Happy Holidays!
I want to hit pause on the Greatness, Intentions, and Expectations final post to quickly talk about some good old-fashioned sweet treats. By sweet treats, I mean a couple of recipes for you all to try out. I want you all to be able to celebrate the holiday season with the ones you love in a healthful fashion, enjoying all that the holiday season has to offer……even the sweets. If you are interested in a more detailed response to all things sugar, check out my previous blog post – this one is genuinely more about showing you that you have options, so you don’t have to have a full sugar melt-down.
I mean, I want cookies just as much as the next chick, I just don’t want to blow all my goals and fitness/health habits to enjoy them! I get to have my goals and eat my cookies, too!
To spice things up a bit more (pun intended), I have gone a tad further, because… why not. These recipes are keto-inspired. I am not a fan of diets, by the way, because they are not sustainable in the long-term (cough cough, another blog from earlier this year…cough), but I do appreciate what the keto diet brings to all of us trying to making healthier choices this holiday season. In terms of “keto-inspired,” what I mean is that in keto baking, the use of wheat flour is replaced with low-carbohydrate sources and other functional ingredients. Keto baking uses alternative ingredients and processing methods that are going to be a bit different than your grandma’s sugar cookie recipe, but I promise the recipes that I’m providing below are simple, and still taste fantastic. These recipes are so simple you can make them with your kids, yep, the whole family can participate in this holiday sweetness. Awwwwwww. 😍
I do have two tips for you alternative bakers;
Tip 1: Unlike table sugar (aka the good ol’ white stuff), you really have to know what alternative sugar works best for what kind of baked good. When using alternatives for sugar in a recipe you must be mindful of the texture it may (or may not) create, and how the amount of sugar alternative will influence the recipe. For example, when using Stevia, less is more, so you will need to make up for the loss in density. Stevia also won’t caramelize like normal sugar, so you can’t depend on your baked goods to show “browning” to know when they are ready to pull out of the over. Don’t give up though, once you find your sweet spot, you are going to thrive at all things baked and delicious.
Tip 2: Keto recipes use specific kinds of flour substitutes that still provide structure, binding effect and mimic the functionality of gluten proteins (e.g. gas retention, visco-elasticity). Make sure to use the right kind of keto-inspired flour or add the following to your recipe to keep the structure of your bake;
- Dried fruits and tree nuts such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, and pistachios (masking of strong flavors may be needed)
- Coconut
- Flax meal (whole golden flaxseed)
- Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
- Chickpeas, garbanzo beans, sesame seeds, soy flour (masking of flavors may be needed)
- Protein isolates and protein concentrates from legumes and pulses
- Gums such as xanthan gum and CMC
- Collagen
- Eggs
- Cheese, casein, whey powder, milk solids (dried milk powder is highly recommended for cookies!!!)
I took a very nostalgic recipe that wraps up what Christmas cookies are for me and packs it into one sweet little tin, but adjusted the recipe to be keto-y!
Believe it or not, I actually LOVE the modified recipe and feel like I am treating myself JUST AS MUCH when I eat this one, as when I’m eating the one made with wheat flour and sugar.
Almond and coconut flour were used instead of all-purpose flour. We also substituted brown sugar for Swerve brown. The recipe is not THE SAME as my grandma’s, but it still tastes delicious and is a wonderful treat. That’s the thing about alternative baking. You can NOT go into making a recipe with alternative flour, and or sweetener, and expect it to be the same as the original (especially if you have nostalgic feelings around said recipe). Once in a while, I come across alternatives that taste as good, if not better than the original but let’s face it, you’re using different ingredients, why would it taste the same?
I am including three more recipes that I have found to be tasty treats and definitely help get me through the Christmas-cookie-binge-fest everyone seems to go on, especially the week leading up to Christmas. I mean, I want cookies just as much as the next chick, I just don’t want to blow all my goals and healthy habits to enjoy them! I get to have my goals and eat my cookies, too! And now, so do you! 😉
Enjoy!!!
#Ketobaking #sugaralternaties #healthybaking #healthyandSweet #RushIntoFitness #ShiftIntoFitness #keto #lowcarb
