Basically, I took the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and just started adding healthy ingredients + colorful ingredients until I found the perfect balance in these yummy loaded chocolate chip cookies.

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Healthy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
• How to Make Them
• How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

The Story Behind the Recipe

Back in high school, I entered an essay contest with a piece about the meaning of home. I got third place, which felt like a big deal at the time! I don’t remember much about the essay, other than two things.

One, the sheer panic I felt when I had to read it to a massive crowd at a real estate convention. Eek!

And two, the fact that I wrote a detailed paragraph about the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies greeting me as I arrived home from school – and about how little things like that are what make a house feel like home.

It’s probably no surprise, then, that when my daughter started school last year, I baked chocolate chip cookies for her to arrive home to on her first day. I had to!

This particular cookie recipe was devised back when my kiddo was younger, even pickier, and in need of some heartier foodstuffs in her diet. So I added wheat germ, oats, and ground flaxseed to her favorite chocolate chip cookies, and bingo! Fiber Cookies were born. Or “Fiver Cookies” as her then-toddler self called them.

Now, they’ve evolved into “After-School Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies” with candy-coated chocolate and sprinkles for color and fun. They’ve got the sweet stuff that makes them a treat but some added good stuff that gives them a bit of hearty nutrition that helps me, as a mom, feel a little more satisfied when she eats them.

Healthy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients

• Butter – I like to use unsalted to better control the salt content in these cookies.
• Granulated sugar & brown sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• White whole wheat flour – I like how white whole wheat has a bit of added nutrition without tasting TOO whole-wheat-y. But you can sub whole wheat if you prefer, or all-purpose.
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Toasted wheat germ: For some added fiber and nutty flavor.
• Flaxseed meal: For fiber, omega-3s, and protein.
• Rolled oats: Wholesome oats add heft, fiber, and a bit of protein.
• Chocolate chips or chunks – I like semi-sweet, but dark or milk chocolate will work too!
• Candy-coated chocolates – Either the naturally dyed version or M&Ms work.
• Candy sprinkles – Optional, but fun! I use the naturally dyed ones.

How to Make Them

These come together like your standard chocolate chip cookies, first mixing together the wet ingredients and the dry, then mixing them together and adding the chocolate and candies. Except you toast the wheat germ first.

How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I love to freeze the dough balls, then just bake a couple at a time right for a quick and easy snack. With the bonus aroma of freshly baked cookies!

Just scoop your dough and place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet (no need to leave any space). Freeze them, then transfer the frozen balls to an airtight container or freezer bag and put them back in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to bake your healthy chocolate chip cookies, just pull some of the balls out, place them on a baking sheet (this time with 2-3 inches space), and bake according to the recipe directions.

Voila! Fresh baked cookies with hardly any effort!

More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

• Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Healthy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies
• White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chewy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
• Salted Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
• Espresso Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cowboy Cookies

Print

Healthy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy, chocolatey, and loaded with both colorful goodies and some bonus good stuff. For fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies every time, just freeze the dough and bake a few at a time. So easy!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 30 cookies

Calories 203kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain salt or table salt
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ*
• 1/3 cup flaxseed meal aka ground flaxseeds
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks plus more for topping if desired
• 1 cup candy-coated chocolates plus a few more for topping
• 1/4 cup candy sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer, add the butter and sugars. Mix until well-incorporated, about one minute. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, wheat germ, and flaxseed meal. Mix JUST until combined (do not overmix). Add the oatmeal, chocolate chips, candy-coated chocolates, and sprinkles if using. Mix just until incorporated.

Option 1: Bake ’em all now

• Scoop into 1.5-inch balls and top with two or three extra chocolate chips or candies if desired. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until slightly golden around edges, 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Option 2: Freeze now, bake later

• Scoop into 1.5-inch balls and line them up right next to one another on a cookie sheet. Top with two or three extra chocolate chips or candies if desired. Transfer to freezer. When frozen, break apart the cookie dough balls and place in a freezer bag. Put back in freezer until you’re ready to bake.
• To bake, pull as many cookie dough balls as you want to bake out of the freezer. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until slightly golden around edges, 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

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These cute candy eyes are everywhere, and this year, I decided my daughter and I needed to bake up a fun Halloween treat with them. So I bought some, not knowing quite yet what we’d make. Maybe cupcakes. Or candy bark. Or cookies. Or doughnuts! Cute, right?

