Choco-Doodle-Roon Cookies Recipe

Why It's Good:

Experts say that not depriving oneself and planning for temptation helps one stay on track with a healthy routine. And as far as winter temptations go, you can't do better than the Choco-Doodle-Roon cookie—the melted chocolate and spicy cinnamon will warm you, the toasty coconut will cheer you. Bending New Year's Resolution #1 was never so much fun. And since these cookies are made with the healthiest ingredients around, there's less guilt attached.

Why It's Green:

Almost all of the ingredients listed below are either Fair-Trade certified, which means products are purchased at a fair price from people working under fair and environmentally healthy conditions; or organically grown, which means products were grown without the use of toxic fertilizers and pesticides that harm the land and the health of the growers.

Where To Get It:

Click on the above ingredients to see all the organic and fair-trade ingredients we used.

Crazy-Good, Less-Guilt Cookies

Last night, I walked out of my office building into a snowflake flurry, and kept warm with thoughts of the rich smell of baking filling my home. I couldn't wait to bake my signature cookie: chocolate chip meets snickerdoodle meets macaroon, or, the Choco-Doodle-Roon. (It's an improvisation on a very popular recipe for chocolate-chip cookies; I added cinnamon and sugar sprinkles, and topped it with flakes of snowy coconut.) Truly scrumptious—they've often been "tested" on friends and neighbors—these cookies could only be improved by using organic or fair-trade ingredients, some of which have just come out in stores. This is one green cookie! And as a veteran cookie baker, I will say: I'm never going back to conventional. Maybe it's the purity of the ingredients, maybe it's the quality, but there are very distinct flavor differences. It's like a one-man band compared to a symphony—subtle undertones you never knew existed are loud and clear. The unrefined cane sugar is more robust, the butter tastes freshly churned, and the chocolate chips dance circles around the usual supermarket brands. I've used the ingredients below, which can be found online or at most healthy grocery stores, but by all means, experiment with your local offerings, like farm-fresh eggs and butter.—Elizabeth McMullen

  Choco-Doodle-Roons



Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

1 cup melted organic butter
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup Fair Trade brown unrefined organic ground cane sugar
2 organic, cage-free eggs
1 tsp. organic vanilla
2 cups organic unbleached flour
2 cups organic whole-grain oats (measure first, then blend in blender until a fine powder)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
12 oz. bag Fair Trade chocolate chips
3 oz. organic chocolate bar, grated
3/4 cup organic coconut flakes (for topping)
1/4 cup organic cinnamon/sugar blend (equal parts for topping; mix by hand)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In small bowl, mix melted butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Combine in larger bowl with flour, oat powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
4. Mix well, adding chocolate chips and grated chocolate bar.
5. Shape dough into golf-ball sized balls and space 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Sprinkle cookies first with cinnamon/sugar blend; then coconut flakes
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!