Granola Cookies full of whole grains

Pepperidge Farm Granola Cookies. Crunchy Dark Chocolate Almond, Crunchy Triple Nut, Chewy Trail Mix, and Chewy Fruit & Nut. $3.69 per 7.2-ounce to 8.6-ounce bag.

Bonnie: These crunchy and chewy granola cookies are the first line of Pepperidge Farm cookies made with whole grains. They contain three kinds of oats — steel cut, rolled and quick-cook oats, and more than half of their flour is whole grain. This still adds up to only 6 to 9 grams of whole grains per cookie, or a mere third to a half of one whole-grain serving. As a refresher, our government's dietary guidelines suggest we eat at least three servings of whole grains each day. One cookie also contains about 130 calories, 6 to 7 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber.

That wouldn't be so bad if they tasted great. But, truth be told, I wasn't wild about any of these. They're so dry and crumbly that they pretty much won't go down without a glass of cold milk — which is the best thing about them, if you ask me.

Carolyn: Pepperidge Farm cookies are almost always delicious. Can they also be good for you?

These new granola cookies are Pepperidge Farm's most concerted effort toward wholesomeness yet, at least on the cookie side. (The company already makes a number of healthful-sounding breads.) And as for fat and calories, one of these cookies is quite similar to a granola bar. But they taste more like oatmeal cookies studded with serious amounts of nuts, raisins and dark chocolate — in other words, the premium cookies we have always known Pepperidge Farm to be.

The Crunchy Triple Nut and Chewy Trail Mix were my favorites. Oatmeal cookie traditionalist that I am, I would have preferred raisins to the dark chocolate in the Crunchy Dark Chocolate Almond. But only the Chewy Fruit & Nut is dry enough to mistake for health food.

Jif Natural Peanut Butter Spread. $2.70 per 18-ounce or $4.15 per 28-ounce jar.

Bonnie: Jif is now offering a Natural Peanut Butter Spread containing only five ingredients, half the sodium of regular peanut butter and 3 grams of saturated fat.

This new natural product cannot be called "peanut butter" because it does not fit the government's standard of identity. That standard requires 90 percent peanuts and, if a stabilizer is used, partially or fully hydrogenated oil.