chocolate pecan cookie bites

After a long workday involving a VERY snowy and cumbersome commute, homemade chocolate chip cookies were just what I needed. Similar to my latest post, this isn't necessarily a super healthy recipe, but maybe just a slightly better choice than your run of the mill cookie by making some clever substitutions.
I used a little bit of whole wheat flour in addition to white to add a little fiber, added a little canola oil and used less butter to cut back on saturate fat, used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate to cut down on the sugar, and used an egg white rather than a whole egg to cut back on the cholesterol.  And I made them smaller than your average cookie, but the jury is still out as to whether or not this is in fact a helpful, not harmful tactic.  Sometimes if portion sizes are much smaller, we (or at least I) tend to maybe over-indulge to overcompensate for the smaller size.  For example, I myself don't think twice about having a few "fun-size" candy bars during Halloween time, but would very rarely eat a regular size candy bar, even though they are probably pretty equivalent when it comes to the nutrition stats.  
So if you think you might find it a little too easy to pop several little cookies into your mouth in one sitting, make them a little bigger but know they'll have higher calories, carbohydrates, fat etc.  I did make them small this time because I am planning on bringing a bunch in to work tomorrow (you're welcome girls!).

Chocolate Pecan Cookie Bites (serves 18, 2 cookies per serving)
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg white
1/4 cup whole wheat flour 
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans


Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Then start your batter by creaming the butter, oil and brown sugar.  Once mixed well, add the vanilla, salt and egg white, mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, combine both flours and baking soda.  Slowing add the dry ingredients to the the batter, mix well-- the batter will turn into a stiff dough. 

Then add the chocolate chips, blending well.  Chop up some pecans, or by them prechopped and add them to the dough.  Walnuts would also work well to.  HELPFUL HINT:  When you are storing nuts, keep them in your freezer.  Sometimes they can get rancid if stored at room temperature for too long because they are so high in fat. 

Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet using a teaspoon.  Bake in the oven on 375 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the edges get golden brown. The recipe yields 36 cookies if you make them into teaspoon sized ball, the cookies will be 1 1/2 to 2 inch diameter, two will be just enough for a little treat. 

mix well, but gently!

Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes!

Eat them with a cold glass of milk, yummy!