One Cookie, Ten Ways

Written By: Dr. Anastasia Halldin - healthymamainfo.com | Issue: 2016/12 - December

Baking holiday cookies sounds like a great idea until you are actually doing it and your kitchen resembles Santa’s workshop with all kinds of recipes, tools
and ingredients.  

Instead of working so hard, you can make one type of a cookie. Then add different things to the basic recipe in order to get 10 different cookies! 

This healthy sugar-free cookie recipe is the base for it all. It uses lighter flour and coconut oil instead of the usual white flour, white sugar and butter, so it is as healthy
as possible.   

You can prepare the dough in advance (and even shape it into disks) then tightly wrap everything in plastic. Place the wrapped dough into a ziplock bag and refrigerate for up to two days, or freeze for up to a month.

If you freeze the dough, return to room temperature before rolling out.  Once the dough is ready for baking, add any of the ingredients from the list below to make all kinds of tasty holiday cookie variations.

Healthy Sugar-Free Cookie 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour or Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

4 tbsp Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Truvia for baking

1 Large Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a stand mixer, mix the coconut oil using the paddle attachment with the vanilla and egg, mixing until combined. in a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients. Mix together until combined and doughy. Roll dough into one-inch balls, then dust formed balls with Truvia. Place dusted dough balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies for about 18 minutes, or until they are lightly brown around the edges. Cookies should be soft in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Add to Basic Sugar-Free Cookie Recipe:

1. Almond Cookies: 1 tbsp. Almond Extract and a handful of Almond Slices

2. Lemon Cookies: Zest of one Lemon and 1 tsp. Lemon Juice and 1 tsp. Agave Syrup.

3. Coconut Cookies:  Handful of Coconut Flakes

4. Cacao Nib Cookies: 1 tbsp. of Raw Cacao Powder  and 3 tbsp. Cacao Nibs and 2 tbsp. Agave Syrup.

5. Cranberry Orange Cookies: Handful of dried cranberries+ zest of 1  small orange.

6. Cinnamon Maple Cookie:  2 tbsp. maple syrup+ dash of allspice + 1 tsp cinnamon. Bake, sprinkle with brown sugar and serve.

7. Banana Cookie: 1 tsp.Banana extract+ 1 mashed banana

8. Pecan cookies: handful of crushed pecans

9. Chocolate peppermint: This one is not terribly healthy, but it’s really tasty, so it is on the list. Dip already baked cookies in a melted organic chocolate bar and then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

10. Peanut butter cookie sandwiches: Spread raw peanut butter between two already baked cookies.