1450 farm
Learning as we grow on our small farm in lfk
Honey Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don’t know if many of you know this but we try to stick to a low [cane] sugar diet. Meaning, we are not religious about it, but we try to avoid super sugary treats sweetened with cane sugar or corn syrup. It’s tricky to do and we are not perfect.
Growing up in a Catholic family, we always made it a fun challenge to give up something we loved for lent. In 2015, I gave up SUGAR. It was HARD. Sugar is SO addicting and it’s no wonder; according to researchers from Queensland University of Technology, excessive sugar consumption increases the dopamine levels in a similar way to other drugs such as cocaine. Whoa, talk about a sugar high. I literally didn’t have an ounce of sugar for 40 days (and 40 nights) and guess what, I no longer craved it! Now, I’m human and social and I slowly allowed myself a sugary treat once a week thereafter but tried to keep it to a minimum. (I repeat, I tried but sometimes failed)
Anyway, lets get back to the point shall we? COOKIES. Ok, so chocolate chip cookies have always been one of my go-to’s for a sweet fix. Is there really anything better than a warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven, chocolate chip cookie with a glass of ice-cold milk?
If you have a favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, keep in mind you could probably replace all of the sugar with honey (cut the quantity by 25%-50% depending on how sweet you like them) and still really enjoy the cookies. My family is so used to me cutting back (or sometimes out) the sugar in most things, they don’t mind when sweets aren’t as…well, sweet. In fact, sometimes even the littles will say things that aren’t homemade by mama, are too sweet!
That being said, for this recipe, I did add just a little brown sugar to help with the texture and at the same time adding a hint of that brown sugar bitter-in-a-good-way flavor. But I have eliminated all added cane sugar in the past and you still get a good cookie.
I also love splitting the “fats” up between butter and coconut oil. I both love the flavor and added moisture I get from doing it that way. Ok, ok, here is the recipe.
Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Honey and Coconut Oil
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour (we like King Arthur’s
1 tsp baking soda (we like Bob’s Red Mill)
½ tsp salt (We like Redmond’s Real Salt )
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup coconut oil, softened (We like Spectrum’s brand)
¼ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of locally sourced honey
2 tsp vanilla extract (we like to make our own!)
2 farm fresh eggs
1 12oz package of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. (We like Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips)
Preheat convection oven to 360 degrees F and get out two cookie sheets and cooling racks if you have them. Some people like using a newspaper with a dishtowel if they do not have a rack.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, mix and set aside. In a mixer, mix together the butter, honey and brown sugar until fluffy. Crack eggs into a small bowl and add with vanilla to the butter mixture slowly until incorporated.
Carefully add the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until well mixed. Be sure to scrape the bowl. Put the mixer on the slowest setting and add in your chocolate chips a little at a time.
Using a tablespoon, drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets at least 2 inches apart. Bake 8-11 minutes – remove once beginning to turn a golden color. Let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks. Let cool until room temperature and then place in an air-tight container to prevent from going stale. Don’t forget to taste test with a big ol’ glass of milk!
P.S. It REALLY helps to have two crazy kids ages 4 and 6 to help. No really…. It truly does. You can come borrow mine…ANYTIME. You’ll burn the calories you are about to consume while cleaning up after them!
Now some of you hard-core sugar free peeps will not approve of this recipe. It is not designed for diabetics or the like but for those of us who like their sweets on the lighter side. ❤
Cheers!
1450 farm 
Hi Shannon, Shari’s friend Rita here, you mentioned making your own vanilla … I think I know how but would be curious how you make it please.
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Hey Rita! Thanks for stopping by! It is so easy! Pretty much, I just used small 4oz bottles and filled with 1 and half vanilla beans that I sliced both vertically and horizontally and smashed a bit and filled with a good white rum. Then wait about 12 weeks – I kept them in a dark cabinet and tried to give them a little shake weekly. I think the key is buying a good quality vanilla beam and good quality alcohol.
Here are some bottles that would work great.Vivaplex, 12, Clear, 4 oz Glass Bottles, with Lids
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Can’t wait to try this. Have all the ingredients except chocolate chips.. tomorrow!
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Yay! I can’t wait to to hear what you think! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
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