The holiday season is a wonderful time of year to bake cookies. If gingerbread cookies top your list, you will love this slimmed down favorite!
Bake and decorate as a family to fill your kitchen with happiness and the delicious aromas of the season. This scratch dough also bakes well using gluten-free flour. Kids of all ages love making the icing and designing the cookies. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ginger, ground 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground ¾ teaspoon sea salt, ground ½ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon baking powder ½ cup sunflower oil (or other vegetable oil) ½ cup molasses ½ cup brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large egg
Icing Ingredients: 1 cup powdered sugar 4 teaspoons milk, low-fat (or water)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place parchment paper on baking sheets.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, baking soda and baking powder.
In a small mixing bowl, add oil and molasses and whisk well until combined. Then, add brown sugar, vanilla extract and egg and mix until thoroughly blended.
Fold liquid ingredients in small bowl gradually into the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Divide dough into two balls. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for approximately one hour.
Sprinkle flour on your work surface. Roll out one ball of dough until it is ¼ inch thick. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
Use cookie cutters or a knife to carefully cut shapes. Place the cookie shapes onto the baking sheets, leaving ½ inch space between the cookies. Combine the dough scraps and re-roll them, until all dough has been used.
Bake in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool for 1 – 2 minutes, and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are baking, combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl and mix well. If you desire a thinner consistency, add more milk. Put icing into a plastic bag and cut the corner for piping.
Once cookies are completely cool, pipe signature designs with icing and enjoy!
Makes 20 servings (2 cookies per serving).
Nutrition Facts per serving: 90 calories; 3g fat (0g sat fat, 2g mono, 0g poly, 0g trans fats); 0mg cholesterol; 16g carbohydrate (1g fiber, 9g sugar); 1g protein; 65mg sodium; % Daily Value (DV) 2% calcium; 4% DV iron.
Stacey Antine, MS, RDN, author, Appetite for Life, founder, HealthBarn USA, director, HealthBarn Foundation, and recognized as top 10 dietitians nationally by Today’s Dietitian magazine for her work with HealthBarn USA.