She Says: Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hello ladies and gent(s). After lunch, I went on a solo N.J. adventure. It was not really a very fun experience because driving in this part of New Jersey is a truly taxing and confusing venture. The signs say about 10 different things and point in ambiguous directions. Every two feet I fear I am magically/accidentally going to go through the Lincoln Tunnel. I drove by my destination. No big deal, right? I could just turn around. Well, no. Not in New Jersey you can’t. You have to get on a different highway and then anotherone and then … I can’t even get into it anymore b/c I’m getting all flustered again. Moving on.
The disasterous drive was worth it as it mean a trip to Trader Joe’s for a special blogger friend who offered to send me some Flat Out Wraps in exchange for some TJs loot. I can’t show the items because I want Meghann (who is now training for a marathon!) to be surprised. But it was such fun picking out stuff from TJs for someone who I knew would appreciate it. It was like picking out a birthday present for a friend, ya know?
When I finally got home I made a quick dinner of salad with extra cooked tofu (previously cooked, frozen and defrosted) and some of my oilless bread w/ Laughing Cow Cheese. It’s garlic flavored cause I love the stink.
I ate quick as a … something quick so I could make some coooookies. I’ve been all about ricotta cheese lately and so I decided to just go crazy and put it in my cookies. It’s actually not that crazy because ricotta is the basis for canoli, right?
Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies
You Need
- 3 T water
- 1 T ground flax
- 1/4 C turbinado raw sugar
- 1/2 C part skim ricotta cheese
- 2 T unsalted butter
- splash of vanilla extract
- 1.5 C oats
- .5 C whole wheat flour
- 1 T cinamon
- 1 T baking powder
- 1 C chocolate chips
** Any Tablespoon measurement is an estimate as I currenty without teaspoons and tablesppons. **
What to do
- Put the water and flax in a small bowl and stir. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. This replaces the eggs in a standard recipe.
- Mix the wheat flour, oats, baking soda and cinamon in a bowl.
- Add the sugar, butter, ricotta and vanilla to the flax/water mix and mix it all up.
- Add the flax mix to the flour mix and stir together. When blended add a cup of chocolate chips.
- I used a small spoon to scoop the dough onto a cookie sheat and baked at 350* for about 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy!
The result is a quite tasty, fairly healthy chocolate chip cookie alternative. Next time I would defintiely use more ricotta because I couldn’t really taste it v. much. I had a reasonable amount far too many to get a taste, but had to stop because they are not for me!
Golden Flax v. Brown Flax
A couple people asked about the nutritional differences between brown and golden flax after reading that I accidentally bought golden variety this time. I found this on the Bob’s Red Mill Website.
There is no nutritional difference between brown and golden flaxseeds. They are simply two different colors of the same seed. The golden seeds tend to have a lighter flavor and texture, but are nutritionally the same as brown flaxseeds.
Clif Bar Voluntary Recall
Clif announced today that it is voluntarily recalling some of its bars that contain peanut butter that could potentially be contaminated with Salmonella. The list of bars and what to do if you have a bar (save the best by, sell by or expiration date and contact the company) can be found here . The list included the Clif Builder’s Peanut Butter Bar, which Mark had today. He’s v. sad about this.
So that’s Monday. See you tomorrow!
Tags: bread, chocolate chip cookies, laughing cow cheese, ricotta, ricotta chocolate chip cookies, salad, tofu
January 19th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
They’re recalling Larabars too
LOVE the cookie recipe!!
I can’t wait for the gifts! I had fun shopping for you too! I had to think long and hard but I think I picked some stuff out that you’ll enjoy. I’m dropping it off at the Post Office tomorrow!!
January 19th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
wow! those cookies sound chunky and delicious
January 19th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Yummy cookies! I just made chocolate chip cookies too!
January 19th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Oh my gosh – look at all those chocolate chips bulging from the cookies. Amazing! I’ve been wanting to get some ricotta ever since I saw Meghann put it on something – berries maybe? Every time I go to buy some, I end up getting yogurt instead…I’m a yogurt junkie. Can’t help myself.
January 19th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Ah, so many product recalls! It’s crazy!
But oh delicious cookies. Ricotta cheese? Nice!
January 19th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Oh geez I ate a Clif Peanut Toffee Buzz on the weekend… I’m scuuured.
I’m NOT, however, scared to try ricotta in a batch of cookies! Sounds quite delicious to me! And heck yeah to more of it, you can never have too much ricotta! Well, at least not in cookies.
January 19th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Hurray for a blogger exchange. It is definitely fun to pick out food for someone you know will enjoy it
Great cookies! I am loving this whole ricotta/cream cheese addition to cookies. It makes them taste so moist!
Poor peanut butter. It’s getting such a bad rap these days…
January 19th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
mmmm, cookies!!
i feel so bad that you had that awful driving experience! i HATE driving. i feel like every time i drive something like that happens to me and i usually end up crying. lol, sad, but true.
January 20th, 2009 at 12:22 am
omg those cookies look SOOOO GOOD!!!! thanks for posting the clif recall! i am a clif bar FANATIC and i just checked all of my 21398123 and thankfully they are ok
pheww!! have a great night !!!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:02 am
I have never commented before but I love your blog. Those cookies look amazing and so does your bread! It looks really moist for having no oil too!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Good looking cookies. How many eggs would that amount of water/flax replace?
