Stew of the Week: Special Battle Edition

Cookie vs. Cookie!

To celebrate my upcoming birthday, I'm having a cookie-off on "Stew of the Week" today.

Both are internet recipes. One, I've tried and loved. The other, I have not yet tried but, with some adjustments, could be great.

Cookie #1: The Reigning Champion...Bev's Chocolate-Chip Cookies!
Bev's cookies have a lot going for them. Here's what I approved of:
1. Whole wheat flour. Always a great start.
2. Rolled oats. Delicious and nutritious.
3. Canola oil. So much better than butter.
4. Brown sugar. Delicious. (not agave, but so far I haven't found any purely agave cookie recipes. They usually use half agave, half sugar, which I will probably try in the future)

Caveats:
1. In addition to canola oil, also uses butter. Weirded out! When we made them at home, we used light Smart Balance, but it still seemed weird to us that it called for both.
2. Too much salt. The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp, but definitely next time I'll use 1/4.
3. Overall, the fat content left a little to be desired, but the pro's definitely outweighed the cons in the taste test, so they'll be hard to beat.

Cookie #2: The Challenger: Low Calorie Low Fat Chocolate-Chip Cookies (No points on the name)
What I approve of:
1. Only 1/4 c. margarine (again, I'll use Smart Balance) in the whole batch. Not bad.
2. Egg whites instead of a whole egg. Could be great, could be gross.
3. Only 1/4 tsp of salt. That's more like it!
4. Overall, simpler recipe. Calls for less ingredients, all things which I already have, which is always nice.

Caveats:
1. Doesn't call for whole wheat flour or rolled oats. Obviously I will be substituting whole wheat in, but we'll see if that throws off their game.
2. Overall sugar content is slightly higher than Bev's (compare 2/3 cup to 3/4 cup). Not too much of a difference, but we'll see if the bump is worth it or if I should stick to the fattier but less sugarier Bev version.
3. No canola oil. We'll see how much these guys lose without that good stuff.

At my birthday party, we'll bake my own adjusted versions of both and see which cookie reigns supreme. I assure you there will only be the most discerning cookie tasters present, so be prepared, cookies, for some harsh scrutiny, or, well, chewtiny.

Let the battle begin!