Monday, November 29, 2010

Honey 'n Spice Cookies: A Healthier, Delicious Alternative to Sugar Cookies

My kids love to make cookies in fun holiday shapes! Rather than the typical white flour/white sugar dough, we use this tasty recipe. It's quick and simple to mix up, delicious, and doesn't use any unusual ingredients. The dough is a great consistency. A definite winner in our house!

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Blend dry ingredients (first four) and set aside. Whip butter until creamy, thoroughly blend in honey and vanilla. Alternately blend the dry ingredients and milk into creamed honey-butter mixture.

Divide dough in half and chill several hours or overnight. Remove half the dough from the refrigerator at a time. Press flat with your palm on an evenly floured surface (I use a plastic pastry sheet). Lay a piece of wax paper over top of dough and roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/8" thick. Peel wax paper off and replace occasionally while rolling out.

Use your favorite cookie cutters dipped in flour to cut fun shapes! Gently press scraps together and roll out lightly as needed to cut remaining dough. I found that as we worked I needed to put it back into the refrigerator once or twice to chill for a few minutes when it began to get hard to work with.

Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets (I always use my baking stones!) and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Decorate as desired before or after baking (ideas: use toothpicks or straws to make interesting designs, and of course sprinkles, etc. are always fun!)

Some of Peanut (4) and Monkey Boy's (20 months) tasty creations.
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14 comments:

  1. What fun to do together with the kids!
    Coming over from the Hip Homeschool Hop :)

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  2. I have been looking for new cookie recipes to try and this one looks supper yummy! I can't wait to try it out! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Blessings!

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  3. These look like something my family would like. I need to do gluten-free baking this year, so I may end up with a gf version of your recipe.

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  4. Wow I didn't know you could use whole wheat flour
    for cookies . I would love it if you linked up this recipe on my blog this afternoon.

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  5. Oh, I'm loving this recipe! My oldest can't have much in the way of sugar and white flour, so we tend to limit the cookies around here . . . this is a great alternative.

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  6. Love that these are healthier! :)

    Have a great day!
    Sherry

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  7. Kara,
    Do you grind your own flour for this or use store-bought? If you grind, what sort of wheat do you use?

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  8. Lauren,

    Yes, I grind my wheat. Pastry flour is made from soft white wheat. Most baked goods like cookies, muffins, cakes, etc. (quick breads) do best with soft white wheat, which is called "whole wheat pastry flour" if store-bought. Hard white and hard red are generally better for yeast breads, although I use hard white for one of my biscuit recipes.

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  9. This is PERFECT! I needed a good cookie recipe to use this weekend, and now I know what I'll use! Thanks! :)

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  10. Hi Kara,
    Your Sugar N Spice Cookies look great. I wish I had one or two right now. Thank you for sharing and have a good week.

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  11. How fun & yummy!

    I'm following from Hip Homeschool Hop. You'd have fun learning while you play at www.magicalmouseschoolhouse.com, where Disney IS school. Hope you can stop by!

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  12. Try baking with Steviacane! It will help you cut down on your sugar intake and tastes just like the real deal, nothing like the licorice-flavored stevia alternatives!

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I'm a mom of four, ranging from teenager to preschooler. My roles include home educator, spiritual advisor, home manager, nutritionist, financial planner, and event coordinator, to name just a few. In my free time (ha!), I love to read. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31) is a life verse for our family. Home With Purpose is a place for me to share what we're learning and doing in every aspect of our home to work toward that goal.
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