Thread: Low Carb Cookies

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 1/2 cups Splenda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer until well blended. Divide
into 4 ziplock bags or plastic covered bowls and flavor according
to your tastes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before baking.

Make cookies by forming dough into 1/2-inch balls, placing the
balls on a cookie sheet (I use the airbake pans). Flatten the
balls with the bottom of a glass tumbler dipped in water to about
3/8-inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8-12 minutes, until
lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and cool.

Entire batch of dough makes about 12 dozen cookes. Entire batch
has about 89 carbs, about .62 carb per cookie.

NOTE: I buy almond flour from http://www.almondsonline.com/. If
you have a blender or mill, you can grind your own - 8 ounces of
blanched almonds makes about 2 cups of almond flour.

NOTE: Xanthan gum is a natural product that adds stability to
mixtures. Without wheat flour (and the gluten in wheat flour),
these cookies come out *very* crumbly. The teaspoon of xanthan
gum gives the cookies a very good texture - crisp without falling
apart when you pick them up. Xanthan gum is expensive - $9.99 for
an 8-ounce bag at Whole Foods - but a little goes a long way.

Flavoring:

Add 1/2-1 teaspoon extract (or 1/4 teaspoon Nature's Flavor) to
each portion. I've found that lemon and orange work *really* well.
Adds negligible amount of carbs.

For chocolate cookies, add 1 square melted unsweetened chocolate
to one portion (1/4 recipe), along with an additional tablespoon
or so of Splenda. For this variation, add about .25 carb to each
cookie.

For nut cookies, add some chopped walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts
(try adding macadamia to the chocolate variation). Add appropriate
amount of extra carbs for the added nuts.

Me either, and I don't like it, though it may be accurate in a sense