Whole Wheat Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies… just 89 calories!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is my most favorite holiday of the year, even though I am not a Christian.  Surprising?
Growing up in the United States you can’t help but fall in love with Christmas.  It’s the most magical time of year, especially in New York City where the trees are decorated with Christmas lights, the holiday window displays are simply gorgeous, and that Christmas spirit is in the air… people seem happier in general.

The only downside is the crowds can get overwhelmingly C-R-A-Z-Y!
For those of you who are celebrating Christmas, I hope you are spending this wonderful holiday with the ones dearest to you.  At the end, it is all about hanging out with family & good friends!
And I hope you make these cookies, they are unsurprisingly awesome, if I do say so myself.  Merry Christmas!

NUTRITION: Cranberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, a very good source of Fiber, and a good source of Vitamins E and K.  Whole Wheat Pastry Flour adds Fiber and Protein to these cookies.  And yes, these cookies are pretty low in calories.



APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING (yields 16 cookies)

• Calories: 89 cals
• Fat: 3.5 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
• Carbs: 16 g
• Protein: 1 g
• Fiber: 0.9 g

CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (REDUCED FAT)
~ yields 16 cookies @ 375 degrees


INGREDIENTS:

• Unsalted Butter – 3 tbsp (room temperature)
• Brown Sugar – 3 tbsp
• White Sugar – 3 tbsp
• Egg – 1/2 an egg
• Vanilla Extract – 1/2 tsp
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – 3/4 cup
• Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/8 tsp
• Dried Cranberries – 1/3 cup
• Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips – 1/4 cup

DIRECTIONS:
1. Start by preheating the oven.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the butter, brown and white sugars.
3. Cream the butter and sugars for a few minutes until you have a creamy mixture.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract. 
5. Beat on high speed for a minute until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
6. Add the dry ingredients… whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, and salt.
7. Mix until well combined, however do not over mix.
8. Add the cranberries and white chocolate chips. 
9. Blend until mixed.
10. Using a tablespoon measurement, drop spoonfuls onto a baking tray.
11. Into the oven for 10 minutes.  DO NOT OVERBAKE!
12. This is what you should have…
13. Delish!
OVERALL RATING: 5 / 5
I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of these cookies… they are slightly chewy and slightly crunchy, simply delicious.  They taste even better once they cool down a bit, however I recommend eating them up the same day since they can get a bit tough the next day. In addition, these cookies aren’t overly sweet since I didn’t add too many white chocolate chips, and I added a few more dried cranberries for that tart flavor.  The Cranberry White Chocolate Chip cookies are a combination of sweet and tart flavors.  Great recipe which is sure to please any palette, and perfect around Christmas time.

TELL ME: How are you celebrating Christmas this year?