3 HEALTHIER HOLIDAY COOKIES

Holiday baking does not have to be complicated and full of gluten and refined sugars. Enjoy baking this Christmas season with your healthy lifestyle in mind. 

These three recipes are full of flavor and make lovely gifts. 

Have fun baking!
We invite you to smile while you cook!

EASIEST ALMOND COOKIES (GLUTEN-FREE AND VEGAN)

Yield: 15 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups natural raw skin on almonds, preferably organic
• 1/4 cup finely ground flax seeds (from about 2 Tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil or other light-tasting oil, preferably organic
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp pure almond extract
• 1 Tbsp water, if necessary

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the almonds, flax, baking soda, and salt until you have a very fine meal (it should be the consistency of a coarse cornmeal or fine breadcrumbs, with no large pieces of almond visible). Watch that you don’t blend so long as to obtain almond butter, however!
3. Add the maple sugar, oil, and extracts, and process again just until the mixture holds together and leaves the sides of the bowl. It should look like a moist dough. If the mixture is too dry, add the water and pulse quickly to blend.
4. Using a small ice-cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll into balls; place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Wet your palms (or use a silicone spatula) and press down to flatten each ball to about ¼ inch thick.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets about halfway through baking, until the edges are barely golden brown and the cookies are dry in the center (the tops will still be light). Allow to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheets; the cookies firm up as they cool.

This recipe is from Naturally Sweet & Gluten Free by Ricki Heller.

RASPBERRY HAZELNUT THUMBPRINT COOKIES (GLUTEN-FREE AND VEGAN)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups peeled hazelnuts (or other nuts), processed into almond meal (about 1.5 cups nut meal)
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tbsp ground flax
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8th tsp fine grain sea salt
• 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 cup raw almond butter (see note)
• 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5-6 tbsp fruit juice sweetened raspberry jam
• approx 1/3 cup shredded coconut, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line sheet tray with parchment paper.
2. If making hazelnut meal, place raw peeled hazelnuts into a high-speed blender. Process on high speed until a fine crumb, making sure not to process too long or the oils will release. Alternatively, you can use store bought hazelnut meal (Thrive Market carries it and Nuts.com).
3. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (almond meal, rice flour, ground flax, salt, and baking powder). Use your fingers to break up any clumps of the hazelnut meal. In a smaller bowl, mix together the almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined.
4. Shape dough into balls (about 1.5 tbsp or so). If dough is too sticky, place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
5. Roll balls in coconut. Place balls of dough about 1.5-2 inches apart on the baking sheet. With your thumb, press into the middle of the ball and shape a small well with your fingers. Add 1 tsp of jam into each well.
6. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes, watching closely after 9 minutes. I baked mine for 11.5 minutes. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Channel your inner grandma and enjoy with hot tea!

NOTES:

If making these completely gluten-free be sure to check all your ingredients to ensure they are certified gluten-free. The almond butter I used is very "drippy" so I don’t suggest using a firm nut butter here. If you do, you may have to add some oil to the mixture. You can also roll the balls in chopped nuts instead of coconut.

ALMOND BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (GLUTEN-FREE & VEGAN)

Yield: 12 smaller cookies

• 5 tbsp creamy almond butter
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup + 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed meal + 5 tbsp warm water, left to sit for 6 minutes) or use one egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup nut or oat milk
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line sheet tray with parchment paper.
2. First, make your flax eggs by combining 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal and 5 tbsp warm water in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, melt together almond butter and coconut oil until melted. Add vanilla extract and coconut sugar and stir well to combine. 
4. Add flax egg to your wet mixture once it has thickened up (should take around 5 minutes). In a separate bowl, mix together almond flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold in almond flour in increments to the wet mixture until well combined. Add almond milk help combine everything together. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Roll dough into balls and press down slightly to flatten - they will not spread too much. Add more chocolate chips on top if desired (I always desire this).
6. Bake on 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cookie edges are golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Dadaeats.com