Baking with Avocados

I have a bag of avocados sitting on my counter, ready to be consumed. Guacamole? Chocolate pudding? Salad? Nah, it wasn't doing it for me. I wanted COOKIES!

If you Google 'baking with avocados' the results are endless. Sometimes people shy away from these wonderful fruits because of their caloric density and relatively high fat content. The fat content of avocados is unique in that over half the fat in an avocado is in the form of oleic acid (good stuff), which is similar to composition of olive oil. Don't be afraid of this nutrient dense food; avocados are great for your eyes, satiety and cholesterol. Plus, they're delicious! 

Apparently avocados can be substituted for butter. That makes sense; they're high in fat and when blended, has the consistency of butter (kind of).
I don't think this substitution is appropriate in all recipes but I thought it would be worth a try. I came across cake, brownie and cookie recipes that used avocado as an entire or partial substitution. Astonishingly, I wasn't in the mood for chocolatey goodness. Instead, I opted for an oatmeal-like chocolate chip cookie recipe. I reduced the whole wheat flour by half and replaced it with ground flax seed and whole oats. The recipe called for Splenda but I am not an artificial sweetener user so I used a little honey and apple sauce. I tend to keep a bar of dark chocolate in the house (there's that sweet tooth again) so, I chopped up a bit of that into chunks and added it to the batter.

Oatmeal Avocado Chocolate Cookies

The result: green blobs that resemble cookies. I know, they don't look that appetizing but they are tasty. I will admit that the cookies don't produce that 'melt in your mouth' sensation that only butter can create, but they definitely satisfied my cookie crave. Would I make them again? Without a doubt!