It’s the most wonderful time of the year…..well, I usually don’t think that way about this time of the year, but this year I do!  A friend of mine got a Kitchen Aide at a fraction of the price and decided to invite some ladies over to her place to make Christmas cookies the first weekend of November. At first I thought it was crazy, but then I really got into it.

So I decided to make some of my own since I am trying real hard to be on a lower-carb and no processed sugar diet. Also, I figured out that I can make the cookies in stages, so it is not so hard on my body.

Another friend and I have looked for Bob’s Red Mill low-carb mix in most the local stores but it is nowhere to be found. I also looked on-line for different ideas for low-carb flour. Almond flour is awfully dense and most everything tastes almond-like. I was going to add some soy or whey protein powder since I heard that was good too. Then I went to a local Asian store to see if they had any kind of low-carb flour and I found yam flour which is more of a starch. I wanted to see what would happen when I mixed Almond Flour (Trader Joe’s), soy protien powder and the yam flour…the result??? A low-carb “flour” mixture that tastes almost like white flour and it has a very similar texture to flour too so I can use it one to one! Yay!

The other challenge was that I didn’t just want to look on-line for low-carb, no processed sugar recipes because I have a few recipes from some of the clients I had when I was a senior caregiver, so I decided to just see what would happen if I made some changes.  The results???? Yummy cookies! Yay!

Here are some recipes. I hope you all enjoy them!

LP’s Pfeffernusse Cookies (low-carb, processed sugar-free)

• 1/2 C Molasses
• 1/4 C Coconut Oil
• 1/4 C Butter (can also just use 1/2 C butter or 1/2 C Coconut Oil)
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 t Anise Extract (I used 1 t Anise Extract and 1 t ground Star Anise)
• 4 Cups Low-carb flour mixture
• 1/4 C Stevia (or other processed sugar substitute)
• 1/2 C Raw unprocessed brown sugar (or other processed brown sugar substitute)
• 1 1/2 t ground Cardamom
• 1 t Garam Masala (she recalled this over ground nutmeg but she might have been thinking of Lebkuchen???)
• 1/2 t ground Cloves
• 1/2 – 1 t ground Ginger (I like Ginger so I use more)
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t white Pepper (they are pepper cookies…just not the same without it!)
• a dash of salt
• 1 1/2 t baking soda

Mix together the wet ingredients (I like to just use a whisk). In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Combine the ingredients from both bowls and stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough into small meatball sized balls. Place on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes. (Some people dust these with powdered sugar but I think they are sweet enough as is.)

AR’s Twice-Baked Italian Cookies (Biscotti)

• 1 C Stevia or sugar substitute
• 1 C Olive Oil
• 4 T Anise Seed (I reduced this and added some ground Star Anise – it makes it extreme if you taste the dough, but finished product is delicious!)
• 4 T Anise Extract or Anise flavored Liquor (Annisette or other)
• 3 T Bourbon Vanilla or Bourbon (or 1 T Vanilla & 2 T Water) I added some Almond Extract
• 2 C coarsely chopped Almonds
• 6 Large Eggs
• 5 1/2 C Low-Carb flour mixture (1 used 4 C LC Flour mix and 1 1/2 C Almond meal but then ended up having a lot of oil coming off when baked so I will probably reduce this down in the future.)
• 1 T baking powder

Mix first 5 ingredients, beat in eggs. Combined flour mixture and baking powder. Combine all the ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

On lightly floured board, shape cookie dough with your hands to form flat loaves that are 1/2″ thick, 2″ wide and as long as the cookie sheet. Place no more than 2 loaves per sheet parallel and well apart. Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to touch. The cut loaves at an angle to form slices that are about 1/2″ wide. Lay slices on cut side close together on the cookie sheet and return to oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

My client used olive oil and not butter and it really tastes better that way.

I do have other cookie recipes, but I am tired tonight so I will add those another time. You’ll just have to check back another time. Please leave me comments if you try making these cookies. I’d love to know what others think.

Challenge: What recipe(s) would you like to see low-carb and processed sugar-free??? How would you change it? Please share your ideas with me!