Chocolate Fix

Well, tonight I NEEDED chocolate, so much so that I ALMOST dug into some mini chocolate bars, but thankfully I was also in the mood to bake (imagine that?) so I decided to give myself a healthier, fair trade, organic chocolate fix. This recipe is altered from one I used to make years ago, and I cut it in half since it was still an experiment, so feel free to double! I think I could alter it a little more to make it even more healthy, and I'll note that in the recipe. I could barely wait for the cookie to cool, it smelled so good, and it was one of the most delicious! Calorie-counters beware, this is not really a low-cal dessert, although it does have LOTS of fiber and good for you stuff in it, and keep in mind that a big chunk of the calories come from the olive oil, so it's not all bad!

Choc-Oat Bars (aka chocolate heaven!)

1 egg
1/4 c Sun Crystals
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c olive oil
vanilla (a splash, as noted before, I never measure vanilla)
1/4 c each whole wheat pastry flour, barley flour, raw wheat germ, whole wheat flour (after comparing calories, the barley flour has 15-35 LESS calories per 1/3 cup than the others, so I will try to incorporate more next time, perhaps in place of the whole wheat flour)
1/2 c steel cut oats (This was the best surprise! They are a much different texture than rolled oats and add a great texture and nutty flavor. I can't wait to try them as a warm breakfast cereal!)
baking powder, soda (I really didn't measure, just dumped a little of each in)
cinnamon (to taste, I put more in than most people would, but I like the flavor it adds)
dash salt
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (organic, fair trade- there are less chips in these bags than in a "traditional" chocolate chip package, so if you use traditional chips you may only need 1/3 of a bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 8x8 glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Cream together the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add rest of the ingredients except for the chips and combine, then stir in the chips. Place in baking dish and bake 20-25 minutes. Cool, cut, enjoy!