Cranberry Walnut Sandies

Cranberry Walnut Sandies

Made my hubby some delicious cookies this evening.  They came out pretty much like pecan sandies in texture but if you freeze them, they get firm and slightly chewy.  They seem to even get tastier from having been frozen.  🙂  They can be eaten right from the freezer, as they do not get hard.  These are delicious and will add variety to your holiday cookie tray.  One thing I would change about my recipe is next time I won’t press the dough into my bar silicone pan.  The cookie texture in a long stick-like shape are inclined to break in half.  Next time I’ll roll into balls and press slightly to form round cookies, like traditional sandies. So I’m writing my instructions to reflect that change in forming the cookies. These are not suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb reintroduction ladder.

DO NOT substitute other sweeteners for the sugar-free honey or they will be more shortbread-like and not chewy.  If, however, that’s what you desire, sub away.  🙂

You can have other tasty low-carb cookie recipes at your fingertips with your own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends latest cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Click the link to see a preview of what’s in store in this 5-volume set.  They can also be ordered individually at Amazon or here.

DISCLAIMER:  By personal choice, I do not accept payment for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes in these books.  I do so simply because I think they are GREAT recipes you’re going to want in your collection.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber (substitute gluten-free oat flour for gluten-free version)

1 tsp. glucomannan powder (konjac powder, which is pure fiber)

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

½ c. coconut oil or softened butter

2 T. almond butter

1 T. vanilla extract

½ c. granular Splenda (or sweetener of choice to equal ½ c. sugar)

1 T. erythritol (or sweetener of choice to equal 1 T. sugar)

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. sugar-free imitation honey (NO SUBSTITUTIONS.  I use Honey Tree from Walmart)

½ c. chopped walnuts

½ c. coarsely chopped fresh cranberries (I used homemade sugar-free dried)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large mixing bowl stir the almond butter and oil together until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and imitation honey.    Measure in all dry ingredients on top and stir well to form a smooth dough.   Add chopped nuts and cranberries and stir to blend well.  If your dough seems very dry or stiff (coconut flours vary), add in ½ beaten egg. My dough was about like chocolate chip cookie dough, neither stiff nor gooey.  With your hands, roll dough into 24 equal balls (around 1¼” balls of around 2 T. dough each) and place them onto a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet.  Leave 1″ space between cookies.  Press balls down slightly flat and pop pan into preheated oven.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until firm.  Do not over brown these cookies or texture will be drier and less chewy.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan COMPLETELY before removing with a spatula as these are delicate while hot. They firm up when cool. 🙂  Store in an airtight container.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 24 cookies, each contains:

138 calories

12.2 g  fat

5.53 g  carbs, 2.72 g  fiber, 2.81 g  NET CARBS

3.36 g  protein

56.3 mg sodium

HOMEMADE IMITATION HONEY: If you don’t want to run to the store for sugar-free honey, but also don’t want to use all real honey because of the carbs, I have a homemade recipe for sugar-free honey to allow you to make these cookies right now!  🙂  This was inspired by a recipe of Birgit Kerr on Birgitkerr.blogspot.com.  Boil the following for 2-3 minutes: ¼ c. erythritol, 2 T. + 1 tsp. real honey + 1 pkt. stevia (or Splenda).  Cool (thickens as it cools) and spoon into an airtight jar.  If it crystalizes over time in your pantry, just soften in the microwave on DEFROST for 1  minute or plunge the jar into a pot of slow simmering warm water a minute or so before using.

Advertisement