These Festive Cookies are as Fun to Make as They are to Eat! At only 50 Calories and .5 Net Carbs Each, They're a Christmas Miracle!
I have to say, I love few things more than baking and crafting during the holiday season! These cookies are no exception. They are so fun to make, and the possibilities are endless. You can use any types of cookie cutters and color combinations you'd like. I went with icy blue tones and geometric shapes. These cookies are seriously so beautiful! I've used a soft sugar cookie for the base and added just the slightest hint of peppermint. The resulting flavor is delightful. The crunchy peppermint candy crystal in the middle is a fun textural surprise for your tastebuds and looks absolutely gorgeous when the light shines through. The look of it reminds me of a crystal geode, just beautiful! It is soft and crunchy at the same time! Think those pillowy white mints you get at restaurants. My kids love to make these with me! Although I love the simple, elegant version I've presented to you in this recipe, there really aren't any rules when decorating Christmas cookies. I give them any and all toppings and just tell them to go for it!
Low-Carb Peppermint Crystal Snowflake Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies, but depends on the size of your cookie cutters!
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Ingredients:
For the crystal candy:
1/3 C water
1/3 C liquid allulose (I use Wholesome for this recipe)
2/3 C Swerve
1/8 tsp peppermint extract
food coloring
For the dough:
2 C almond flour (I use Blue Diamond finely ground almond flour)
1/4 C coconut flour (I like Anthony's Organic coconut flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C Swerve
2 large eggs
1/4 C coconut oil, melted (I use Nutiva)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I love Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract)
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
Swerve Confectioners for rolling out cookies
Geometric and snowflake shaped cookie cutters (Click to get the geometric cookie cutters and snowflake cookie cutters I used for this recipe)
Directions:
At least a few hours before you plan to make the cookies, make the crystal candy.
In a small saucepot, stir the water, allulose, and Swerve together and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture comes to a rapid boil, turn down to medium-high heat and continue to boil for about two minutes. Add your peppermint extract and boil an additional minute. Remove from the heat and distribute evenly between 3-5 bowls. This will depend on how many colors you are using. Add your food coloring to each bowl. I added 1 drop of blue to the first, 2 drops of blue to the second, and 3 drops of blue to the third to create a light, medium, and dark blue. Pour each color onto a separate large sheet of parchment and allow to cool completely at room temperature. This usually takes about an hour or more. The clear liquid will become hard and opaque when ready to use. Once the candy is cooled and hardened, chop half of each color into tiny pieces, almost sand-like, and the other half into slightly larger chunks(these will become your crystals). Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Next, make the dough in your food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can make it manually using a large mixing bowl and spoon. In your food processor bowl, place the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Then add the Swerve, eggs, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Process until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your countertop and dust it with a little Swerve confectioners. Place your dough ball on the dusted parchment and then top it with another large sheet of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Now comes the fun part! Using your snowflake cookie cutters, cut out as many snowflakes out of your dough as you can. Using the smaller cookie cutters, cut out a design in the middle to create the negative space. Be creative. Make any shapes you'd like! Gather any dough scraps and roll back out until you've used all of it. Place the cookies on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes.
While the cookies are baking, get your colored crystal candy pieces. Once the cookies have baked for 6 minutes, remove them from the oven and fill in the cutouts with your colored crystal candy. Place the larger crystals in first and then fill in around them with the finer candy sand. Make sure the whole cutout is filled, and there aren't any gaps. Place back in the oven to bake for an additional 2 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool on top of a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies, keeping them on the parchment, to the rack to cool completely before serving. These cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 4-5 days, and then store any remaining cookies in the freezer. Enjoy, and have fun!
Light blue crystal candy, 1 drop of food coloring.
Medium blue crystal candy, 2 drops of food coloring.
Dark blue crystal candy, 3 drops of food coloring.
The finished cookies.
So many pretty shapes! The possibilities are endless!
So gorgeous!!!
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