EatingWell reader Beverley Rosenber of Santa Barbara, California, contributed this recipe to our Kitchen to Kitchen department. She updated a favorite treat by cutting back on sugar and incorporating whole grains. To increase protein, Ms. Rosenber replaces the rolled oats with 1 cup almond meal.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies

ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Grind oats in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per cookie: 99 calories; 5 g fat (2 g sat, 2 g mono); 11 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 64 mg sodium.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Didn't have whole wheat flour so used 3/4 cup all purpose and 1/4 cup "Durum Atta" flour (it was all I had), and also ran out of canola oil so used half canola, have evoo. I also threw in a handful of dried, tart cherries. They still came out great!

Anonymous, Salem, MA

This cookie came out great! I have tried many recipes, which are all good, but for a low fat, low carb cookie, you cannot find anything that tastes as good. I used 1/2 white & 1/2 whole wheat flour, because I thought they might come out too heavy, but next time, I will go with 100% whole wheat flour. The oats are a great addition to cut the carbs. Thanks, Bev!

Anonymous, San Diego, CA

These cookies are one of the best i have tried. Husband and son big fans also.

Anonymous, Windsor, ON

These are better than "real" chocolate chip cookies!

Anonymous, Salem, MA

These are excellent. I was a little skeptical with the whole wheat and the canola oil, but once baked and eaten they were yummy! Light, crispy and delicious. I used chocolate chips that were 60% cocoa. This recipe made the taste of the cocoa stand out. Thanks for this recipe, Ms. Rosenber.

Anonymous, Boulder, CO

I tried the almond meal as a substitute for the rolled oats and the cookies were fabulous!!!! I agree that they are better than the old standby chocolate chip cookie recipe!!!

Anonymous, Santa Barbara, CA

These cookies were delicious! They got rave reviews from my entire family, and my dad was surprised to hear they were made with wheat flour. Very flavorful...who would want to go back to the regular chocolate chip cookies after trying these? :) I think I may add walnuts next time as well...

, MA

I opted for the finely chopped almonds instead of rolled oats and they came out AMAZING! After tasting one, the family wanted me to make 2 extra batches (a lot of work, but well worth it!) <3

Anonymous, Long Beach, CA

My nephew (6yrs old) and I loved these cookies!!He is a big chocolate chip cookie fan and I was surprised to see that he loved the healthier version. They were all gone in two days! Next time...we are going to try them out with mini chocolate chips instead. Thanks for the great recipe!!!

Anonymous, Brooklyn, NY

REALLY good! - they are so addictive and simply disappear off the plate. I don't buy Chocolate Chip cookies any more - I make these :)

Anonymous, Phoenix, AZ

I added a handful of ground flax seeds...they were awesome!

Anonymous, Los Angeles, CA

I thought these were quite good and so did my boyfriend (who's very picky about his chocolate chip cookies, by the way). I used 1/2 cup ground almonds and 1/2 cup ground pecans instead of the oats because that's what I had on hand. I was skeptical at the greasy looking dough, but the cookies baked up quite well. I will make them again.

Penelope, Burlington, VT

I quadruple this recipe by using my big kitchenaid mixer and make extras to freeze and share with family and friends. I use 'smartbalance' margarine instead of butter and joke that they will help lower one's cholesterol too. These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever and I have done lots of research on the subject! I love eating and sharing these, knowing they are absolutely delicious and full of healthy ingredients.

Melissa, Spokane, WA

I used M & M and M & M almonds. I smashed up the M&M almonds. Wife said they were better than sex. I'll make these far and few between. Worked out great! Thanks.

Wild Bill, Providence, KY

Excellent! Even when using 1/2 splenda! Sprayed a little cooking spray on top to get brown and crispy!

Sdevoe, Dayton, OH

Yummy! Taste great and were easy to make. They even actually look like the picture!

Laura, OK

Loved it!

Karen, San Diego, CA

When I made these cookies they spread like crazy - so much so that they were plain FLAT. Yummy, but flat... Any suggestions on how to make then not so flat? I followed the directions, but forgot to use the hand mixer (maybe that was it?) I don't know - someone help? I'm willing to make them again, this time with the mixer, cuz they tasted so good!

Lisa, Farmingville, NY

Thank you, these are great! My variation is to use orange flavored dried cranberries instead of chocolate and add 1/2 t. orange extract, and sometimes white chocolate chips. Another is to replace half the oil and butter (1/4 c. total) with peanut butter, and milk chocolate chips.

Fran Nelson, Sausalito, CA

To the above poster, Lisa, perhaps your baking soda was old. That's really the only reason I can come up with that your cookies didn't rise properly.

