Healthier Holiday Cookies: Easy Switches That Don’t Compromise on Taste

By Natural Awakenings

Articles

Dec 17, 2024

by Maya Whitman

Whether it’s chunky chocolate chip, classic sugar, jammy rugelach, spicy gingerbread, Russian teacakes or cinnamon-dusted snickerdoodles, the holidays would not be complete without a festive array of cookies. Seasonal favorites usually pack on the sugar, but with a little know-how, whipping up healthier versions can be both easy and fun.

“The most important thing to remember is that the techniques are the same; only the ingredients have changed,” says Christina Pirello, Emmy Award-winning host of the national public television cooking show, Christina Cooks! and author of 13 plant-based cookbooks. “Even healthy versions of cookies can feel indulgent while being better for you. Use the best quality ingredients you can, and you’ll never go wrong.”

Sugar Savvy

Most conventional cookie recipes require up to two cups of sugar, not-so-good news for any health-conscious sweet tooth, but alternatives are plentiful. “With the caveat that most sweetener substitutions require some adjustments to make sure the final texture still works, there are some fabulous options that up the nutrients, add more flavor and depth and pack much less of a glycemic punch,” says Katie Wells, founder of Wellness Mama, an online resource for women and moms that want to live a healthier life.

The glycemic index (GI) is a value used to measure how much specific foods increase blood sugar levels on a scale of zero to 100, where sugar is 100. Numerous studies have found that following a low GI diet may reduce blood sugar levels and improve blood sugar management in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Monk fruit and unprocessed forms of stevia, a plant-based sweetener, are blood-sugar friendly and nutritious when used alone, but are controversial when combined with erythritol, a sugar alcohol that, based on recent studies, is suspected of increasing the risk for blood clotting, stroke and cardiovascular events.

For Pirello, baking without pseudo sweeteners or processed sugar does a body good while imbuing festive favorites with even deeper flavor. “For me the best options for cookies are coconut sugar and beet sugar as both are granular and can be substituted 1-to-1 in recipes. Both are the color of brown sugar so your cookies may take on a darker color, but the flavor will be amazing. I also use brown rice syrup, but often mixed with coconut or beet sugar.” For the best flavor, Pirello praises 100 percent pure monk fruit, as well as her no-calorie favorite, BochaSweet, which is made from kabocha squash and “tastes and behaves like sugar.”

In addition to coconut sugar, Wells also favors maple syrup and honey, which require an increase in dry ingredients to balance the liquid but add amazing flavor and other beneficial properties, such as naturally occurring minerals and antioxidants.

Common dates, larger and plumper Medjool dates and other dried fruits can replace conventional sugar with rich sweetness, especially for no-bake holiday cookies and bars. Wells likes the versatility of dried fruits when chopped or blended. She recommends soaking them before using in recipes to help improve their texture.

For cookie dough recipes that do not require much liquid, powdered date sugar can be used in place of sugar 1-for-1 while reducing dry ingredients by 25 percent. Mashed bananas can rock an oatmeal cookie recipe, taking it to another level in terms of flavor without any other added sweeteners.

Substitutions for Cookies

· ¾ cup honey or maple syrup for 1 cup of sugar

· 1 cup of blended dates for any amount of sugar in a recipe

· 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce for 1 cup of sugar

· ¾ cup of mashed ripe bananas for 1 cup of sugar

· For vegan cookies that won’t crumble, mix 1 tablespoon of finely ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons warm water to replace 1 egg.

Gluten-Free Delicious

Gluten-free (GF) baking has come a long way with plenty of GF flour options, but knowing which ones to use can make or break a holiday baking spree. “It has never been easier to make gluten-free cookies that taste almost identical to their gluten-based inspirations,” says Wells. “There are even organic, measure-for-measure flours that let you bake the original recipes as written.”

Pirello sees more of a learning curve. “It’s such a challenge to make a good gluten-free cookie, but with products like almond flour out there, you can do it,” she says. “Use a gluten-free flour mix—not a cake or cookie mix—and mix it with 75 percent almond flour to create a moist yummy cookie. They will always be fragile unless you use eggs, but it works for me without them.”

The Secret Ingredients

In the end, baking is all about having fun baking. “They’re cookies, not world peace, although I think more cookies could bring about world peace,” Pirello quips, suggesting what we all know: love is the secret ingredient in any holiday cookie recipe.

Maya Whitman is a frequent writer for Natural Awakenings.