And jealous of the TJ’s gift pack! I wish they would open up in Canada, but I’m sure that will never happen.
January 20th, 2009 at 1:08 am
love the cookie recipe!
and thanks for the flax info, i’ve been wondering their differences too!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:51 am
Marianne: 1 egg = 3 T water + 1 T flax
Flax can sub for lots of things. It’s a wonder food.
http://www.hangrypants.com/2008/11/she-says-shes-back/
January 20th, 2009 at 2:20 am
Okay, now THOSE are cookies! THey look incredible!
January 20th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Thanks for the info on flax seeds! I’m also reading your archived post on flax…good stuff!
January 20th, 2009 at 5:55 am
hi heather! those cookies look luscious
i do love ricotta. that’s interesting about flax too. also, your bread looks reeeeeally really good in your previous post! only recently discovered that blog, and love it and have bookmarked various breads to make in the future!
January 20th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Those cookies look awesome. This PB recall is totally freaking me out (although I still ate some PB with my apple this morning so apparently it isn’t freaking me out THAT much)
.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Yummy cookies! I ate PB this morning for the first time since the scare began. I heard jars were ok, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed…
January 20th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Fun road trip!!
Intriguing cookies!!
MY BELOVED PB COOKIE LARABARS WERE RECALLED TOO!!
January 20th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Those cookies sound great!!!
Thanks for the info on the clif bars, we have some of those builder bars at home. I need to take a look at them.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Those cookies look AWESOME!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Thanks for the Clif bar notice. I love chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!
January 20th, 2009 at 9:33 am
On roni’s GreenLiteBites site there’s a recipe for “Ricotta Ca-ookies” (a cake/cookie hybrid) that look wonderful. . . yours do as well!
January 20th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Oh fun! Can’t wait to see what you picked out for her!!
Fabulous recipe as well
January 20th, 2009 at 9:48 am
wow, interesting cookie recipe! I never imagined you could use ricotta cheese in a cookie dough! thanks for the recipe!
January 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hey! What TJ’s did you hit up? I have one right in my town.
Tell me about driving in NJ! I’ve only driven on the parkway a handful of times and I’ve been driving for 8 years!! Shesssh!
January 20th, 2009 at 10:25 am
mmmm ricotta! those cookies look so excitingly chunky.
i admire your dedication to the food-swap-shop. food shopping for someone else is probably one of the most pleasant shopping experiences i can imagine!
January 20th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thanks so much for posting about the Clif recall! I sent my hubby off to work with a Clif Builder’s bar (he already ate it, I checked) — hope he doesn’t come home with salmonella
. And I just ordered my first jar of Barney Butter! Thanks so much for the shipping code!
January 20th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Those cookies are gorgeous!! I’ve used ricotta in a loaf recipe. It turned out pretty good!
January 20th, 2009 at 11:25 am
wow yummer cookies, I am going to have to try these soon. I have been wanting to bake something for my hubbys new coworkers this might be it!
January 20th, 2009 at 11:25 am
those cookies look great! i love how the texture looks.. and anything chocolate makes me so hungry!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Mmm cookies. This morning I made banana bread. I’ve already eaten half the loaf. I’m wondering if there will be any left by the time the sister comes home… maybe I can eat the rest of it and she’ll never know I even made it? Hehe.
January 20th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thank you so much for the clif bar info!!!! wierd. Those cookies look SO GOOD. I’m in class….now I want a cookie:P
January 20th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Wow driving in NJ almost sounds worse than Boston! Although I don’t mind driving in boston anymore
Those cookies sound amazing!! Especially considering I had a chocolate dipped canoli the other day hehe.
January 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
i was a bit skeptical about the ricotta, but those cookies look yummmm…
those links from your previous tempeh blog entry don’t work (ms. swanson is teasing me)!! plus, now i’m even more aware of the potential of tempeh (yours looked SO good). eek! save me from my tempeh emergency
January 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Hahaha. You always crack me up! But heather, I have a question. How come those choco chips looks so big and chunky? the reason i ask this is b/c I had chocolate bundt cake in my oats yesterday from a cake my mother’s friend baked and the chocolate was alot bigger and sweeter and (yummier) than what i bake with. grrrr!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
and do u think i really need to throw away all my mojo bars and larabars with the date or do u think its okay? i find it hard to believe i am actually going to get sick. i guess i have that “it wont happen to me mindset” hehee.
January 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Lee: The chocolate chips are regular sized (they are the Trader Joe’s brand in the picture). It’s the cookies that are small! About the bars, you don’t want salmonella. Toss ‘em and get a refund.
January 20th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
sorry about the clif bar Mark ate
I just ran to check my clif bars that I purchased recently and I am in the clear! yay – thanks for posting that link btw
January 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I get what you mean about NJ driving – if I hadn’t grown up here and learned how to drive here, I’d be screwed. Try navigating in relation to NYC (if you can see it) since it’s to our east.
Or just stop in one of the multitude of gas stations and ask – they guys there are normally very nice!
January 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
Thank you for the info about the Clif Bars. I didn’t even think about the fact that the PB recall would include anything that had PB in it!! We do have PB Builder’s Bars hanging around, so I will have to check their site out. Thanks again!
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Those cookies look great!
February 7th, 2009 at 1:04 am
These cookies look wonderful. I have some extra ricotta and this is the perfect recipe to use it in. I was hoping to do some baking this weekend so this is perfect!