[simple-recipe]Starbucks gets a low carb makeover! Grain-free cookies with cranberries, ginger and a white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Okay, we are down to the wire here. Tomorrow is Christmas and I am throwing one more holiday treat your way. You may have already finalized your menu and finished all of your baking and to that I say good on you mate! But maybe you are the last minute type, a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal or guy. I know the type. I know the type very, very well. Because I often am that type; I’m always doing things at the 11th hour. So I feel you. And for the more organized planners among you, I am just hoping to inspire you to whip up yet another goodie to your well-planned holiday spread. Because hey, if you’re that organized, then you should have plenty of time on your hands!
Actually, this year I got much of my holiday baking done on the early side. It rather helps that I’ve moved cross country and know practically no one in my new hometown so I have few people to bake for this year. That cuts down on the baking frenzy like nothing else. I still managed to do enough baking and cooking to have quite a few holiday recipes to share with you. Which is why I am posting this at the 11th hour and throwing your well-planned holiday menu into chaos. Feel free to blame me for the desire to bake cookies at the last minute. I’ve had back to back recipes for the past three days because the holiday season seemed too short this year. But I just couldn’t let you go into your festivities without at least seeing these pretty little Starbucks-inspired cookies. Even if you don’t have time to make them now, they will be just as tasty in January.
My life here in Portland isn’t completely devoid of some social activities, thankfully. Some very kind people, friends of friends, sweetly lent us a number of necessities before our furniture and other belongings arrived on the moving truck. They also invited us over for dinner a few days ago and I couldn’t possibly arrive empty-handed to the house of new friends. I wasn’t sure what would be thought of me and my strange way of baking without sugar or flour, but everyone said the cookies were delicious. Of course, being virtual strangers, they may have just been saying that to be nice. But all the kids (not just mine) loved the cookies and young children are nothing if not brutally honest. So I think it’s safe to say they were a hit.
Cranberry Bliss Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries chopped
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 ounce cocoa butter melted (or melted coconut oil if you can't get cocoa butter)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened freeze-dried cranberries crushed OR finely chopped fresh cranberries (or if you happen to have some of my sugar-free dried cranberries made up, you could use those)
White Chocolate Drizzle:
- 1/2 ounce cocoa butter melted (or coconut oil if you can't get cocoa butter)
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, ginger and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
- Beat in almond flour mixture until well combined, then stir in chopped cranberries. Scoop dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Place a few inches apart on prepared baking sheet and press flat with the palm of your hand to about 1/3 inch thick.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned and and not quite firm to the touch. They will not seem quite cooked through, but they will firm up as they sit. Let cool on pan.
Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with powdered sweetener until well combined. Slowly beat in melted cocoa butter until combined and smooth. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Spread frosting over cooled cookies. Sprinkle with dried cranberries.
White Chocolate Drizzle:
- In a small bowl, whisk melted cocoa butter and powdered sweetener until smooth. Drizzle over cookies and let set, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Saturated fatty acids: 5.03g
Total fat: 13.15g
Calories from fat: 118
Cholesterol: 17mg
Carbohydrate: 3.59g
Total dietary fiber: 1.54g
Protein: 3.30g
Sodium: 120mg
