These delicious cookies are packed with flavor and heart-healthy nutrients. Make a batch any time, and fill your house with the fragrant holiday smells of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Ingredients

1½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour or barley flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup baby-food prunes or applesauce
1 tablespoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsulphered molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 ¼ teaspoons boiling water
¼ cup granulated sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325˚.
2. Put flour, cocoa, and spices into a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Put prunes and ginger into bowl of electric mixer and blend on medium speed until well mixed. Add brown sugar; mix until combined. Add molasses; mix until combined.
4. Add flour mixture into 2 batches, alternating with baking soda mixture.
5. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water.
6. Transfer dough to a piece of plastic wrap and pat to a 1-inch thickness. Refrigerate until firm, or until you can’t wait any longer (if you don’t wait, the dough will be really sticky)!
7. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1½ inch balls, then roll in granulated sugar (optional). Space balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until surfaces crack slightly. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Nutrition information

Makes 2 dozen small cookies
Per serving (1 cookie):

Calories: 60
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Sodium: 55mg
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrate: 14g
Sugars: 7g
Dietary fiber: 1g

Recipe from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD