Healthier Holiday Cookies
Easy Switches That Don’t Compromise on Taste
by Maya Whitman
Whether it’s chunky chocolate chip, classic sugar, jammy rugelach, spicy gingerbread, Russian teacakes or cinnamon-dusted snickerdoodles, the holidays would not be complete without a festive array of cookies. Seasonal favorites usually pack on the sugar, but with a little know-how, whipping up healthier versions can be both easy and fun.
“The most important thing to remember is that the techniques are the same; only the ingredients have changed,” says Christina Pirello, Emmy Award-winning host of the national public television cooking show, Christina Cooks! and author of 13 plant-based cookbooks. “Even healthy versions of cookies can feel indulgent while being better for you. Use the best quality ingredients you can, and you’ll never go wrong.”
Sugar Savvy
Most conventional cookie recipes require up to two cups of sugar, not-so-good news for any health-conscious sweet tooth, but alternatives are plentiful. “With the caveat that most sweetener substitutions require some adjustments to make sure the final texture still works, there are some fabulous options that up the nutrients, add more flavor and depth and pack much less of a glycemic punch,” says Katie Wells, founder of Wellness Mama, an online resource for women and moms that want to live a healthier life.
The glycemic index (GI) is a value used to measure how much specific foods increase blood sugar levels on a scale of zero to 100, where sugar is 100. Numerous studies have found that following a low GI diet may reduce blood sugar levels and improve blood sugar management in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Monk fruit and unprocessed forms of stevia, a plant-based sweetener, are blood-sugar friendly and nutritious when used alone, but are controversial when combined with erythritol, a sugar alcohol that, based on recent studies, is suspected of increasing the risk for blood clotting, stroke and cardiovascular events.
For Pirello, baking without pseudo sweeteners or processed sugar does a body good while imbuing festive favorites with even deeper flavor. “For me the best options for cookies are coconut sugar and beet sugar as both are granular and can be substituted 1-to-1 in recipes. Both are the color of brown sugar so your cookies may take on a darker color, but the flavor will be amazing. I also use brown rice syrup, but often mixed with coconut or beet sugar.” For the best flavor, Pirello praises 100 percent pure monk fruit, as well as her no-calorie favorite, BochaSweet, which is made from kabocha squash and “tastes and behaves like sugar.”
In addition to coconut sugar, Wells also favors maple syrup and honey, which require an increase in dry ingredients to balance the liquid but add amazing flavor and other beneficial properties, such as naturally occurring minerals and antioxidants.
Common dates, larger and plumper Medjool dates and other dried fruits can replace conventional sugar with rich sweetness, especially for no-bake holiday cookies and bars. Wells likes the versatility of dried fruits when chopped or blended. She recommends soaking them before using in recipes to help improve their texture.
For cookie dough recipes that do not require much liquid, powdered date sugar can be used in place of sugar 1-for-1 while reducing dry ingredients by 25 percent. Mashed bananas can rock an oatmeal cookie recipe, taking it to another level in terms of flavor without any other added sweeteners.
Substitutions for Cookies
· ¾ cup honey or maple syrup for 1 cup of sugar
· 1 cup of blended dates for any amount of sugar in a recipe
· 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce for 1 cup of sugar
· ¾ cup of mashed ripe bananas for 1 cup of sugar
· For vegan cookies that won’t crumble, mix 1 tablespoon of finely ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons warm water to replace 1 egg.
Gluten-Free Delicious
Gluten-free (GF) baking has come a long way with plenty of GF flour options, but knowing which ones to use can make or break a holiday baking spree. “It has never been easier to make gluten-free cookies that taste almost identical to their gluten-based inspirations,” says Wells. “There are even organic, measure-for-measure flours that let you bake the original recipes as written.”
Pirello sees more of a learning curve. “It’s such a challenge to make a good gluten-free cookie, but with products like almond flour out there, you can do it,” she says. “Use a gluten-free flour mix—not a cake or cookie mix—and mix it with 75 percent almond flour to create a moist yummy cookie. They will always be fragile unless you use eggs, but it works for me without them.”
The Secret Ingredients
In the end, baking is all about having fun baking. “They’re cookies, not world peace, although I think more cookies could bring about world peace,” Pirello quips, suggesting what we all know: love is the secret ingredient in any holiday cookie recipe.
Maya Whitman is a frequent writer for Natural Awakenings.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies
Yield: 28-30 cookies
5 Tbsp vegan butter substitute
¼ cup Suzanne’s Specialties Maple Rice Nectar
6 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 cup almond flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour or sprouted whole wheat flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
⅔ cup non-dairy, dark chocolate chips
Preheat a conventional oven to 350° F or convection oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whip together vegan butter, rice nectar, coconut sugar, vanilla, sea salt and cinnamon until smooth. Mix in almond flour, wheat flour and oats to form a soft, sticky dough. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips until well-incorporated through the dough.
Scoop a tablespoon of dough and arrange the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving room for them to grow—approximately 18 cookies on a sheet, three across and six down. Do not press the cookies down.
Bake for 13 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven. Using a small spoon or spatula, slightly and gently flatten the cookies.
Recipe courtesy of Christina Pirello.
Thumbprint Cookies With Jam
Yield: 36 to 48 cookies
5 Tbsp vegan butter substitute
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup sprouted whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup fine almond flour
2 Tbsp arrowroot
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch of sea salt
Strawberry or other fruit-sweetened preserves
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place all the ingredients, except the preserves, in a stand mixer and mix until a stiff dough forms.
Form the dough into walnut size balls and arrange on the baking sheet, allowing about an inch between each cookie for rising. With a wet thumb, make an indent in each cookie. Using a small spoon, fill the indent in each cookie with preserves. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to a container.
Recipe courtesy of Christina Pirello.
Molasses Cookies With Dates
Yield: 36 cookies
3½ cups almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp powdered ginger)
4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¼ cup coconut flour
2 large eggs
¼ cup butter or coconut oil, melted
12 pitted dates
¼ cup almond or coconut milk
⅓ cup organic blackstrap molasses or unsulphured molasses
¼ cup coconut sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix the almond flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and coconut flour.
In a blender, blend the eggs, melted butter or coconut oil, dates, almond or coconut milk, and molasses.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a hand mixer or stand mixer. The dough should be thick enough to form balls, but not quite as thick as Play-Doh.
Refrigerate dough for at least 15 minutes to let harden slightly. This will make it easier to form for baking.
Carefully roll the dough into 1-inch balls. A cookie scoop can help with portioning. If using sugar, roll the dough in a light coating of sugar for texture and to help prevent sticking.
Place dough on a baking sheet. Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
Bake cookies for 15 minutes. Halfway through baking, remove from oven and make marks with a fork, if desired. This step is completely optional but creates the look of traditional molasses cookies.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from baking sheet onto a cooling rack or wire rack. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe courtesy of Katie Wells.