It’s officially the holiday season, which means it’s time to pull out your stand mixer and oven mitts to bake cookies.
From USA TODAY’s Holiday Cookie Baking Tips: Figure out your baking strategy, choose at least one recipe from each of these five categories, and choose between strong and mild cookies before putting them in your cooking box. divide.
But if you have health goals or are worried about your habits falling through the cracks this holiday season, here are some tips to make your holiday cookie baking a little more nutritious. to introduce.
What are the healthiest holiday cookies?
You can look at a healthier approach to holiday cookies from two perspectives.
If you love traditional baking, our certified nutritionist nutritionists have you covered. Abra Papa We recommend taking some time to look for the highest quality ingredients. Look for high-quality baking flour, sugar, and butter.
If you’re a little more experimental in the kitchen, try a different type of flour. Papa says it can increase the nutritional density of cookies. Options such as almonds, Cassava or oat flour It often contains more protein, vitamins, and minerals than white flour.
Also, it may become easier in moderation. Cookies, like other desserts, are highly palatable foods that can be addictive due to their combination of fat, sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates. artificially reward eating.
“I think it’s a more satisfying experience,” Papa says of cookies made with alternative flours. “Because they are high in fat and protein, they inherently make you feel fuller.”
For example, 100 grams all purpose flour In addition to 13.3 grams of protein, 3.3 grams of dietary fiber, and 0.33 grams of dietary fiber, it also contains iron.of Equal amount of almond powder It has 21.4 grams of protein, 14.3 grams of fiber, and is high in calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
You can also replace traditional white sugar with something else. Pappa recommends honey, maple syrup, and coconut palm sugar. Swapping the sugar one-for-one “creates layers of flavor,” he says.
White sugar is “incorporated into our diet,” but coconut palm sugar is nutritionally superior, says Pappa.it is low blood sugar foods, so it has less of an impact on blood sugar levels than regular sugar, according to an analysis in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. It also contains minerals such as zinc, iron, potassium, and phosphorus, as well as phytonutrients with antioxidant properties.sugar cane sugar Has little or no nutritional benefit.
Pappa also recommends looking for recipes that use whole foods like dates, bananas, and sweet potatoes in place of or with sugar. You’ve probably used bananas as a supplementary sweetener in banana bread. Bananas can’t completely replace sugar and other sweeteners, but they don’t have to contain as much.
“They affect blood sugar levels, but in a completely different way than white sugar,” she says.
But if you prefer the taste of regular sugar in your baking, you can make your cookies a little healthier by reducing the amount of sugar you add.
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How to make healthy cookies
If you want to try these nutritious swaps, there are a few things you need to know from a culinary standpoint.
First, this is not an exact 1-for-1 exchange. If you’re baking for a family member with gluten intolerance, you can find gluten-free flours that are accurate substitutes for all-purpose flour, but many alternative flours are not. Rather than trying to reinvent the proverbial chocolate chip cookie wheel, Pappa points to developers creating recipes that match the flavor and texture profile of those flours.
“When using these alternative flours, what I recommend is finding recipes that specifically use those flours, because they have very different ratios,” says Pappa. .
You can also experiment with flour combinations, like this authentic Linzer cookie recipe that uses both all-purpose flour and almond flour.
Increasing your nutritional options doesn’t mean you have to eliminate holiday traditions.
“My mom usually bakes 12 different types of cookies every Christmas, and if I brought in even a tablespoon of almond flour, she’d kick me out of the kitchen. That’s not going to happen,” Dad says. .
Eating baked goods on holidays is an important cultural, social, and family tradition. Attributing shame or guilt to them can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, Papa recommends creating one new recipe every year that includes more whole foods like flour and sugar.
“Resistance usually comes from fear that it won’t taste good,” Papa says. “I’m always interested in broadening people’s palates and helping them understand that these healthy foods are nutritionally amazing and absolutely delicious.”
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