Healthy Christmas Cookies
Healthy Christmas Cookies
Christmas is synonym of many delicacies. Many are very sweet and therefore not necessarily healthy. The good news: Even if you like to eat a balanced and low-calorie diet, you don't have to go without christmas cookies. We present some great recipes.
In the premium fitness clubs of Holmes Place you can not only do a lot for your fitness. In addition to the well-equipped gym floors and the many group courses on offer, you also have the opportunity to get advice from our nutrition coaches. This includes nutrition plans tailored for you, but also tips on low-sugar, low-carbohydrate or low-fat nutrition.
Healthy Christmas cookies - do they even exist?
Yes! And they can actually be delicious! Instead of sugar, for example, honey is used and the light is replaced by wholemeal flour. Or flour is completely dispensed. Nuts also provide valuable nutrients. Most of the healthy pastries are a little less sweet than the ones you are familiar with - but many testers no longer miss this sweetness after the second bite.
Gingerbread
Here birch sugar (xylitol) brings the sweetness - sugar is not included. For about 40 pieces you need:
- 600g ground hazelnuts
- 200 g chopped almonds
- 500 g xylitol
- six eggs
- a packet of gingerbread
- 5 g cinnamon
- half a teaspoon of salt
How to do it: preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir thoroughly. Then form gingerbread on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and flatten them slightly. Bake them for about 20 minutes and let them cool on the tray. If you want to glaze the gingerbread, melt 300g dark chocolate with about 80g butter in a saucepan and then brush the mixture over the gingerbread.
Cinnamon stars
These stars are flourless and they really taste great. For 50 pieces you need:
- three egg whites (use size M eggs)
- 250 grams of powdered sugar
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
- a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- a pinch of ground coffee beans
- 375 grams of ground almonds
- some powdered sugar for cutting out
Here’s how it works: Beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. Set aside three tablespoons. Sift the icing sugar thoroughly and fold in a tablespoon at a time. Then add vanilla sugar, cinnamon and ground coffee. Finally, add enough of the ground almonds that the dough is almost non-sticky.
Now place the dough in a freezer bag (this will prevent it from curling up) and roll it out about an inch. Then place in the fridge for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 125 degrees. In the meantime, cut out stars (diameter: about four centimetres). To prevent the dough from sticking, you can press the cutters in powdered sugar from time to time. Place the finished stars on a baking tray lined with baking paper, brush them with the remaining egg whites and bake them on the middle shelf for about 15 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 100 degrees and continue baking the cookies for about ten to 15 minutes. Make sure the whipped cream remains light. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Fine almond biscuits
Ingredients like wholemeal spelled flour, maple syrup and chia seeds make these Christmas cookies healthy - and they're really delicious too. You need:
- a ripe banana
- 500 ml almond milk
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 100 g rolled oats
- 100 g wholemeal spelled flour
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 100 g chopped almonds
How it works: Mash the peeled banana in a bowl and add the almond milk, maple syrup and coconut oil. A sticky mass should form. Now fold in the oatmeal, wholemeal flour, chia seeds and almonds and let the mixture swell for about ten minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it with some coconut oil. Then form small balls with your hands, flatten them slightly and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for ten minutes.
Hazelnut cookies
Hazelnuts contain a lot of vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus and iron, as well as magnesium. They are in these cookies. You need:
- 80 g hazelnut kernels
- 120 g soft butter (alternatively: margarine)
- 60 g raw cane sugar
- 140 g spelled flour type 1050
- 50 g dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa content)
- a pinch of salt
- half a teaspoon of cinnamon
Here’s how it works: Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Chop the hazelnuts and set aside 2 tablespoons. Add the rest to the butter mixture along with the flour, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
Form a roll out of the dough. Wrap them in foil and put them in the de for half an hour in the fridge. Then cut the roll into twelve slices about one centimeter wide and place them a little apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. Then let it cool down. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a water bath. Drizzle the cookies with chocolate and sprinkle with the reserved hazelnuts.
Experiment yourself
Basically, you can vary all recipes for Christmas cookies that you know. Reduce the amount of sugar, use darker flour (note: you may need more liquid to prevent the dough from becoming too thick) or use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. The baked goods get the necessary sweetness with ripe bananas, honey, dates or alternative sugars such as xylitol. You can replace cow's milk with plant-based alternatives such as oat milk. You can experiment with the butter: you can use margarine, including the vegan variety, as well as sunflower oil. Cottage cheese or yoghurt will also work. To make the dough fluffy, you can add a tablespoon of semolina or alternatively starch or baking powder per 100 grams.
Healthy Nuts
Nuts provide nutrients and not only make the Christmas cookies tasty, but also more nutritious. They are high in fiber, are considered a good source of protein and contain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Walnuts, for example, contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, the B vitamins and vitamin E (tip for those in a hurry: Dip a few walnuts halfway into liquid dark chocolate. It's worth a try!). Peanuts are rich in magnesium, iron and zinc, Brazil nuts provide a lot of selenium (a single nut covers the entire daily requirement of the trace element), cashew nuts are also rich in B vitamins, vitamin K, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium and phosphorus the amino acid tryptophan.
Just try what you like. For more information on healthy snacking and wholesome nutrition, just contact the nutrition experts at Holmes Place. The coaches are also at your side if you want to achieve certain nutritional goals!