As I mentioned on Wednesday, I found these cookies through a great site called For the Love of Cooking. However, I wanted to try and experiment and make them healthier. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out – there are some recipes that you just shouldn’t mess with, you know? – but my experimenting definitely paid off!

The cookies were already egg- and nut-free (which I love), but I also wanted to decrease the fat and calories in them by using less butter, swapping Greek yogurt for regular, etc. What I love most about them, however, is the dark cocoa-y taste they have. I love dark chocolate (60% and higher is best, in my opinion!) and with my addition of cinnamon and sea salt, the dark flavor is really brought out. Give them a try – I promise you won’t be sorry, especially if you’re a chocoholic like me! 🙂

Cocoa Fudge Cookies (E, N)
makes 18-20
adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
– 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
– 1/2 tsp baking soda *please see the notes section!*
– 1/8 tsp salt
– 7 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
– a dash or two of cinnamon, optional

– 2.5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
– 2.5 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1/3 cup all-natural sweetener, such as Stevia in the Raw *see notes section!*
– 1/3 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
– 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

– Sea salt, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine flours, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, stir together (melted) butter, applesauce, brown sugar, sweetener, and vanilla extract. Add the yogurt, and mix well.
4. Working in thirds, stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. (I add the flour mixture in thirds to prevent overmixing, which can make the cookies tough.)
5. Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with sea salt, if desired.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to complete the cooling process.
7. Enjoy!

Notes:
– So, to decrease the amount of calories and unnecessary sugar in the recipe, I used Stevia. The package that I have instructs the baker to increase the amount of baking soda used in a recipe if you are going to use Stevia. If you are using regular, granulated sugar, please don’t forget to decrease the amount of baking soda back to what the original recipe calls for: only 1/4 teaspoon!
– I used plain Greek yogurt and increased the amount of vanilla extract. You could use vanilla flavored yogurt and only add a teaspoon of extract.
– I used a very generous teaspoonful of batter to make each cookie. Your calories will be a bit affected if you use more or less batter per cookie, of course!
– I know some people have dietary or health reasons to avoid too much salt, but if you don’t, I’m begging you to sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sea salt. It is absolutely amazing and does so much for that deep cocoa flavor.
– I made these cookies on Tuesday…and they are almost gone. All my doing. Butttt since they’re only 70 calories each, I don’t feel too bad about eating four a day! 😉

Nutrition: