Here is a great recipe for deceptively healthy cut out cookies that happen to be free of grain, sugar and dairy. My oldest daughter remains my inspiration for these cookies. Due to food intolerances, she can have any gluten, eggs, dairy or cane sugar, among other things. But if you look at those four ingredients alone, it's nearly impossible to find a baked good that free from all, let alone one or two.
Fortunately she has no problem with nut, so I tend to bake with plenty of almond flour. It's not cheap, but a little bit goes a long way. I found cute cookie cutters at a craft store and opted for a fairly large flower shape. Even though we saw snow in Chicago on this first day of spring, warm weather is coming.
Tip: Don't have cookie cutters? Use the top side of any round glass instead. Get creative by making a couple different size circles by using various size glasses.
These cookies are not low in fat, but they are indeed healthy. In addition to the fat from the almond and coconut flour is coconut oi. Coconut oil is my favorite to cook and bake with. Because it solidifies at 76 degrees, it helps just about any baked good keep its form. What's more, coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride (MCT). You don't really need to remember the type of fat it is, but you should remember that it's a fat that converts to energy long before it could ever get converted to fat.
The recipe is pretty basic and easy enough to follow. *One thing I might change the next time I make it is the amount of honey added. I made this batch with 1/2 cup, but in the future, I'll opt for slightly less. My kids don't eat a lot of refined sugar, so when they do eat something sweet…it's really sweet. This is one of the great things about minimizing sweet foods. After cutting out sugary foods ford a while, your tastebuds (and body) become much more sensitive to it. You just don't need as much sugar (or sweetener) anymore.
Deceptively Healthy Cut Out Cookies
yields 24 big cookies
5 cups almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla (recipe for homemade vanilla extract)
1/3 - 1/2 cup honey*
1. Using a mixing spoon, blend together the flours, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix together the coconut oil, vanilla and honey. After the wet ingredients are blended, add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. Cut out cookies and place on sheets.
3. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!
