Regular cookies (they don't need to be chocolate chip) are filled with sugar and refined white flower.
We'll talk about to sugar later. First, let's take a quick delve into the scary world of refined white flower.
The reason white flour is bad
Whole grain is made up of three sections. From the outside moving in we have the bran, which is certainly a very good source of fibre, B vitamins and antioxidant, then we have the endosperm (the part that many people haven't heard about!) this is the least useful section of the grain, and mostly consists of starches. Last but not the least, at the heart, we have the germ, which contains healthy proteins, minerals, fat and more B vitamins.
As you've possibly already guessed, the refining procedure used to make white flower throws out the bran along with the germ and just focusses on the endosperm. The part of the grain containing the lowest nutritional value.
Flour, and then therefore cookies (and also bread, and any number of foods) that is made from the endosperm is incredibly bad for your health. So just why do they make it? Why does refined white flour even exist? Because it keeps longer. And foods that don't go off so quickly make a lot more profit. (which evidently is far more important than our well being, right!?)
Refined white flower can lead to an entire host of health issues. Including but definitely not limited to: gaining of weight, diabetes, heart problems, tumors, digestive difficulties, the list continues!
And the sugar....
Sugar has got such a bad rep already that I don't think I have to beat it down anymore. We all know it's bad for us… but it makes things taste better, thus we keep eating it.
A lot of things are just as good without sugar too. Oatmeal cookies are a great example. They are able to get their sweetness from much healthier alternatives to sugar, including honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, raisins, or maybe even chocolate!
Oatmeal cookies are made with whole wheat flower, which still contains all of the healthy parts of the grain, exactly as nature intended.
I also feel I ought to point out that they actually taste much better too! Wouldn't you think? To me at least, oatmeal cookies seem more indulgent and sophisticated than regular cookies… and don't get me started on oatmeal cookies with stem ginger! They always get the top secret hiding spot behind the pans! Way too tasty for kids!