Cookies: 5 Tips for Baking Healthier Cookies
Cookies are rarely thought of as health food. And let's face it, if they WERE health food, they wouldn't taste like cookies!
But here are five simple steps you can take when baking cookies for a gift or for yourself that will decrease their calories and fat without decreasing their taste!
1. Reduce the fat in your cookie recipes.
There are substitutions for cookie recipes that will reduce the fat, yet keep most of the flavor. All substitutions may not work for all recipes. Some fat substitutes don’t stand up well to heat. Experiment to get the best results for your recipe.
Here are some substitutions to try:
Use light butter or fat-free cream cheese instead of butter.
Use light butter instead of shortening.
Use egg substitutes (or 2 egg whites) instead of eggs.
Use mini-chocolate chips instead of regular ones.
Use crispy rice cereal instead of nuts.
Use skim milk instead of whole milk.
2. Reduce the sugar quantity in your recipe by about one-third.
3. Use alternatives to granulated sugar. Here are some suggestions:
Honey. Use 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey in place of 1 cup sugar. Fruit juice concentrates. Use 3/4 cup of fruit juice concentrate for every cup of white sugar; reduce other liquid ingredients by 3 tablespoons.
Molasses. Use 1-1/3 cups molasses for 1 cup sugar; reduce other liquid ingredients by about 5 tablespoons.
Maple syrup. Use 3/4 cup maple syrup for 1 cup of white sugar; reduce other liquid ingredients by 3 tablespoons.
4. Use sugar-free versions of your ingredients. If a recipe calls for jam or chocolate, for example, try using sugar-free versions.
5. Use artificial sweeteners with sugar. Don’t eliminate sugar altogether, because it helps to keep cookies tender and moist. But you can use artificial sweeteners with sugar to reduce calories. For best results, try half-and-half (for example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, use ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of an artificial sweetener). For all artificial sweeteners, be sure to read the label for sugar substitution tips.
These suggestions will take some trial and error, but with a little effort, you can make your home-baked treats healthier, yet still delicious!
For tons of free cookie recipes, articles and baking tips, go to http://www.Cookie-Crazy.com
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