3 Tips for Baking Healthier Cookies

Author: Criss White
While making a healthier cookie may not sound as appealing as a cookie that is packed with sugars, fats, or sweet candy, it is possible to make a healthy cookie that still tastes good.  It might be somewhat hard to fathom, but there are healthy ingredients and substitutes that can be added to cookies so they maintain their flavor, but are not as bad for you.  Implementing simple changes into your current family cookie recipe can help you stick to your diet and give you just the little bit of sweet that you are craving to make it to your next meal.

With so many people turning to health conscious lifestyles, cookies do not have to be thrown out of your diet entirely.   Instead consider some of the following tips to help make your family some healthier cookies.

1. Add Dried Fruit
For recipes that call for chocolate chips or any kind of extra sugar-based additives consider adding in pieces of dried fruit to your cookies.  Dried fruits are healthy to consume and contain natural sugars that will still give your cookies a bit of a sweet flavoring.  You can choose fruits that will compliment the other flavors in your cookies, or simply experiment with various fruits that you can find at the grocery store.  Here are some dried fruits that are commonly used in cookie baking and can be found at your local grocers or farmers market:
Cherries
Raisins
Figs
Prunes
Cranberries

2. Think Whole Grains
Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, so why not incorporate fiber into your cookies?  Replace your all-purpose flour with much healthier wheat flour when baking your cookies from scratch.  Even if you replace half of the entire flour amount that is recommended for a recipe with whole wheat flour then you are making a healthier cookie. The wheat flour will make your cookies denser than they would be with all-purpose flour, thus carrying more nutritional value and fitting into your diet just a little bit better.
Another trick that some bakers use to add nutritional value to cookies is adding oats to the mixture.  The oats will give the cookie a crunchy texture and can add additional fiber to your cookies.

3. Substitute your other Ingredients
Think of all the ingredients that you use to make your typical cookie recipe.  Now, think of better ingredients that can make your cookies just a little healthier but taste as good as they are normally. The replacement of just a few different ingredients you can make a healthy cookie. Consider some of the following ingredient replacements for your healthy cookie batch:
Replace the oil and butter from your cookie recipe with applesauce
Replace eggs with an egg substitute or even just egg whites
Replace milk chocolate chips with semi-sweet chocolate pieces instead
Replace white sugar with sucanat (sugar cane) or stevia

Remember that if you want to get healthy, you have to think and make healthy food. With these simple tips you can transform what would otherwise be an unhealthy, sugar-filled, fattening cookie into a healthier, lightly sweetened cookie snack.

Easy Christmas Cookies-How to Make Gingerbread Men and Eggnog Snickerdoodles

Author: Carrington Wells
Christmas is a time for giving presents, being with family, celebrating Jesus and eating.  While many of us spend much of our time shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts to give to our loved ones, sometimes we forget to slow down and enjoy ourselves and those around us.
Baking around the holidays has become very popular for many of us.  It is a way to spend time with loved ones, while making a special treat to share.
One of the most loved cookies for centuries for children has been the gingerbread cookie. 
Below is an easy and yummy recipe for gingerbread men.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 molasses
1 egg yolk, unbeaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups plain flour, sifted
Directions:
Cream shortening and sugar together.  Add molasses and egg yolk.  Blend well.  Add salt, soda, baking powder and spices.  Slowly add sifted flour.  Roll out dough and cut with a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
You and your family can decorate the gingerbread men with icing, sprinkles, and all sorts of different toppings.  My family even likes to make a few women.  After they are cool and decorated, hang them on the tree.  They make such a wonderful addition to a Christmas tree.
Obviously, keep some in the kitchen to eat or take to friends.  Watch out for the ones on the tree however, my children love to eat them right from the Christmas tree when I am not looking.
Another one of my favorite cookie recipes is for Eggnog Snickerdoodles. 
Many people love Eggnog during the holiday season.  It is rich in texture and makes a perfect drink for Christmas parties with friends and family.
Below is the recipe for Eggnog Snickerdoodles.
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon brandy extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cup flour
Directions;
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine margarine and sugar.  Add eggs, extracts, cinnamon, soda, and salt.  Blend well.  Stir in four, mixing thoroughly.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons colored sugar.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges.  Makes 48 cookies.
The Eggnog Snickerdoodles are sure to be a huge hit at your cookie exchange this holiday season.  They are fun and easy to make.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Author: Lesley Harford
Ingredients

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, coursely chopped.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the chocolate and sugar and grind until the chocolate is very fine.

Set aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine the eggs and the vanilla. Beat at medium speed to blend. Reduce the speed to low, add the chocolate and flour mixtures and mix until a stiff dough forms, adding the walnuts when about half mixed.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gather it together. Divide in half. Form each half into a log 12 inches long. Carefully transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Pat to even up the shapes. Bake until almost firm to the touch, about 50 min. Let cool for 10 min.

Leave the oven set at 300 F.

Using a spatula, transfer the logs to a work surface. Using a serrated knife, cut on the diagonal into slices 1/2−3/4 inch thick.  Return the slices cut−side down to the baking sheet. Bake for 25 min. Turn the slices over and bake until crispy and dry, about 25 min. longer.
Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen