Sunday, December 14, 2008

Christmas Baking

It's that time of year again, when everyone turns into a baker and sugary sweets come out of the kitchens of even those folks that don't cook. So as a low carber I've got to arm myself with low carb treats so I stay out of the carbivore's treats.


I started my baking this week, I got 4 loaves each of my Banana Nut Flaxbread and Cranberry Nut Flaxbread which I made in loaf pans instead of my normal flat baking pan. Oh my they were so pretty.


Then I started on cookies. My first effort proved to be so good, I'm going to have to freeze a good part of them or we will eat them all! They are Laura Dolson's Cranberry Walnut Cookies

Trust me they are addictive so be careful. I did make a few adjustments to the recipe. I added a full teaspoon of black-strap molasses (4 net carbs) and 1/4 cup of flaxmeal (I thought the batter was too wet and I wanted more fiber trace amount of carbs) plus instead of 32 cookies I got 47. The were not little cookies either.



These are a soft chewy cookie not a crunch crisp cookie. Much like my aunt Val's famous date nut cookies, but without all the carbs... yum!


My next venture is going to be chocolate nut clusters, a low carb version of party mix, almond cookies, and fudge then of course I have to make the carbivores in my life peanut brittle, caramel popcorn, and cheese popcorn. They are family traditions I've made for years. We decided not to make any of the other Christmas goodies, these are for specific family members.


So tell me what your making to hold off the tendencies to nosh on high carb holiday treats?

6 comments:

~Oct said...

Your recipes are going to be my holiday baking resource this year. Thank you Vikki! I am really looking forward to trying some of your flaxbreads.

~oct

Vikki said...

Oh my I hope you enjoy them. I try to keep it simple but keep things on hand we can nosh on and not feel guilty about.

I'd not make it a week without my flaxbreads. It's what gets me through my day.

Lauren said...

Please share your results with the nut clusters and the fudge! Sounds like you are baking up so many yummy treats. Those cranberry cookies look great.

I'll be making seven layer bars, buckeyes, maybe some gingerbread. Familiar flavors to please the family. Happy baking, Vikki!

Jennifer [To PIN/share a Post, Click the 3 dots or the Red SAVE Button] said...

Vikki, did you get my emails? I hope so, otherwise maybe you could give me a friend's email to send them to.

Your cookies look wonderful. I like the clever changes you made to those cookies. I imagine they are even nicer!

Anonymous said...

Vikki, Your cookies look yummy! Have you ever tried making gingerbread cookies that you could roll in the people shapes? I found someone else's recipe, but don't have the foggiest idea how or what to substitute for 4 cups of flour to make them as low carb as possible. Could you give me some ideas how and what to substitute in this recipe?
Hugs, betty

Light Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup light butter, softened

1 cup packed brown splenda sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Vanilla frosting of your choice

Red and green paste food coloring

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Tint some of the frosting red and some green. Decorate cookies.

Yield: 5 dozen. Number of Servings: 60

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user TABBYKAT75.

Vikki said...

The only thing I can think of that might work would be a blend of carbalose flour and nut flours. But nothing gives the texture of wheat flour so even if you get the flavor spot on, the texture will not be. So if you can live with that I'd say go for it. In my experiences I have had some great success and some terrible disasters and luckily a few great recipes that came out of pure disaster. I once made a fabulous very dense pound cake while trying to make cinnamon rolls. I just forgot to write down the recipe :o(
so always write down every thing you try.
Good luck and let me know if you give it a try. Sorry took so long but I didn't have internet service for a while/ switching to a bundled service.
Merry Christmas!