Lower-sugar Christmas cookie recipes

[1GoldenSun]

We've been cutting back a lot on sugar and I'm looking for some lower-sugar cookie recipes for Christmas. I googled this, but all the recipes I found combine low-sugar with gluten-free, egg and-dairy free, or something like this. I don't care about gluten, eggs, or dairy, and I'm also not terribly concerned about carbs. I JUST want recipes with the least amount of sugar necessary for a still-tasty cookie. I tried looking up diabetic recipes but those use no sugar at all. I'm not anti-sugar, especially for Christmas, I just want to use less.

Does anyone have any recipes? I could just experiment with my usual recipes but baking is a science and I don't want to waste a lot of time/ingredients.

 

[bookgirl]

How do you feel about sugar alternatives.

If you look up cookie recipes with splenda/stevia/honey/coconut sugar/monkfruit etc, you might get more hits.

Honestly, I'm fine with some artificial sweeteners and I substitute splenda and splenda blend brown sugar in a ton of stuff and it' tastes the same with way lower calories. I haven't noticed any significant difference in texture or baking. It's literally a 1:1 substitution.

Stevia is natural and low/no calorie but I don't like it as I can taste a slight bitterness with it.

I have not tried Monkfruit but I know it's huge in the Keto crowd. I watch Jen Chapin on youtube and she used this (and other subs) in her baking and hasn't seen her talk about problems with it. (she does do some keto cooking but she also just does regular stuff and switches out just the sweetner.

Coconut Sugar is not lower calorie but the glycemic index is less so it's popular with those trying to avoid insulin spikes.

I use honey in a number of things, just as many calories but less processed sweetener.

 

[HeatherC]

Here is an oatmeal raisin one.

https://www.wellplated.com/healthy-oatmeal-cookies/

 

[Kae]

try skinnytaste.com

 

[DLgal]

What is your reasoning for wanting to cut sugar? It kind of matters, because if you are concerned about blood sugar/insulin resistance, you should know that artificial sugars and sweeteners can spike insulin the same as real sugar does. If it's calorie reduction, and you don't care about the metabolic effects, you can try something like Swerve or Splenda for baking, although I have found that both have an unpleasant aftertaste.

You are right that baking is a science, and sugar actually acts as a liquid in baked goods (because it liquifies at oven temperatures). Sugar largely works to add moisture to cookies, especially. So, you can reduce the sugar amount, but then you should also reduce the flour or increase the moisture by adding something like extra egg yolks or butter. You can also look for recipes that use honey.

Or, you could just eat less cookies and use traditional recipes. Something rich, like shortbread, doesn't use too much sugar, and due to the high butter content, ends up being so rich that you only want to eat a small amount. Gingerbread is also a lower sugar cookie.

 

[Lilias]

Sugar was giving me bad anxiety a few years ago, so I lived the sugarfree life for a bit, and still keep using some of the stuff I liked best from that. Choc Zero as a brand has delicious liquid syrups and chocolate chips for baking, and their chocolate is also delicious if you want to try Their peanut butter cups aren't very good, though. Simple Mills has really good box mixes that are less sugar and questionable ingredients, and I love their yellow cake mix and brownie mixes

My favorite sugar alternative sweetweners for baking are Switch from Thrive market, or just Stevia. Straight erythritol has a cooling effect that I don't like, but it loses that when mixed with stevia or monkfruit! Like others mentioned above, it's important if you're worried about insulin effects or just calories, because that changes what's good for you. If you want something pretty inoffensive and natural, stevia is my go-to! You can get it in powder form or liquid form

 

[disneychrista]

I tend to just modify the recipes I normally use. I've cut the sugar up to half. I don't add any sugar substitutes. I also cut the butter/oil in recipes too. I will add other liquids milk, applesauce, etc.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The best chocolate desserts at fine restaurants are usually lower in sugar and higher in the chocolate flavor side, I'd check out things like a chocolate bombe, truffle like cookies or maybe plain or chocolate meringue.

 

[DLgal]

The best chocolate desserts at fine restaurants are usually lower in sugar and higher in the chocolate flavor side, I'd check out things like a chocolate bombe, truffle like cookies or maybe plain or chocolate meringue.

