sheets with Silpat silicone baking mats. They provide a solid nonstick surface, allow my cookies to bake evenly, prevent an excess of spreading, and make clean up very simple. http://www.silpat.com/
I love raisnets, these cookies look yummy!
JulieD recently posted..20 Minute Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
I forget about Raisinets when I think about candy, but I do love them! Great job on this lightened up cookies that I am sure tastes just as good!
Mercedes recently posted..Cinnamon-Swirl Bread
Hi Sally!I made the snickerdoodle white chocolate chunk blondies and they are fantastic!
That’s wonderful! I love those blondies, I haven’t made them in months. Thanks for reminding me to make them again ASAP.
Gulpin’ Gargoyles, what a fantastic idea! I can’t wait to make this for my raisin-hatin’ friends (who make up a surprising percentage of my acquaintances). I also just love the accessibility of the ingredients on your list–I totally hear you about those “guilt-free” treats that include only ingredients that I’d buy, only to never touch again!
gulpin gargoyles! i giggled to myself reading that! Thanks Ala! I know a lot of friends who hate raisins as well – I personally LOVE them! Whenever I find a healthier recipe in books or online, I always shake my head b/c I’m not about to buy a specialty ingredient to only use 1/2 teaspoon of it! Simple, easy ingredients work best.
Sally! These healthy cookies are just what I need in my life right now! I’m trying so hard to be “good” after overindulging a little(?) too much over the holidays…but I just can’t give up the sweet stuff altogether. These are the perfect solution! Great job on these!
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl recently posted..What’s In Your Kitchen Wednesday
I just made these and they were quite good! I omitted the mini choc chips but they still had a nice chocolate gooeyness to them. I also calculated the calories; about 1500 for the entire recipe and 125 per cookie – this is great for as yummy as these turned out!
Hi Jackie! I’m so glad you made these and thank you for calculating the calorie count. Thanks for reporting back.
These look awesome! Great recipe!! I have to try these soon. And I absolutely love that you mentioned no weird ingredients! There’s nothing worse than getting excited about a recipe and then half the ingredient list is stuff you don’t have and aren’t going to get just for that recipe. This is a recipe I can really get excited about
Gorgeous photos and great recipe! I like baking for my family too but I’m a health nut and don’t like to make anything high in fat.
Thank you much Pam! I’m a health nut at heart too. These are a new favorite cookie of mine.
These look amazing. I’ve been sitting here looking over some of your healthier recipes and they all sound and look awesome. I had gastric bypass surgery last May and I have been looking for recipes for sweet treats that don’t have the fat or sugar in them. I am wondering can a brown sugar substitute be used in place of the brown sugar? I’m hoping so I’d love to try these.
Hi Kathy! You may use brown sugar substitute, but just know that it is sweeter than regular brown sugar so I believe that you only need to use half the amount of brown sugar substitute for this recipe. Taste the dough before you bake them and sweeten more if necessary. Thank you!
I love Raisinettes! I also love cookies that are on the healthier side. I’ve really just found your site and I’m a total kid in a candy store right now.
Marcie @ FlavortheMoments recently posted..Greek Yogurt with Mixed Berry Compote
so glad you love my site so far Marcie!
Oh.my.yummy. These are amazing! They made me think of a fall breakfast when I started to smell them bake up in my oven
oh how I love fall. I am also a health-nut at heart even though you can frequently find me with a face full of Oreos. Okay, so I’m a “want-to-be” “health-nut” at heart! But I absolutely loved this recipe. I substituted the mini choc chips for peanut butter chips, and I think you already know that they turned out awesome! Yumm! Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Emily! Peanut butter chips in this cookie recipe sounds incredible. A must try! I love peanut butter chips. Thank you so much for reporting back. You’ve convinced me to make them again this week. =)
Love oatmeal cookies, makes me feel like eating healthy food, and feel no guilt:)
Ella-Home Cooking Adventure recently posted..Tortilla Pinwheels
I’m baking these right now but didn’t think I had chocolate raisins so I just put in dark chocolate morsels. Then I realized I have a HUGE bag of chocolate raisins! Dang it! I’ll have to do it next time, I’m excited to try them!
amanda branham recently posted..Pumpkin and oatmeal? Yes, please.
Hi Amanda! They would still be wonderful with just dark chocolate morsels.
In fact, I’ve had them that way before! Let me know how you like them with the chocolate raisins next time!
I didn’t have raisinets on hand… But I do have a ton of staples like raisins and mini chocolate chips! I used greek yogurt for the yogurt. I used 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/2 cup raisins for the mix-ins. Taste GREAT! I wonder if some butter flavor would go well in addition to the vanilla. Have that buttery flavor without the butter…
Mary Ellen recently posted..Caprice Pizza
butter extract would be fabulous in these cookies Ellen! In fact, I think I’m going to try that next time I make them. Wonderful suggestion!
I tried a few substitutions and worked great! I used oat bran instead of rolled oats and used splenda/brown sugar mixture and half whole wheat flour, half all purpose. Also used dried cranberries and chocolate chips instead of raisinets. Yum, yum, yum.
All of that sounds so good! Glad you liked them.
I think this is my new favorite blog even though this is the first recipe I’m viewing. Why? Because of the “I hate stumbling upon a healthy recipe only to find things on the ingredient list that I’ve never heard of.” I can’t tell you how many times that put a damper on my plans for making healthy baked goods…spelt flour, oat flour, arrowroot powder, coconut oil/jelly etc….I don’t keep these things in my cabinet people (“-_-)
So Thanks! Will make this as soon as I get some choco covered raisins! (by the way, cute doggie!)
Hey Laura! So glad you agree with me on that – wonderful looking healthy recipes calling for the most absurd ingredients are so frustrating! Thanks for the compliment on Jude!