Lowcarbezine!

Ginger Snaps and Chocolate Dips

Here are two of my very best Christmas cookie recipes from 500 More Low-Carb Recipes. Both of them call for polyol sweeteners, aka sugar alcohols. Any polyol sweetener should do - maltitol, erythritol, Diabetisweet, xylitol, what-have-you. The polyols give these cookies a better texture than they'd have if they were sweetened solely with Splenda - in particular, they're far less crumbly than Splenda-only cookies. On the other hand, I've kept the polyol content to a minimum, partly to avoid gastrointestinal upset, partly because some folks do get at least a bit of a blood sugar rise from polyols, and partly because polyols are pricey. I think the Splenda/polyol combo offers a great balance of flavor, texture, and price.

Where to buy polyols? I can get them locally, at Sahara Mart, the international grocery store/health food store that is Bloomington, Indiana's best source of low carb specialty stuff. If you have a store locally that carries a good line of low carb products, that's the first place to look. Readers have reported that they've seen Diabetisweet in the diabetic supplies aisle at WalMart. If you can't find polyols locally, you can order them online, though you'll want to pay for fast shipping if you're going to make these cookies in time for Christmas! I order mine from http://www.carbsmart.com, but lots of low carb etailers carry them.

Gingersnaps

Crisp and gingery-cinnamony, these cookies are nothing short of extraordinary.

Serving Size : 42

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup Splenda
1/4 cup polyol
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 egg
1 cup almond meal
1 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup gluten
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Using your electric mixer, beat the butter, coconut oil, Splenda, polyol sweetener, blackstrap, and egg together until mixture is creamy and fluffy.

Beat in the almond meal, vanilla whey protein powder, and gluten, then the baking soda, salt and spices.

Dough will be fairly soft, but cohesive. Spoon by the scant tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets, shaping a bit with the fingers to make little balls. Flatten balls slightly with the back of your spoon or fingers. Keep in mind when placing cookies on sheets that they will spread some -- I find that 10 per sheet is about right.

Bake at 350 for about 7-9 minutes, or until just getting golden around the edges. Cool on wire racks, and store in an air-tight container.

About 42 cookies, each with: 76 Calories; 5g Fat; 7g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2 grams usable carb.

Chocolate Dips

The high-carb version of this cookie is part of my earliest memories - my mother makes them for Christmas every year, and they're a favorite with everyone. They really dress up a holiday cookie plate, too!

1 1/3 cups vanilla whey protein powder
1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons gluten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup Splenda
2 tablespoons polyol
1/2 cup oat bran
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dipping Chocolate (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 325.

In one bowl, combine the vanilla whey, almond meal, gluten, and salt, and stir together.

In another, use your electric mixer to beat the butter and coconut oil together. When they're combined, beat in the Splenda and polyol sweetener, until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.

Now beat in the vanilla whey/almond meal combination, adding it in two or three lots. Finally, beat in the oat bran, then the water.

You'll have a stiff, somewhat crumbly dough. Use clean hands to form little logs, about 1 1/2" long, and the diameter of a thumb (unless your fingers are huge!) press them tog Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 25-30 minutes. Cool before dipping.

Make your Dipping Chocolate, and dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate. Place on waxed paper to cool.

At least 36. Assuming 36, each will have: 107 Calories; 7g Fat; 9g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 3 grams usable carb.

Dipping Chocolate

12 ounces sugar-free dark (semi-sweet) chocolate
2 tablespoons polyol
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon water

In a double boiler, over hot, not boiling, water, melt the chocolate. Stir in the sugar-free imitation honey, the cream, and the water. Keep hot over water while dipping cookies, fruit, or what-have-you.

It's hard to know how many things you're going to dip! But assuming you make 36 Chocolate Dip cookies, or dip three dozen strawberries, the dip will add to each of them: 3 Calories; trace Fat ; trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; no usable carb. Carb count does not include polyols in the sugar-free chocolate.

Posted by HoldTheToast at December 19, 2004 11:59 AM