Whole Grain Low-Sugar (or sugar-free) Chocolate Cookies with Pecans

(Makes about 20 medium-sized cookies, recipe adapted from One Smart Cookie created by Suzanne Lenzer for the New York Times.)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup whole wheat flour (you could use white whole wheat, but I just used regular whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup + 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened at room temperature or melted on lowest setting in microwave)
6 T Stevia-in-the-Raw Granulated Sweetener or granular Splenda (or use sugar, if you don't care about having a low-sugar cookie)
3 T brown sugar (or use 3 T more Stevia or Splenda if you want sugar-free cookies)
1 T vanilla
1/2 cup "oatmeal crumbs" or rolled oats (To make "oatmeal crumbs" buzz the rolled oats in the food processor or blender until they are coarsely ground, then measure the amount you need. I use these in lots of baking, and they're also good as a binder in meatballs or meatloaf.)
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (measure 1/4 cup pecans, then chop with chef's knife)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F/175C. In a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients, combine the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a smaller bowl, stir together the melted or softened butter, Stevia or Splenda, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. (I used a rubber scraper to scraper out every bit!) Stir the "oatmeal crumbs" into this mixture, then fold in the finely chopped pecans.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, or if you don't have any parchment paper, I'd use non-stick spray. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough at a time, roll into a ball, then arrange on parchment, leaving about two inches between cookies because you're going to smash them down. Use a flat turner or the bottom of a glass to smash down the cookies so they're about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake cookies 15-16 minutes, until they are fairly firm to the touch. Remove and let cool on cooling rack for 20 minutes or longer before eating. These will keep several days in a plastic container with a lid if you can manage to keep them around that long!


This printable recipe from KalynsKitchen.com.