Lovey Burman’s Kookie Jar is famous for its made-to-order low-fat cookies; Pic by Jagan Negi, (Above) Executive chef Yogender Pal at The Claridges is experimenting with olive oil cookies to bring the fat percentage down; Pic by Rashbehari Das

How about indulging without feeling guilty? Imagine digging into chocolate cookies without bothering to count calories. Biscuit lovers couldn’t have asked for more as bakers, chefs and health experts churn out cookies that are low on fat and sugar.

But these cookies taste just as sinful as their buttery counterparts thanks to new-fangled recipes that play with fat and sugar substitutes. So each guilt-free bite comes courtesy brown sugar instead of white and white butter/olive oil instead of yellow butter. “The idea is to make the cookies nutritious and yet to keep the flavours intact,” says Lovey Burman of Kookie Jar.

The ingredients play a vital role in making these low-fat cookies easy to digest and healthy. Some cookies are even diet specific like high protein cookies or zero carb or zero fat cookies. But you will have to pay a minimum of Rs 25 per such cookie. For, ingredients like oats, granola, rye flour and olive oil that go into making low-cal cookies are expensive, which push costs up.

And how low fat is low-fat? Burman says that usually the calorie count of these cookies is cut down by almost 50 per cent of the original recipe. “For instance, a regular chocolate chip cookie will have about 130 calories but the low-fat version will have just 65 calories,” says Burman. Kookie Jar is famous for its made-to-order cookies that keep specific dietary requirements in view, especially its low-fat chocolate chip cookies.

Shikha Sharma offers cookies made with brown sugar and white butter to cut down the fat

At Flurys, Chef Sanjeev Mishra offers multi-grain and sugar-free cookies. So customers can munch their way to health with mixed grain cookies loaded with sunflower seeds, oats and bran. The multi-grain and sugar-free cookies are priced between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000 a kilo.

At Kookie Jar, the calorie conscious can take their pick from a healthy range of whole grain cookies made with oatmeal, raisin and whole wheat. There are also Savory Cheese Biscuits for those on a high protein, high fat and zero carb diet, chocolate chip cookies for a low-fat diet and coconut macaroon cookies that are high on protein and low on fat.

At dietician Ishi Khosla’s Whole Foods, gluten-free cookies are a big hit

At dietician Dr Ishi Khosla’s Whole Foods health store, besides whole grain cookies with bran, seeds, nuts and dry fruits, gluten-free cookies are also a hit. “We do these for individuals suffering from celiac disease, a condition in which people are allergic to gluten, a protein present in wheat, barley and oats,” says Khosla.

Lemon Wheat Bran, Oatmeal Raisin, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Date Newtons are other options that are low in sugar and fat and have no trans-fats. Their price range varies from Rs 35 to Rs 70 for 150gm. Khosla says: “At an average about two low-fat cookies can be consumed in a day.”

Chef Sanjeev Mishra’s mixed grain cookies at Flurys come loaded with sunflower seeds, oats and bran ; Pic by Rashbehari Das

Dietician Dr Shikha Sharma too has formulated a range of health biscuits including Almond Cookies, Jaggery Cookies, Oat Cookies, Barley Cookies, Chocolate Cookies, Salty Cookies, Date cookies and Wheat Cookies.

“These cookies have a total fat percentage of 30 per cent, which is less than the regular cookies available in market,” says Sharma. The cookies are made of brown sugar and instead of maida, they are prepared with wheat flour and oats. “We add white butter rather than yellow which is high in fat content,” says Sharma.

Olive oil has entered not just Indian kitchens but bakeries as well. At The Claridges, Surajkund, Delhi, NCR, executive chef, Yogender Pal, says: “Substituting butter with olive oil brings the fat percentage down by half.” His bakery offers granola cookies, multi-grain cookies and oatmeal cookies that are light and easy to digest.

So, there’s no need to deprive your sweet tooth — just go the low fat way.

Low-fat chocolate chip cookie (makes about six dozen)

Ingredients

• 1 cup low fat margarine • 1½ cup brown sugar 1 egg • 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour ½tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt •1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts • 1 packet (12 ounces) chocolate chunks, 70 per cent cocoa chocolates

Method

Heat the oven to 375°. Mix the margarine, brown sugar and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt to make a stiff dough. Now add the walnuts and chocolate chunks. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about two inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies turn light brown and remove from the cookie sheet.