Vanilla Spice Cookies

Makes 36 cookies
Cookies are usually off the menu for dieters because they’re so high in calories and easy to overeat. This recipe makes cookie eating a no-guilt activity. The cookies are good and easy to prepare, while the extra fiber and healthy oils keep you satisfied longer than a regular cookie would.

Ingredients:
1 cup good granola (vanilla or cinnamon-flavored) not low-fat
2/3 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) corn bran (see Note)
Sugar substitute equivalent to 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mace (optional if you’re using cinnamon-flavored granola)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces tub margarine, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
A little sugar, for sprinkling on the cookies
 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
2. Grind the granola in a food processor until small pieces form; it should not be chunky but it should also not have the consistency of flour.
3. Place the granola in a bowl and add the flaxseed meal, chickpea flour, corn bran, sugar substitute, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and mace, if using.
4. Stir the vanilla into the margarine, pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well with a fork. Add the eggs and stir to form a soft batter, kneading it a bit while it firms up.
5. Divide the dough into 36 balls about the size of whole walnuts, place them on a baking sheet and flatten them with a fork until they’re about 3 inches in diameter. Bake the cookies until just set, about 6 minutes for soft cookies, or until they are starting to brown lightly around the edges, about 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Sprinkle each cookie with about 1/4 teaspoon sugar immediately after they come out of the oven. These cookies store well in plastic bags.

 
Note: One source for corn bran is www.honeyvillegrain.com
 
Vegetarian, Suitable for High Blood Pressure, Suitable for High Cholesterol, Suitable for Diabetics
Excerpted from The “I” Diet Copyright ©2008, 2010 by Susan B. Roberts, LLC and Elizabeth Kelly Sargent. Used by permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc., New York. All Rights Reserved.
To purchase the book: Amazon, BN.com, IndieBound.org, Workman