The ones on the left were made with stevia. To add bulk, I used mashed pumpkin. My dough was too stiff and didn't spread out at all. My children said they tasted like pumpkin muffins - and liked them! Next time I'll try yogurt and see if I can get the cookies to spread out more.
The cookies on the right were made with honey. They baked as flat as a pancake but tasted delicious! I did not decrease the liquid as Regina recommended. Next time I'll cut back on the butter to make up for the liquid in the honey.
Because there will be a next time! My children didn't care if they were flat or rounded! With a little practice I think I can improve the texture and have a perfect naturally sweetened cookie!
Maybe you were like me, you read about Regina's chocolate chip cookie experiments and wished to try her recipe!
I asked for it...and Regina agreed to share it with us!
Regina's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. butter
1 1/4 c. Sucanat or sweetener of choice
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
Cream butter and Sucanat. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Recipe may be doubled.
Are any of you attempting to try to use some natural sweeteners?
I really enjoyed reading Regina's well-informed posts about the natural alternatives to sugar. I still use sugar but have honey & maple syrup on hand and know that they are really what I should be using - it was just too daunting to try and revamp a recipe! So I love that Regina has done the leg-work and shared the chart on how to substitute in recipes.
ReplyDeleteNow I feel like it is something that I might really be able to master! Thanks so much for having her share this information!
Hi Gina - I have found the sugar posts very interesting. I started looking at the brown sugar I just happened to select from our supermarket and found it to be unrefined - I would not have known that it was slightly healthier without having read Regina's information. The flapjacks I bake have half the butter in them when honey instead of syrup and sugar are used - could you cut the butter in your cookies down by half? My family usually like everything I bake - like yours they just wolf it down!! Lily. xxx
ReplyDeleteI haven't worried about sweeteners. I usually just reduce the sugar quite a bit. Most pancake recipes, for example, have sugar in them. I never put sugar in my pancakes anymore.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my family eats very little high-fructose corn syrup because I make so many things from scratch. I am much more concerned about processed foods from factories than I am about sugar in what I bake at home.
I'll continue to read your experiments with interest, however!
I am trying to use ONLY raw honey, pure maple syrup and stevia. I have been doing this for about 3 months now. We also only have a sweet baked once every 2 weeks. I have tried several recipes and Im still tweaking them as well. I would love to find a really good cookie recipe using honey or maple syrup. Im going to start playing around with my recipes as well. So far I have tried a whole wheat honey sweetened jiffy cake and it was good, as well as some quick breads but not any cookies. THANK YOU so much for these sugar post they are extremely helpful!
ReplyDeleteJoy