My favorite HEALTHY Chocolate Chip Cookie-- with avocado?

Today I wanted to bake cookies, but I ran out of butter!  This was probably a blessing in disguise, K and I have been calorie counting and butter is one of those things that’s always in our fridge.  I dislike the taste of margarine and I like to use even a little butter to add some umami to my healthier meals.

Well, I really wanted chocolate chip cookies and I had no butter.  But I had six avocados on the kitchen counter.

I know avocados are nature's butter but what about in cookies…?

Sadly, the only recipes I could find were for double chocolate, no-flour cookies.

This wouldn’t do.  I wanted a real chocolate chip cookie.

I used Brown Eyed Baker‘s adapted recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies.  Instead of 170 grams of butter, I took out my scale and substituted it with 170 grams of avocado.  Here are my main tips:

1. Weigh everything.
You just never know how much avocado you need exactly without weighing it.  Some avocado fruits have larger pits but are smaller in shape.  Weigh all ingredients for best results.

2.  10 minute creaming process.
Ever since baking from Momofuku Milk Bar’s cookbook, I always use their 10-minute creaming process. Creaming butter with sugar for 10 minutes helps the sugars bond well with the fat and eggs and consistently gives me a chewy cookie.  It also blends out any bits of avocado.

3. Unlike butter, avocado does not spread.
I measured out two cookies at first, and placed them in the fridge because the batter consistency was suspiciously creamy to me.  With butter, this consistency has always yielded me a flatter cookie.  How wrong I was, I was NOT baking with butter!

Even though I added a tablespoon extra of flour just to be safe and prevent spread, these cookies didn’t need it.  Avocado just doesn’t melt and spread like butter does. After baking, the cookie had the perfect chewy consistency, but it was a tiny mountain.  It didn’t spread at all.   Oops.

So I proceeded to bake the rest of the batter without refrigeration.  Still no spread, this time I flattened the cookies with a spoon before baking.  I also lengthened the baking time to 20 minutes.  Much better.

4.  Avocado yields a rich, chewy cookie but lacks crunch.
Without butter, these cookies don’t have crispy corners, but they are GOOD.  Rich, thick, chewy, kind of a funky green color.  They taste more like prepackaged soft cookies.  I tried to focus on the avocado taste when I ate **one**.  I couldn’t taste it at all.  The cookie dissolved into my mouth and the avocado gave it a very slight grassy flavor.  Very similar to matcha green tea.

5.  The nutritional difference is quite amazing.
Yeah the only healthy adjustment we made were avocados.  But check this out.

	Avocado, 100g	Butter, 100g
Calories Total Fat Cholesterol	160 15g 0 mg	717 81g 215mg

I know I'm leaving out the added nutrients avocados give, but my mind has been made up.

Next day edit
These cookies are perfect once set.  They store well in a sealed container or ziplock on the kitchen countertop. Still moist and not discolored like you would expect from an avocado cookie. The texture is like a rich butter cookie without the greasiness.

Dense Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
170g ripe avocado flesh
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a chopped chocolate bar)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a seperate bowl, set aside.
3. In an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat avocado and sugars on medium speed for 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs and vanilla to the green mixture, continue to beat on medium high for 4 minutes.
5. Turn down to low, add in dry ingredients and blend until combined.  Blend in chocolate chips.
6. Scoop 1/4 of dough at a time onto the baking sheets, flatten tops with a spoon slightly because they don't spread!  Bake for 20 minutes, until edges look like they're browning.

7.  Let cookies cool for 5-8 minutes before serving.  They keep very well at room temperature and become more dense the longer they set.

Enjoy!

Taking a trip to Cafe Chien, my local cafe.

Before we left for vacation a couple of weeks ago, we had our first snowfall.  When it snows in Chicago the windchill can be brutal, so we decided to commute to a new cafe called Cafe Chien.

This grey overcast is very typical of Chicago during the winter time.  Everything becomes monochromatic for almost six months.  We endure very long winters.

By the time we reached Cafe Chien, we walked past it and our limbs were freezing.  At second glance I was able to notice the petite storefront.  We were in for a pleasant surprise when we stepped inside.

Located in the heart of Albany Park, I was very surprised when I found out a neighborhood cafe had opened.  Cafe Chien is located a few strides from the Kimball brown line, and they serve real lattes made with metropolis coffee. Real lattes!  Not the kind from Starbucks that is thin and watery, I mean velvety, unburnt, frothy lattes!

It was unbelievably cozy and had a Parisian theme throughout.  I ordered a cafe latte for $3.00 and a toasted almond croissant.

The croissant was large, buttery, overflowing with almond spread, warm, crispy, caramelized on the bottom...  The latte was also perfect.

It didn't last long.

Such a cozy and adorable place!!

Cafe Chien: Website
4749 N. Spaulding Ave
Chicago, IL

Rewinding At The End Of Winter Break

Winter break is almost over and I can't believe how fast it went by.  We were in the south for most of our Thanksgiving break, so after K and I arrived home I dove into knitting hats for Christmas.  Before I knew it... I had one week left until my classes began again!

I appreciate the time I had with my family and my kittens, however.  I'm nervous about the new semester but I had a good break.

Toro is looking very handsome in his lion cut!

I also did quite a bit of cooking.  I roasted a whole chicken last week using a fresh herb mixture, lemons and butter.  Whole chickens are so much cheaper than purchasing the parts precut, so roasting them is my new obsession.

It was too delicious to take a photo of, K and I devoured it.  :)