But while I was spending days contemplating, my daughter was growing more and more restless. Those candy eyes stared at her from the kitchen counter – literally. Finally, I broke down. Okay, okay kid! We’ll do something with the darn eyes already!

10 minutes later, we were building snack mix monsters.

The rules are as follows:

1. First, you have to make a monster.
2. Then you eat the monster.
3. Repeat!

It’s highly fun for kids and adults alike, honestly. And trust me – we’ve been playing with this Halloween snack mix every day for the past week, kid’s request. She loves the stuff.

Especially the M&Ms and the candy eyeballs. My little sweet-toothed gal seems to build monsters that have quite a few of both of those. Conveniently.

What I usually do is divvy out a small cup or bowlful of snack mix at a time to encourage her to use – and eat – all of the ingredients in the trail mix – the good stuff too, not just the sweets.

Another option, if you would like to be more health-conscious, is to leave out the candy entirely. There’s plenty of ghoulish goodness you can make with sunflower seeds (teeth!), pepitas (excellent noses!), almonds (for everything!), cashews, dried fruits, healthier cereals … really, you can put whatever you want into the mix, and you and the kids can still have lots of fun with it. (Though if you’re making it for a classroom, be sure and follow any allergy policies and swap out the nuts and/or seeds as needed. It’s a completely flexible situation!)

I see you!

I think this snack mix would be perfect for a kid’s Halloween party, or even just a fun playdate snack/activity. I plan to bring a revised version for preschool snack later this month – no nuts or candy for that bunch, but it should still be just as fun. 2018 update: I’ve brought versions of this to two classroom parties since publishing this post, and it’s been a huge hit every time!

Free printable

Here’s a free printable flag for your make-a-monster trail mix! Just download, print it out, cut it out, and use some double-stick tape to adhere it to the top of a bamboo skewer. Be sure to trim off the sharp pointy end (best be safe!) Then just stick it right in to your bowl of trail mix.

Download “Make a Monster – Eat Him Up” printable (PDF)

Print

Make-a-Monster Halloween Snack Mix

Holy beastly goodness! Googly eyes, cereal ears, raisin noses, pretzel heads ...  they'll love creating creatures with this ghoulishly silly snack and activity rolled into one.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 .88 ounce package candy eyeballs
• 2 cups mini pretzels
• 1 cup corn puff cereal
• 1 cup Os cereal
• 3/4 cup M&Ms
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Anything else you want!

Instructions

• Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and toss with your clean hands or a large wooden spoon. Done! I like to serve it in individual cups.
• Stores for at least a couple of weeks in a zipper bag or an airtight container.

Notes

Gluten-Free Option

Choose gluten-free cereals. Judging by the list of ingredients on my particular candy eyeballs package, they appear to be gluten-free, but please use your own judgment!

Refined Sugar-Free Option

Omit candy eyeballs and M&Ms. Choose sugar-free or refined-sugar-free cereals.

Vegan/Dairy-Free Options

I'm not sure if store-bought candy eyeballs are vegan (sorry). To be safe - or just to have fun - perhaps try this homemade googly eyes recipe. So awesome!

Nut-free Option

Omit the almonds.

The post Make-a-Monster Halloween Snack Mix appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

We’re really, really tired.

We have a baby, see, and all that hooey about sleeping through the night? Like, “Oh, is she sleeping through the night at three months? Great!” Yeah, it’s crap. Because, for one, the technical definition of “sleeping through the night” is 5 solid hours. Which, by the way, actually sounds pretty awesome because we haven’t seen that large a hunk in nearly three months. But it’s also crap because just because your three month old is sleeping through the night doesn’t mean when she’s four months, or five, or nine, she will be. She might just, say, forget she had any inkling that she knows how to sleep for longer than two hours at any one time.

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