Holiday Cookies: Ginger Snaps

• December 14th, 2011
• Posted in Recipes, Sweet Treats by staceyantine
• Comments (0)
• Tags: ginger snaps, healthy cookies

These crunchy cookies are hard to keep in the cookie jar because they’re a family favorite at HealthBarn, and they’re sure to be a hit in your house, too.  If ginger is not your favorite flavor, go without and enjoy a molasses snap instead.  Pack them with low-fat milk or milk alternatives such as soy, rice or almond milks for a yummy school snack—and be prepared to share the recipe when the other parents ask for it!

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup dark molasses (Blackstrap is best!)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup ground flax seeds
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In large bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, oil, and molasses. In small bowl, stir together flours, flaxseeds, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.
3. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in large bowl and stir together until well mixed.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or until dough is firm enough to roll into a ball without sticking to your fingers.
5. Scoop dough by 1 heaping measuring teaspoon at a time. With palms of hands, roll dough into a ball.  Repeat with remaining dough, placing balls, 2 inches apart (they will spread out!), on ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are brown. Let cookies cool on baking sheet before removing.

Makes 26 servings (2 cookies per serving).

Nutrition Facts per serving:  140 calories; 7g fat (1g sat fat, 5g mono, 1g poly, 0g trans fat); 10mg cholesterol; 19g carbohydrate (1g fiber, 11g sugar); 2g protein; 105mg sodium; 6% Daily Value (DV) calcium; 10% DV iron.

SuperKids Nutrition recommends experimenting with a little less sugar each time you make these cookies or other holiday cookies. You can often get along with less. This holiday season use more whole grains and healthy fat substitutes when baking -just as featured in this recipe! Check out our article on healthy baking substitutes! Visit us on Facebook for daily tips and for more great links to programs like HealthBarn USA!

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