The holiday season is a time to indulge in delicious sweets,
but that doesn't mean you have to take in a lot of fat and calories. There are
dozens of tempting cookies that give you all the sweet taste you
expect without the diet-wrecking consequences. Consider recipes that use
health-conscious ingredients, such as oats, whole-wheat flour, and dark
chocolate. Current research indicates that cocoa-rich confections actually help
control blood pressure, promote blood flow, and keep the heart healthy. So go
ahead, indulge! These cookies make great hostess gifts.
Dark Chocolate Florentines
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup toasted almonds or walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup apricot preserves
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets
with foil or nonstick baking mats.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat.
Add oil, oats, sugar, flour, milk, vanilla, salt and nuts and mix
well. Drop level teaspoons of dough 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking
sheets. Spread each cookie into a thin, 2-inch circle.
3. Bake the cookies, in batches, until set, 5 to 7 minutes.
Let cool completely before removing from the foil or mats.
4. When the cookies are cool, melt chocolate chips in a
double boiler over hot, not boiling, water (or microwave in 15-second
intervals, stirring in between). Spread the chocolate on the flat side of half
(about 36) of the cookies. Spread a little jam on the flat side of the remaining
cookies. Press the apricot and chocolate halves together to make sandwich
cookies.
Chocolate Bark
1 1/2 cups walnut halves (6 ounces)
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup dried sour cherries (4 ounces), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking
sheet and toast for 8 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Let cool, then
coarsely chop.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. In a
glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in a microwave oven at high power
in 30-second bursts until just melted. Stir until smooth. Add the remaining
chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the walnuts, cherries and crystallized
ginger until evenly coated. Scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet
and spread it into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, or
until firm enough to cut.
3. Cut the bark into 48 pieces (6 rows by 8 rows) and
transfer to a plate. Serve cold or at room temperature.
4. Make Ahead: The bark can be kept in an airtight container
at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
