Guilt-Free Christmas Goodies

If you are like me and have been watching what you put into your body you may be feeling the temptations of the Holiday Goodies right about now...

How are we going to get through Christmas without eating all of that sweet deliciousness?!?!

I have some guilt-free goodies for you to try. Baking together is a fun time for all and so many memories are made in the kitchen, there's no reason you can't have you cake and eat it too! 😉

"Sugar" Cookies

A Christmas staple! I get a lot of questions about sugar. Why is a plant based sweetener like Stevia or Monkfruit okay to use but not organic cane sugar? Isn’t sugar cane a plant too??? The answer is yes, but regular cane sugar, even in its organic form still causes glucose levels to spike. Erythritol and Allulose do not.

So if you are trying to watch your sugar intake and still want in on the fun of baking this classic treat, give this recipe a try!

2 cups Almond Flour

3/4 cup Tapioca Flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

2 Tablespoons Coconut oil (melted and cooled)

-In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients ( flours, baking soda and salt)

-In a large bowl stir together wet ingredients (egg, vanilla, syrup and oil)

-Add the dry ingredients to the wet ( 1/3 at a time ) until a dough forms

-Form into a ball and chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment (or a silicone mat, if you have one)

-Lay down a sheet of parchment paper, add a dusting of tapioca flour. Add dough to the parchment and sprinkle a bit more tapioca flour on top. Place a second sheet of parchment and begin rolling out your dough. Anywhere between 1/4"-1/2" thickness

-Cut out cookies and place on prepared baking sheet

-Bake for 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Cool before frosting

Sugar Free Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sweetener

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sugar Free Royal Icing:

2/3 cup powdered sweetener

2-3 Tablespoons Almond Milk

Beat together all the ingredients in a bowl. If you'd like to add colors and are looking for a safe dye to add try these : NATURAL DECORATING COLOR

Ginger Bread

Whether you like making the cookies or the house, gingerbread is another classic Christmas goodie tradition! Try this recipe and have zero worries about a sugar crash from your kiddos.

2 1/4 cup Almond Flour

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sweetener

3 Tablespoons softened butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

-In a medium bowl stir the almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and baking powder together.

-In a large bowl beat the butter and brown sweetener for 1-2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Finally beat in the dry ingredients until a dough forms

-Place the dough ball into the fridge for 30 minutes

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment (or a silicone mat, if you have one)

-Place dough in between two sheets of parchment and roll out to 1/4 in thickness. Cut out your cookies and transfer them to your prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the dough has been used.

-Bake for 10-15 minutes

Snow Balls

Also known as, Mexican Wedding Cookies, we call them snow balls, because that’s what they look like. Did you know brands like Swerve have various kinds of sugar substitutes??? Granular ✅ Powdered/Confectioners ✅ Brown ✅ it makes baking easier knowing there are 1:1 ratio sweeteners out there!

1 1/2 cup Almond Flour

3 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup powdered sweetener

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

-In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients

-In a separate bowl cream together the oil and powdered sweetener until smooth. Add in vanilla and egg

-Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until dough is made

-Using a small spoon, scoop mixture into bite sized balls and roll with hands

-Place on the baking sheet, 2 inches apart and bake 12-14 minutes, until golden

-After they cool, dust them using more powdered sweetener

Hot Chocolate

A warm cup of cocoa will cheer anyone up around Christmas. But because we are so focused on ingredients let’s look at one packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix:

-sugar, corn syrup, sucralose are some of the top ingredients! Altogether it's 23 grams of ADDED sugar!

I have a tasty alternative: 5 recognizable ingredients and making your own cocoa mix is a money saver as well.

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for garnish

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar free sweetener, powdered or granular

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream, for serving

In a small saucepan whisk together cocoa powder, sweetener and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Add in the remainder of the water and cream and whisk until hot.

Stir in vanilla and pour into a mug and add a dollop of whipped cream on top. My favorite kitchen device is this "make your own" whipped cream canister, you can find it HERE

Peanut Butter Balls

These can also be called Buckeyes, but again this is one sugary Holiday treat I grew up with. I joined a keto Facebook Group awhile back and someone shared their alterations to this classic treat!

3 1/2 cups finely crushed pork rinds

8 oz natural peanut butter

4 Tablespoons melted butter

8 oz powdered Swerve sweetener

6 oz homemade melted chocolate

Using a food processor mix together the pork rinds, peanut butter, melted butter and powdered sweetener.

Form the mixture into 1.5" balls and freeze until firm

Meanwhile, make the chocolate:

3 tablespoons of cocoa butter

3-6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

a few drops of stevia

Melt cocoa butter in 30 second increment. Then add powder and drops

Coat the peanut butter balls in chocolate and store in the fridge!

Christmas doesn't have to be a time of falling off your health track. And it doesn't mean you have to forgo your favorite Holiday Treats! I hope you all have a safe and healthy Christmas!!