Ranger Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 1/4 cup 100 % bran cereal
• 1/4 cup old-fasioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup trans-fat-free margarine
• 1/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Makes 16 cookies

1. Heat oven to 375 F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. Place pecans on another baking sheet and bake until fragrant and lightly toasted, 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside and cool briefly. Pulse cooled pecans, bran cereal, oats, chocolate chips and coconut in a blender or food processor until coarsely ground.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at high speed, beat margarine, sugar substitute, egg and vanilla until creamy. With mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in pecan mixture.
4. Drop well-rounded tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet. Bake until tops of cookies appear dry and bottoms are golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook. The true origintiflavored cookie is unknown, but it is said that it was named for park and forest rangers who appreciated it's energy-boosting ingredients such as coconut flakes and rolled oats. These cookies are so delicious you will forget they're healthy for you. These cookies can be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They are filled with so much flavor and chewy they can be made in 30 minutes and enjoyed by everyone.