A healthy Sugar Cookie to put you in the healthy holiday spirit …

This past weekend I catered for a small holiday party. In addition to making healthy savory eats, I was asked to bring a few healthy sweets too. One request in particular was for a “healthy” sugar cookie… while that may seem like an oxymoron, I was up for the task. I set out to create a “not-so-sugary” Sugar Cookie and I came up with a tasty result! 

Why am I harping on sugar so much? Well because this sweet ingredient is largely to blame for America’s health issues including obesity, diabetes and widely considered to be the cause of heart disease and many common cancers… that sweet substance isn’t sounding so sweet, is it?

Did you know that the average American consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year? Compare that to approximately 47 pounds per year consumed in the 1900s. It’s no wonder over half of Americans are expected to be obese by 2030.

So what can we do about it?

Let’s begin by taking the advice of the World Health Organization and limiting our daily sugar intake to less than 6 teaspoons per day (24 grams). So begin reading those labels folks. [1 can of Coke has 39g soda; 28g in a Red Bull or Monster Energy drink; 15g in Vitamin Water; and approximately 64g in the average Starbucks latte].

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To help you in your pursuit of better health, I’ve whipped up a tasty dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth…

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• 1 1/4 cup gluten free oat flour
• 1/4 cup Xylitol (or organic cane sugar)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• pinch of pink himalayan salt
• 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• 1/4 cup + arrowroot powder (for dusting)

Directions

Preheat the over to 325°F and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

Place all of your ingredients, except the water and arrowroot starch in a large bowl. With a fork, cut all the ingredients together until it looks crumbly.

Add the water one tablespoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball. The dough will probably be sticky, so dust it with arrowroot powder.

Dust a surface with additional starch and begin to roll out you dough to about 1/4″ inch thick. Using your favorite cookie cutters (these are my favorite), begin cutting out cookies and laying them flat on the lined cookie tray. 

Bake 9-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before removing them from the tray… then you can enjoy these Sugar Less Cookies!