Healthy Substitutions - do things really turn out the same?

I'd always heard that you could substitute applesauce for butter in cookies, but never tried. Several weeks ago Chris wanted chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and I decided to split the batch in half and try out all the tricks on one half, and keep the other half regular. 

I wan't sure I could buy what people say about them still tasting the same. . . I wanted to know for myself how the "healthy" substitutions actually affected the look and taste of the good old tried and true. 

I made two "healthy" changes to the experimental half:

- applesauce for all the butter

- whole wheat flour for white

- I also added dried cranberries, but that's just cause I like 'em!

Pretty simple changes, but here's the results:

I'm pretty sure you can tell which ones are which. So, obviously the alterations do affect the cookies' appearance. 

And yes, the taste is definitely different. . . BUT. . . I liked the "healthy" ones just as much! They're just different. If you're Chris and craving only the goodness of a regular chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, then anything else just isn't gonna cut it. That's understandable. But to me, the "healthy" ones were moister and had more flavors all together. I couldn't help eating them for breakfast as I told myself how good they were for me ;]  Because of their "health factor" I think I ended up eating more than I would have eaten the regular ones! That probably defeats the purpose I know, but what can I say? I LOVE cookies!!!

I know there are many more alterations/substitutions you can do to "healthify" things. I just wanted to share the one I'd been wondering about lately. 

Take your pick!