Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies--recipe included!

I was craving cookies today.

I know, I know, I made some funfetti cookies yesterday. But I just needed some chocolate.

However, I wasn't in the mood to whip up something that used TONS of butter and I just didn't feel like exercising off that fattening butter either, so I decided not to make my go-to chocolate chip cookies. They're just not worth the extra grease.

Instead, I did something I'd probably never, ever do in the past.

I looked up a skinny chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

And let me tell you, not only did I use a skinny chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I probably will be using it for the rest of my life. Sorry Martha Stewart, you're ousted.

Skinny recipes have always appealed to me as "disgusting", "tasteless", and "gross". I'm sorry, but that was just what I'd always thought. If avocado wasn't in the recipe, it'd be stuff like whole wheat flour and sugar substitutes or, even worse, protein powder. Yuck. I'd just rather eat nothing at all than to bite into something that's sweet with strands of veggies or traces of "healthy ingredients" in it.

These cookies, however, were different.

They weren't healthy tasting at all, and in fact, I found myself wondering, "Did I put in extra butter?" They were simply that good. They were so good I think from now on I'll be using this recipe whenever the chocolate and cookie craving hits, which is ALWAYS! (Yes, I am pinching myself for starting every sentence with "they". I hate it.)

Let me warn you, though. These cookies are very, VERY tiny and you will find yourself eating tons of them when you're taking pictures for your blog, like I did ;)

The best part? They're egg-yolk free, nearly butter free, and low in sugar. You'll find yourself guiltlessly enjoying one after another.

The dough was also very forgiving. I actually skipped a step and just went ahead to add in all my other ingredients where as I was supposed to add them in parts, but the dough turned out just fine!

I'm a big parchment paper recycler. I'll always tear off two sheets, bake one of them, and then bake the other one. By the time the second one's done, the first will be cool enough for the third batch. With these, though, they took SO little time to bake and therefore I was bummed I couldn't recycle my parchment :(

And if, if, IF by the end of this post you're still wondering whether these cookies will come out chewy and soft like buttery ones, I can't reassure you any more that yes, they WILL indeed come out EXTREMELY chewy and delicious, just like the full fat ones that are delicious but sinful. 

Now I think I've mentioned this already, but the cookies are TINY. In fact, when placed next to my Nikon 40.5 mm lens cover, it will look just as big (if not slightly smaller) than it. Therefore, if you're a big eater like me, I do recommend doubling the recipe just so you can make them regular sized.

I ended up with exactly 48 cookies, no more and no less. It was the yield amount on the original recipe, so I know I've made mine the right size!

That was a long and wordy post, and at this point you're probably wondering where the recipe is. Fear not, it's right below! The recipe originally came from here, but I've also slightly rewritten it to adjust to my own personal tastes. If you want to give the original recipe a try, which I HIGHLY recommend, definitely do so, but if you trust me enough, you can use mine, which is not at all that different. Don't be scared off by my lengthy instructions, though; most of them are just blabberish, and if you're an experienced baker you can just go ahead and skim past all the words! Enjoy!

UPDATE: I have embedded a printable link for easier access to the printable recipe. Just click on the words "Printable Recipe" below and it will take you there!

Happy baking!

Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies Printable Recipe

Like I already said, the cookie dough is very forgiving, but the oven time is where things could go wrong. For me, around 6 and a half to 7 minutes was the perfect time, but oven temperatures differ with different ovens, so just check once in a while to make sure your cookies are done to perfection. Also, bear in mind that the cookies will continue to cook as they cool, so make sure you don't overbake them!

Yield: 4 dozen tiny 4 cm wide cookies

Ingredients:

-2 tablespoons SOFTENED butter (I used unsalted, but you can use salted)

-2 tsp oil

-scant 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I did cut down a teaspoon or two of sugar and they still turned out on the slightly sweeter side)

-1 tsp pure vanilla extract

-a pinch of salt

-1 large egg white

-3/4 cup all purpose flour

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (with chocolate chips, the more the merrier, so don't hesitate to add some more!)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, 190 degrees Celsius. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, oil, and sugar until light and creamy. Add in the vanilla, salt, egg white, flour, and baking soda. Mix the dough on medium speed until well combined. If the dough is too thick, turn off the mixer and stir with a spoon by hand instead (I found this much easier.) Once dough is combined, stir in chocolate chips and mix just so the chips are evenly distributed.

3. Drop the cookie dough onto the lined cookie sheet with a teaspoon, and use about a heaped half teaspoon of dough for each cookie. (see note) Make sure you leave at least 3/4 of an inch between each drop of cookie dough. The cookies will spread a little bit during baking. I ended up with 12 drops of cookie dough on each 13x9 cookie sheet.

4. Bake in your preheated oven for 6 and a half minutes-7 minutes. (see note)

5. Leave your cookies on the cookie sheets for at least a minute, then transfer the piece of parchment onto a cooling rack. When the cookies are cool and hard enough to handle, you can then remove them from the parchment and place them directly on the rack.

Note:

-The recipe yields 48 cookies, and you can easily check if your cookies are too big or too small. If you ended up with around 48, they're the right size. If you ended up with significantly less than 48, that means your cookies are too big. If you ended up with significantly more than 48, that means they're too small. This is not a problem, but you will need to adjust the baking times.

-If your cookies are on the smaller side, I recommend checking on them after 5 minutes, and if they are bigger, I recommend checking on them after 7 minutes. They will be done when the edges are golden brown and the cookies are puffed up. The centers will still be soft, but they will continue to bake as they cool.