"Healthier" Christmas Cookies
Selecting Christmas cookie recipes is a challenge for me because members of my extended family have dietary restrictions due to food allergies, health problems, diets, etc.
So far, I've decided to make flourless almond cookies, cranberry- pistachio meringues, and peanut butter blossoms (flourless PB cookies with a dark chocolate kiss) for my gluten-free, wheat-free family members.
Any other suggestions for "healthier" cookies or treats? By that I mean cookies having less fat and sugar than most cookies. I'm not a fan of fat-free or sugar-free baking. I do prefer to use butter and/or oil over margarine/shortening. I also avoid any type of sugar substitutes including Splenda.
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8 Comments:
You mention almonds; how do you feel about marzipan and amaretti?
I too have a bunch of food-related problems (wheat, potatoes, etc.), and I love that amaretti and other marzipan-based cookies are 'real' cookies in their own right, not quasi-successful modifications of something else. Marzipan can be pressed through a cookie press, baked, and decorated, in any way you choose.
mongoose at 3:28PM on 12/05/08
Make smaller cookies and tell everyone that they're rich and decadent. They'll eat less. Seriously. If you make "healthy" cookies, people tend to eat more, to the point that they eat more calories/fat/sugar than if they were eating the regular ones. Better to eat one or two little decadent cookies and enjoy them, that to eat a whole plateful of allegedly healthy ones that don't taste as good.
As far as reducing both fat and sugar, that means you need to increase fiber and/or protein. You can increase fiber by using whole wheat flour, which may or may not work with any particular recipe. You can increase protein by adding in more nuts (but which also increases fat, obviously) or by substituing higher protein flours like bean flours. Again, that may or may not work for any particular recipe.
Or you could go for "airy" cookies like meringues, or disguise the fact that the cookies are smaller by making larger diameters, but cutting decorative holes in them, like snowflake cookies.
Overall, things like oatmeal cookies tend to be slightly healthier (depending on the definition of "healthy") because of the higher fiber content which helps to absorb dietary fat. But they're still cookies.
You could simply reduce the amount of sugar in any given recipe, but you're not really reducing, you're just changing the ratios. If the other ingredients are carbs and fat, you really haven't gained anything, health-wise.
dbcurrie at 3:48PM on 12/05/08
Cooking Light is a good resource, and Martha Stewart has a great low-fat brownie recipe using prune butter, and some low-fat chocolate cupcakes with amped up coco powder. Cook's Illustrated The Best Light Recipe would be a good resource--you can always decorate low-fat stuff to look Christmas-y and people won't know the difference.
While I agree that fake sugar crap tastes horrible, I like lower-sugar and lower-fat baked goods made with real ingredients better, actually, using applesauce and fruit butters to sub for fat adds natural sweetness, for example.
HeartofGlass at 6:26PM on 12/05/08
In addition to a number of butter and sugar-laden cookies, I'm also making biscotti di'prato as a lighter alternative. I'm using this recipe:
http://mysisterskitchen.wordpress.com/2006/07/31/biscotti-di-prato/
They're lower in fat than traditional cookies, and exceedingly tasty.
melanzane at 9:59PM on 12/05/08
A friend recommended this molasses cookie recipe from Cooking Light and we tried it a couple weeks ago. It was pretty good! I'd increase the amount of spices, though, but then again I like my molasses cookies on the spicy side.
pearl at 1:01AM on 12/06/08
I have a sweet tooth...here's my favorite holiday recipe from my diabetic cookbook...cranberry and white chocolate (and my favorite peanut butter cookie is in this book)....you don't have to give up sweets...prepare them differently and watch portion size
Cranberry and White Chocolate Treats
48 servings/serving size: 1 square
Tart cranberries, sweet white chocolate, and crunchy nutritious cereal create one of my favorite bar cookies, festive enough for a holiday treat, and fantastic enough to enjoy all year long.
1 1/3 cups reduced-fat graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup natural wheat and barley nut-type cereal
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter and press along the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle cranberries, white chocolate chips, walnuts, and cereal evenly over the graham cracker crust.
3. Pour the condensed milk over the top and bake for 20–25 minutes or until bubbly. Cut into squares to serve.
Calories 67, Protein (g) 1, Carbohydrate (g) 11, Fat (g) 2, Calories from Fat (%) 21, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Dietary Fiber (g) 0, Sugars 8, Cholesterol (mg) 4, Sodium (mg) 38 Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 Carbohydrate, 1/2 Fat
hollyclegg at 9:50AM on 12/06/08
I would look for a good biscotti recipe. Most biscotti are naturally lower in fat and calories than other cookies, and are delicious when dunked in coffee, hot chocolate, milk, etc. They're a great alternative for people who aren't big dessert eaters and just want a little something sweet. I've found several good recipes off both the Cooking Light and Food Network websites. The other great thing is that they're extremely versatile in that you can flavor them with nearly anything you like, or substitute different chips, nuts, drizzles, etc if you don't like the recipe as is...
kimberlymac at 10:06AM on 12/06/08
Thanks for the ideas and recipes so far. I looked at the Cooking Light website and saw a recipe for Peppered Peanut Brittle. I might have to give that a try. Even though it is high in sugar, it has less sugar than the standard peanut brittle recipe which is what I'm aiming for.
@dbcurrie: I didn't even consider the psychological component to eating. I am one of those people who will eat more if I am told it is healthy. I liked the idea of giving the illusion of a bigger cookie by increasing the diameter but cutting out the center. Haven't tried that before but it makes sense. I need to remember to provide smaller plates as well.
I've been thinking about making a sweet/spicy trail mix with some combination of roasted chickpeas, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, unsweetened dried cranberries/apricots, whole grain cereals, unsalted pretzels and dark chocolate chips. I know the nuts bump up the fat quotient but I don't mind "good" fats. Besides, trail mix would be a nice change from the usual Christmas cookies. Might make good gift bags as well.
Esmeralda at 10:33AM on 12/06/08