This is true. Chocolate crinkle cookies are a good Holiday one to try. Some recipes are even flourless.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The best chocolate desserts at fine restaurants are usually lower in sugar and higher in the chocolate flavor side, I'd check out things like a chocolate bombe, truffle like cookies or maybe plain or chocolate meringue.

 

[NotUrsula]

When you search for recipes, use the keyword "rich"; that is sort of baker's code for "more fat, less sugar".

Also, try searching European recipe sites; while there are exceptions, Europeans as a rule cook with less sugar than Americans do. (You'll have to do some calculation, though; the amounts will be stated in metric volumes, so you'll have to convert that if your measuring equipment is in Imperial units.)

 

[Imzadi]

What is your reasoning for wanting to cut sugar? It kind of matters, because if you are concerned about blood sugar/insulin resistance, you should know that artificial sugars and sweeteners can spike insulin the same as real sugar does. If it's calorie reduction, and you don't care about the metabolic effects, you can try something like Swerve or Splenda for baking, although I have found that both have an unpleasant aftertaste.

I agree with this. WHY you want to cut sugar is important. You say you don't care about carbs, but sugar IS pure carbs. Then it metabolizes in the body to become fat if not burned away. If you don't want to spike your blood sugar levels, look for recipes with higher ratios of protein, fat or fiber. Any/all off them will mitigate sugar, making it then digest slower in the body.

High protein recipes are usually designed to be higher in protein, less sugar/carbs.

The shortbread suggestion has a higher ratio of butter/fat and less sugar.

The oatmeal raisin cookie is very high fiber. While the recipe says no sugar added, unless one uses a sugar-free applesauce and sugar free chocolate chips, there is added (hidden) sugar. So again, knowing why you are cutting sugar determines how much sugar a recipe really can have.

Many of the newer diabetic recipes and Weight Watchers recipes - created in the last year or two, are designed to be higher protein, less carbs, as the organizations realized controlling diabetes and weight isn't simply eating less sugar. So you might want to look at those recipes. Recipes stating they have a low glycemic index will also mean they have a lower sugar ratio.

Also, as simplistic as it may sound, as a PP stated, allow yourself to have your favorite indulgence, but eat LESS of it. WHEN you eat them matters. Make sure you eat protein before or with it. If one eats the protein first and saves the cookies for when they are full, they will be less likely to gorge on many cookies as though they are a meal. Two cookies, consciously and slowly savored may suffice, instead of the 5 cookies usually gobbled down without much thought. How many of us have savored the first two bites of something, then plowed through 4 more cookies or a half bag of chips and realized afterward, we weren't really paying attention to eating them beyond those first two bites? I know I have. I eat my sweets (and fats) much more consciously now, and therefore eat less of them.

 

[1GoldenSun]

What is your reasoning for wanting to cut sugar? It kind of matters, because if you are concerned about blood sugar/insulin resistance, you should know that artificial sugars and sweeteners can spike insulin the same as real sugar does. If it's calorie reduction, and you don't care about the metabolic effects, you can try something like Swerve or Splenda for baking, although I have found that both have an unpleasant aftertaste.

I don't have any particular health issues that require me cutting back on sugar; I'd just like for my family to eat healthier overall. I would like to cut back on calories in the hopes that I can avoid gaining my usual few holiday pounds. Plus my son usually overindulges in the Christmas baking and I'd rather he not overdo it on the sugar. I generally feel that most recipes for "sweets" that I follow end up being way sweeter than they need to be so I don't think I'd miss some sugar; I just don't want to mess up the recipe.

How do you feel about sugar alternatives.

I don't have a problem with sugar alternatives and I do like Stevia. I'll try looking up some recipes using it.

Here is an oatmeal raisin one.

These sound delicious and I love oatmeal raisin cookies!

try skinnytaste.com

Ah! I used to find great recipes there all the time but I'd forgotten about it!

 

[QueenIsabella]

I would look for recipes that have other, healthier stuff--raisins, dates, nuts, oats. I developed an oatmeal-chocolate chip recipe that uses bitter chocolate chunks. You can also add vegetables--pureed sweet potatoes or butternut squash are good--to add a natural sweetness and a few nutrients. We also add applesauce to cookies, but that's to replace the fat.