Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
Many folks shy away from playing with cookie recipes because they are something of a science experiment. Cookies need to have the right balance of starch, fat, flavoring and levening agents to form into the perfectly simple deliciousness that we know as a cookie.
But really it isn’t all that complicated. Take these almond cookies. They use no flour. They use no baking soda. In fact there are just a few ingredients, many of which you MAY already have in your pantry or fridge.
Again, this is a small batch recipe, yielding only about a dozen cookies. Because even though these cookies are BETTER for you than traditional ones…cookies just aren’t ever going to be health food. Sorry!
1 c. Splenda (if you don’t use Splenda, use the amount of your preferred sweetener equivalent to one cup of sugar)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. butter extract
OPTIONAL: Raw almonds for decoration
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer, making sure egg is fully incorporated. Dough will be loose.
Use a large spoon to roll your dough into a ball. Transfer to a sprayed baking sheet then mash down your dough ball with a spoon to form a disc.
Bake about 8 minutes then remove from oven. Place an almond on top of each and press into the cookie while still soft (for a bit of extra flavor, try a lightly sweetened almond from a 100 calorie pack or a cocoa almond!).
Allow to cool on a rack before eating. Cookies will be crumbly…but YUMMY!
Sooo trying these – and the protein latkes!
What temp in the oven??
Good catch! I'll fix that. It's 350!
These look great. A local market makes its own sugar-free almond butter and that would be great for these.
Thanks! I had already run out and gotten my ingredients. I am making those tonight!!!
Ok, made em. Love em. Ate 2. They will be mine….all mine….I will slap my husbands or kids hands
Made these tonight. Were pretty good. I let them cool and crumbled them and ate them over my Greek yogurt. Just as yummy as granola!
Where do you find almond butter??
What is butter extract and can it be substituted?
Like vanilla extract is a concentrated vanilla flavor, butter extract is a concentrated butte flavor (with no calories). If you don't plan to use it you can simply omit it. Hope that helps!
Can you make these with peanut butter? How much does it change the health factor?
Hi Kristie,
Sure you can! The difference in health is minimal. I wouldn't call these cookies health food so much as a more responsible indulgence. That said, the difference in calories/protein/fat is minimal, but almonds contain a more heart-healthy fat than peanuts. Hope that helps!
I’ve done this with peanut butter but I find that 3/4 cup of sweetener is plenty.
Hey Julie,
You know I think you are right. i think I was going through a phase when I tweaked the recipe to have more than that!