Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
Yields: 36 – 48 cookies (depending on cookie cutter) Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1.5 hours
A delectable sugar cookie, made with half whole wheat flour and a slightly reduced butter content, gives you all the flavor with a healthier twist.
Ingredients
11 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup cane sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (plus 1/2 cup for rolling out)
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
1. Cream softened butter and sugar in a bowl. Once combined, add vanilla and eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, white flour, salt and baking soda. Combine well.
3. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into butter and sugar mixture. Form into a ball and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Roll out dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter and cut out shapes.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes on a parchment paper lined baking pan.
7. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Cookies can be frozen for longer shelf life. These cookies are perfect for the naturally colored Beet Frosting!
Disclaimer time – yes, these cookies do have a couple tweaks from a traditional recipe that give a little more benefits to your health than others. However, they are still butter and sugar cookies, hence the name. Still, I feel I can indulge a little more. Maybe it’s psychological. Even if it is, I’ll take it!
Whole wheat pastry flour is a bit finer and is a little less heavy, perfect for pastries and cookies. It helps the well-known sugar cookie stay a bit delicate as their reputation stands. Although, it does add a little extra fiber, vitamins and minerals as opposed to the refined white flour counterpart.
I have fond memories of making Christmas cookies with my mom. Although, I always liked the sugar cookie dough more than the actual sugar cookie. She always put on special versions of Christmas songs by Barbara Streisand or Bette Midler, so to this day, those artists singing holiday songs always bring me comfort.
Now, it is a tradition I want to continue with my kids. It seems like the preference to dough over cookie may continue!
When I was younger, cookies were made during this special time of year and we didn’t eat a whole lot of sweets. Nowadays, it seems kids our flooded with sweet treats all of the time. So, I can’t help but want to make a slightly healthier version of these treats. Plus, I just feel a teeny bit better when there is a little more bulk (fiber, protein) to help slow the massive sugar rush!
These cookies taste wonderfully when decorated with Beet Frosting or Chocolate Avocado Frosting or naturally green colored Avocado Frosting found in the Spinach Sugar Cookie recipe.
