Some people think of “Snickerdoodles” as sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar.  In other words, you take sugar and butter and add some more sugar and cinnamon to make a yummy treat.  Now, since all the Snickerdoodles I’ve eaten in the past are made with white flour, it basically makes these cookies about as far off the scale as I ever want to get in terms of their impact to my blood sugar.  That’s why I decided to change up the recipe.  Boy, am I glad I did!

Better Ingredients

First, I’m skipping butter in this recipe in favor of olive oil, which as we learned in a recent post is a better, more heart healthy fat.  Then, I axed the white flour (which your body just turns into sugar anyway).  I used whole wheat pastry flour and a touch of flaxseed meal, instead—you’ve gotta love these whole grains.  Okay, I realize the color of these cookies isn’t pasty white like you’d expect to find with most sugar cookies, but these turned out so good, I tossed my old white flour recipe in the recycle bin.

 

Let’s Whip Up A Batch

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

Now, lets gather the ingredients:

1/2 cup “extra light” olive oil (light for baking at high heat)

2 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

We’ll also need a mixture of cinnamon and sugar to roll our cookies in (use a ratio of 1 tablespoon sugar to 1 tablespoon cinnamon).

 

Mixing It Up

Start by combining the oil, eggs, and sugars.  Then add in the cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Stir well (I did all my stirring by hand with a plastic spoon).  Next, add in the flours and mix until the dough forms one big dough ball.

 

If cookies tend to stick on your cookie sheets, you can spray a light coat of oil over them.  I didn’t use anything and they came off the pan just fine.

 

Now, take the dough and roll into 1-inch balls.  After making a mix of cinnamon and sugar, roll the ball into it and then place it on your pan.  If you want flatter cookies, use something like a flat bottom drinking glass and lightly press them into shape.

 

Pop your cookie sheet on a middle rack of your oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.  If you like crispier cookies, you can bake them another minute or two.  When the timer goes off, pull the pan from the oven.  Let the cookies rest a minute on the pan and then remove them and place on waxed paper to cool.

 

Believe me, anyone who says they’d prefer plain old Snickerdoodles or sugar cookies to these has a real surprise coming.  And what’s not to love?  These still have all that cinnamon sugar mouth appeal, it’s just we’ve added a touch of a nutty flavor by using whole grains.

 

Now, I’m no scientist, but everything I read these days says we should all be eating more whole grains.  And since there’s no way I’m giving up on cookies, I just think it makes sense to substitute whole-grain goodness whenever I can.  Give these a try.  I bet you’ll love them.

 

Enjoy!

 

By Bob Anderson
© 2011 Javabird LLC.  All rights reserved.

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If you enjoyed this recipe you’ve got to try:
A Woman Sconed: Furiously Good
Or for more recipe ideas visit our new Recipe page by clicking here.

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