Sugar-free Gingersnaps
A taste of Tuesday
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (210g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
1 ½ tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 ¾ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
1 large egg white, room temperature
2 ¼ tsp vanilla stevia
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
¼ cup (60mL) molasses
3 tbsp (45g) granulated-style Swerve (or more, as needed)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, vanilla stevia, and vanilla extract. Stir in the milk and molasses. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
Divide the dough into 18 equal portions, and roll each into a ball. Working with one sphere at a time, roll in the granulated-style Swerve until coated. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten to the desired width using the flat bottom of a drinking glass. (These cookies don’t spread while baking!)
Sprinkle the flattened cookie dough with a little more granulated-style Swerve, and gently press it down into the cookie dough with your fingertips. Bake at 325°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
An excerpt from Half-Baked. Free in Kindle Unlimited
The next day, Emily called while Maggie was experimenting with a gingersnap recipe. How differently would your blood sugar react using molasses instead of regular brown sugar?
Emily’s voice floated over the phone. “Mom, I heard you were dancing with Stephen Fox!”
Maggie dipped her rubber spatula into the batter and licked it. Ugh. Bitter. “That’s right. It was no big deal.”
“Tell me everything!”
Maybe if she added honey? Or maple syrup? “There’s not much to tell. He invited me to a wedding. We danced.”
“Mom! This is huge.”
Maggie decided on the maple syrup—the real kind. Fortunately, she had some that her cousin Milly had brought her from a trip to Vermont. Going to a maple tree farm in Vermont would be fun. “Sweetie, we’re just friends. In fact, he’s dating Tessa. Would you consider going on a trip to Vermont with me?”
“What? Mom! No!”
“Why not? I really should travel more, and you shouldn’t work so hard.” She added a generous amount of maple syrup to her batter, stirred it around, and tasted it. Much better. But would it be any healthier? She had no idea. Maybe she should Google it.
“What are you talking about?” Emily sounded scandalized, as if Maggie had suggested a stay at a nudist colony.
“Why are we talking about my very platonic date to a wedding when we should be talking about your weekend?”
“My weekend? I didn’t go out with a silver fox.”
“Silver fox? That’s kind of a cute name for him. I’ll have to tell that to Tessa.”
Emily heaved out a sigh. “So, there’s really nothing between the two of you?”
“Really nothing. I’ve told you. I’m not interested in dating.” Maggie got out the cinnamon and paused, considering. Typically, she rolled her gingersnap cookies in cinnamon and sugar before baking them. If she were trying to make them sugar-free, that couldn’t happen. So, now what? “We should be talking about who you’re dating. Not me.”
“I’m not dating,” Emily said in a hard voice. “You know I don’t have time for that.”
“But sweetie, you have to make time. Hey, do you want to come over and have some of my cookies? I’m experimenting.”
“Experimenting? That doesn’t sound like you.”
Maggie decided not to take offense. “I can experiment.”
“What sort of cookies?”
“Gingersnaps.”
“I love your gingersnap cookies! How could you possibly improve them?”
Maggie opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. If she admitted to trying her hand at modifying a perfectly good recipe and making it sugar-free, Emily would make much more out of it than she already was. “Come over and see.”
“I can’t. I’m in the middle of a big case.”
“That’s the story of your life.”
“I learned everything—including how to make the very best gingersnaps—from you.” Her tone let Maggie know her daughter knew something was up. But nothing could be. Stephen was dating Tessa. That was it. And, after taking another lick from her spatula, she decided sugar-free gingersnaps were actually pretty tasty.
And so is Stephen Fox. She shut that thought down. She couldn’t let these sneaky little thoughts creep in to upset her friendship with Tessa or her peaceful life.
“I’ll bring you some cookies tomorrow,” Maggie promised. “But I really think you should make time for—”
Emily cut her off. “I’ve got to go, Mom.”
After Emily ended the call, Maggie sighed, and tucked her phone back into her pocket.
Yum! Those sound delicious -- and healthier than my usual recipe!