Jen, Aurora, IL

I was very skeptical about a cookie with whole wheat flour as most I have tried taste like... well, cardboard. I used my 3/4 cup measure and filled half way with oatmeal and 1/2 way with almonds then ground it up. I thought they were good warm but the real test came after they cooled and the next day. Still moist, flavorful and one of the best tests was my five year old. She loved them!!! I will definitely be making again. If I am going to eat cookies, they might as well have some health benefits to them. Thanks for a great recipe!!1

CL, FL

ONE OF ZE BEST CHOC CHIP COOKIES. I belong to the crisp and crunchy choc chip cookie camp as opposed to moist and chewy. So i baked them slightly longer and they were D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. even my kids (one is 4 and the other is 2) LOVED them. I think they r even better then their full fat counter-parts.

Veron from Singapore

These are really good. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have guessed they were made from whole wheat. My family gobbled them up! Lastly, I should add that I used salted butter, which resulted in salty cookies. Use unsalted butter when you make them! I'll definitely bake these again!

Anonymous, Flushing, NY

I love these cookies...better than normal chocolate chip cookies and better for you. Can't beat that! I used quick oats this time and didn't blend them for sake of time...cookies still turned out terrific.

Michelle, SLC, UT

This is my new favorite cookie recipe! Thanks for sharing it.

Sara, Minneapolis, MN

This recipe has great flavor but the cookies always turn out flat for me. I'm going to try adding a little more flour today to see if that gets them to stay a little softer and not so flat. Any suggestions for me?

Jody, Hingham, MA

This recipe has great flavor but the cookies always turn out flat for me. I'm going to try adding a little more flour today to see if that gets them to stay a little softer and not so flat. Any suggestions for me?

Jody, Hingham, MA

I LOVED this recipe. I've attempted to make a moist and delicious healthy cookie many times but they ended up tasting not too good. I was skeptical about using 100 percent whole wheat flour at first but it turned out beautiful. I made my cookies small and baked them for only 5 minutes to keep them extra soft and they turned out great. I also put them in the fridge before I baked them off since I found the dough kind of runny. After taking them out of the fridge the dough was much harder so my cookies didn't turn out to be flat. Definitely something I would make again. I will also be trying the peanut butter suggestion that a previous user suggested! =D

Christine, NY

I filled a 9x9 round pan with the batter to make a chocolate chip cookie cake for a birthday. It turned out great! We used "Sugar In The Raw" for the granulated sugar and light-tasting olive oil for the canola oil - tasted great still. It's definitely more "bready" than a decadent, buttery cookie, but still very enjoyable. We will now be making these as our new chocolate chip cookies!

K

These cookies are so good, my 2 yr old eats these with no hesitation. Instead of adding the egg, I substitute milled flax seed solution (1 Tbsp milled flax seed: 3Tbsp water- mix and allow to sit for a couple of minutes). The flax solution makes the cookies moist and chewy.

aCb, MS

Step aside Pillsbury and Nestle, this recipe has trumped any classic chocolate chip recipes. Its light, healthy, and a great base to experiment so let your creative juices flow. I prefer to add 1/4 c extra oats, 1 tsp cinnamon and maybe a touch of ginger to add a nice smell to the home. Bless you Bev!

Connie Clegg, New york, NY

I tried Bev's substitution of almond meal for rolled oats, and the results were terrific! This is a yummy cookie with great flavor, and the almond meal added a nice bit of nuttiness to it. I'll definitely make these again. I spent a little extra on premium chocolate chips (bittersweet instead of semisweet) and the rich, dark taste made it well worth the extra buck or so.

Frank, Philadelphia, PA

These were wonderful! Like others, I was initially skeptical about the whole wheat flour and oil, but they turned out beautifully. I think they tasted better the next day than fresh out of the oven. They are good for fans of crunchy cookies (like me). But the real test was my boyfriend, who usually doesn't like my attempts to make healthier baked goods. I didn't mention the addition of whole wheat flour. He said they were "amazing" and hasn't stopped eating them! Thank you for a fabulous recipe.

J.

I used orange-flavored olive oil in place of the canola for a tiny hint of orange flavor. One of my house guests is the pickiest eater I know, and his favorite cookies are the typical, full-fat, high-sugar chocolate chip cookie. Surprisingly, these cookies even passed his picky tastes! He was thrilled to take the left-overs home. :) Another score for EatingWell!!

Stephanie, Friday Harbor, WA

Loved this cookie! Did rise for me and extremely tasty. Husband could not tell it was whole wheat. I used milk choc chips and would definitely cut back the sugar a bit next time. Very tasty!

Jeannette, CA

I make these cookies all the time. Sometimes I make them with mint chocolate chips for a change of flavor. They freeze excellent.

Jolanta, Saskatoon, CA

**HELP!!** After reading the reviews, I really want to make this for my surprise anniversary dinner. Has anybody tried adding almonds in addition to the oatmeal? He loves oatmeal and I love almonds so I wanted to know if they would taste ok together. Also, is there anyway that I could completely get rid of the butter? I honestly don't like using butter. Your help will be VERY much appreciated!

sophia, Rowland Hts, CA