Health-ier Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies/Bars

I believe in enjoying your food without sabatoging your health.  Too often desserts are overly sweetened.  Through trial and error, I have learned ways to reduce sugar levels without compromising taste. Sometimes recipes came out too heavy, other times too dry.  But after a few times 'round the rodeo, I've discovered in most baking recipes, I can reduce sugar from 1/3 to 1/2 and add a little bit of oat meal or flour plus a small increase of liquid, and the taste is even better because the "sweetness" does not overpower the flavor of the flours and grains.

This is a cookie or cookie bar recipe I have experimented with over the years.  I have five kids, and thus, often triple the recipe for convenience. :)

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. apple sauce (natural, no sugar)
1 1/4 c. raw sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp natural vanilla or almond extract
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp hot water
3 c. oats
1 c. chocolate chips (semi sweet are my fav)
optional: reduce chocolate chips to 1/2 c., add up to a cup of chopped nuts, dried fruit (craisins, raisins, coconut, apple, etc.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla until smooth. Add flour and mix well. In small bowl, dissolve baking soda into hot water. Add to batter and mix well. Add applesauce. (If you mix applesauce prior to the flour, its acid tends to "curdle" the butter.) Mix well. Add oatmeal and any remaining ingredients.

Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before transferring, or cookies tend to crumble. If you add a lot of nuts or fruit, a bar cookie is a better option for serving than drop-cookies.