Any Creative Ways to Make Cookies More 'Healthy'?

Question

Hi everyone,I recently received three big boxes of butter cookies as a gift, but my family isn't too fond of sweets. I'm looking for creative ways to use these, preferably in slightly sweet dishes (I've already tried adding them to oatmeal, which works!). The recipes I've found online are mostly too sweet, and since I'm cooking for my parents, I would love something that's more health-conscious.Has anyone tried using butter cookies in an unconventional way? I'd love to hear your suggestions!Thanks in advance for your help! 😊

BoulderGalinTokyo · Answer

First sentence was for a tiramisu.

BoulderGalinTokyo · Answer

If you want something not too sweet try replacing the ladyfingers with the butter cookies, but reduce the sweetener someplace else in the recipe.

Make a smoothie with kale and a little fruit. You could 'hide' your cookies as the sweetener inside the drink, or sprinkle crumbled cookies on top as a topping.

But no matter what you do, 702551 and Nancy said it correctly, the cookies will not become "healthy".

Emmie · Answer

It sounds like none of you really want to eat them, but they don't have to go to waste. You can always give them away to a food bank, community pantry, or bring them into an office/church/dinner party/etc.

702551 · Answer

You are still trying to force them to eat something that they aren't particularly interested in eating and isn't particularly healthy.

Cookies aren't vitamins, your family doesn't have to eat them.

Yeah, you could put a cookie next to a plate of cut fresh fruit to make them "healthier" [sic] but the whole thing would really be healthier if you just eliminate the cookies and put the plate of fresh fruit in front of them. They aren't required to eat the cookies and you aren't required to use them. They are boxed items and thus suitable for donation to a foodbank.

It's like asking how to make a Big Mac or Coca-Cola "healthier". Splitting a Big Mac in half and pairing it with a light salad will reduce the calorie count at that particular meal but if you want truly healthier, you'd just eliminate the burger and just serve the salad.

I don't understand why you are going out of your way to serve something they aren't inclined to eat. Like I said, they don't need cookies in their diet to live healthy lives.

I had a cookie after dinner. But I also had a bunch of fruit. I ate the cookie because I like it (I even baked it myself) but I have enough discipline not to eat a dozen of them, just one.

If they don't want cookies, don't force feed them. They're your parents not little kids. As adults they need to take responsibility for their own decisions and actions and putting unhealthy things on their plate that they *don't* like makes zero sense.

Nancy · Answer

Yes.  Using the cookie (crumbled and mixed in) ito replace amounts of fat and sugar in a bread dough. Those amounts are usually very small (say, between 1 tbsp and a quarter cup) and the sugar cookies could supply it.

lanchinguyennn · Answer

Many thanks! The bread recipe sounds interesting, do you mean adding cookie crumbs to the bread dough?

lanchinguyennn · Answer

This looks delicious! Love the idea of experimenting with the butter cookies here, although it might be a bit too sweet for my family's taste. Will keep this in mind for when we're in the mood for something indulgent. Thanks for the recommendation :)

lanchinguyennn · Answer

Thank you for your comment! I guess that's what I meant - finding recipes to serve the cookies in smaller portions. Eating them plain isn't really our family's cup of tea, so I'm trying to find ways to diversify how they're served. That's why I put "healthy" in quotation marks, I'm just looking for ways to make them more nutritious per serving. Many thanks for pointing this out, though! :)

Miss_Karen · Answer

This recipe for banana pudding cookies calls for vanilla wafer cookies  but I bet you could use the butter cookies instead.https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/banana-pudding-cookies/

702551 · Answer

Whatever you do isn't going to change the cookies' nutritrional breakdown since they are pre-made commercially baked products. The only way to make them "healthier" is to serve a smaller portion each time or simply to not serve them at all. A pound of butter is a pound of butter whether you eat it in a day or a month and you can't extract any of the ingredients from a baked cookie.

If this were a recipe you'd have the option of adjusting the ingredients or selecting a different preparation but that is not a possibility here.

Personally I'd regift the boxes. In the same way, sometimes I buy Girl Scout cookies but I never eat them myself; they are always donated to a food bank.

Best of luck.

Nancy · Answer

Well, I think the quotation marks around healthy in the question give the game away. The butter cookies may be delicious and indulgent, but healthy they are not.

Though maybe for mental health they would be good.

Use them sparingly. As a treat with fruit or drinks.

Use them I recipes where sugar and butter/fat might normally be used. For example:
• in a bread recipe
• In a bean salad instead of dried fruit or a • sweetener with soft cheese or cheese slices instead of crackers.

They freeze well for about 2 months, so stash in freezer before they go stale in your limited use plan.

Any Creative Ways to Make Cookies More 'Healthy'?

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