Sugarless Sugar Cookies

I’m sure we all have fond memories of baking and decorating some kind of cookies during the holidays. The sad truth is that not everyone can create these beautiful memories thanks to food allergies and auto-immune diseases. BUT DO NOT FRET! I am here with a killer recipe to save your holidays.

This is my family’s favorite and most requested recipe every single year! Not only do the pro-gluten people love them, but especially the Type 1 Diabetics and Low-Carbers – since these babies come out to just under 8 net carbs per cookie. That’s including the royal icing 😉

But how can a gluten-free, sugar-free christmas cookie taste good, you ask? One word – F A T 😀

Fat makes everything taste better. It’s true. Imagine a pizza without the cheese or even cheese-alternative? Ick. A pastry without the butter? Ack! Or bacon without … well, the fat?! No thanks.

Now that’s not to say low-fat foods cannot taste good. They can! There are thousands of delicious low-fat recipes on the google machine. But that’s not how we do here at Nourished Intuition. This is not a fat-free zone, folks. You’ve been warned!

BONUS – this recipe makes MORE than enough to gift with enough leftover for you to inhale.

YOU ARE WELCOME. Now, onto the recipe, shall we?

NOTE: These can be made with most sweeteners, but it would be good to experiement in a small batch if you’re curious how something will work. I have tested these with Splenda Baking Granules, Swerve and Krisda Baking Blend.

SCHOOL SAFETY TIP: These can be made 100% nut free if required, simply ensure flour, extracts and sweeteners are nut-free. Read labels! Especially important, omit the Almond Extract.

*TRICK: You’re looking for a very pale browning on the bottom of these guys, any darker and you risk a dry gluten-free cardboard cookie. Blegh! 🙁

ADDITIONS: You can top these with ANYTHING. Chocolate, lemon glaze, coconut cream, love – literally anything.

Prep Time: 30 mins ｜Bake Time: 8-12 mins ｜Cool Time: 30 mins ｜ Decorating Time: 20 mins – 1 hr ｜Total Time: 1.5 – 2 hrs

What You Need:

Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted cultured Butter, room temperature
• 2.5 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup Swerve (or Splenda Baking Granules/Krisda Baking Blend)
• 2 medium Whole Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Almond Extract
• 3 cups GF Flour Blend (I used Pamela’s)
• 3 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum (only add if your flour blend does not already have it)
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
• 1 Packet of True Lemon
• Parchment Paper or Silpat Liners

Royal Icing (per colour)

• 2 tbsp Icing Swerve
• 2 tsp Tapioca Starch (do not add if your icing sweetener contains starch)
• 2 tsp Meringue Powder
• Colour to your desire
• Water

What To Do:

Cookies

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Mix all of your dry cookie ingredients together. Set aside.
3. In a new bowl – Cream the Butter, Cream Cheese and Swerve Granules until fluffy.
4. Add Eggs, True Lemon, Vanilla and Almond extracts.
5. Gradually add your dry cookie mix into the wet ingredients. Gently mixing by hand, until a soft dough is formed.
6. Diving the dough into 2 balls.
7. Between 2 pieces of Parchment, roll each ball into 1/4 inch thick sheets.
8. Place the cookie sheets into the fridge and chill for 15 minutes.
9. Using your favorite shaped cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as you can fit onto 1 baking sheet lined with Parchment or Silpat. Set remaining dough aside until you are ready to cut out the next batch. You can refrigerate until you are ready to prevent the dough from getting too soft.
10. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until cookies are pale brown underneath.
11. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack for further cooling.
12. Repeat steps #9 through #11, rolling and re-rolling as needed, until all the dough is used up. Alternatively – you can easily freeze this dough for up to 1 month. Just ensure they are rolled out and sealed up in air-tight containers.

Royal Icing

1. Mix Icing Swerve, Tapioca Starch, and Meringue Powder together in a small bowl.
2. Slowly stir in water until you reach an “Elmer’s glue” consistency.
3. Add your colouring in and mix. I recommend making and using one colour of icing at a time – this prevents your other colours from drying out or making too much icing, to begin with!
4. If icing is too thick to ice with, add water by 1/4 tsp increments until desired thinness.
5. If icing is too thin, slowly add in small amounts of Tapioca Starch until desired thickness. Be careful not to thin too much as it is much harder to thicken it back up!
6. Pour icing into a baggy and squeeze out all of the air, zip it shut. Snip a tiny hole at the tip of the bag and test on some parchment. If the hole is too small, cut a bit more off. It’s much easier to start small and work your way up.
7. Have fun piping the icing onto your beautiful cookies! Design and create however you please. This is the step kids love the most.
8. Once fully iced, set cookies aside for the icing to harden. You should allow the first colour to set before topping with another one to prevent bleeding of colours.
9. Pack the completed cookies into cookie tins or even present them on your favorite serving platter. These make a great gift!