Diabetes Friendly Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (eggless)

Finally, deadlines are calming down enough for me to return to the kitchen and keyboard!  Christmas is coming, so... Bring. On. The. Baking.  I've started off the baking season by making a diabetes-friendly version of the Chocolate Orange Crinkle Cookies that my family and I enjoy so much.

Fig. 1. Crinkle cookies, a comparison.

You may remember from my Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf recipe that my father is a quite recently-diagnosed diabetic.  While that recipe is a previous attempt at diabetes-friendly baking (i.e. delicious by not as diabetes-friendly as I would have liked), I've learned a lot more about what he needs for an improved diet.


This version of the crinkle cookies is made with whole wheat flour, sucralose, and ground almonds.  The result is a denser, springier version of the cookie.  They are quite different in comparison, and the family favourite is still the original sugar-laden version.  However, these little fellas are still delicious.  My father loved them and my mother, who is a diabetes-free sweet lover, couldn't believe that they were made with whole wheat! Score 1 for Elise ;)  I'm going to try hard to make sure that there are sweets on the table that my father can eat this Christmas.

Comfort and joy.

I'm posting the full recipe here because I made some serious adjustments to make these diabetes friendly.  However, full credit for the original recipe, which is sugary and peppermint based, goes to Sarah of The Sweet Life.


Diabetes-Friendly Chocolate Orange Crinkle Cookies
Adapted from The Sweet Life blog.

Makes 4 dozen small cookies

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sucralose (e.g. Splenda)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (my preference is canola oil)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of one small orange
• 1 cup ground almonds, preferably toasted, for rolling (there will be left over almond)

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder, sucralose, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and orange zest.  Stir until well incorporated.
3. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix until combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
4. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350F.  Line one or two baking sheets (i.e. however many can fit on the middle rack of your oven!) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
5. Take tablespoon size portions of the dough and roll into balls.  Toss in ground almonds until evenly coated. Space evenly on the tray with approximately 1 inch of room between each cookie.
6. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Cookies should have started to crack and be slightly firm to the touch.  Cool on the baking tray for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve!

 

I hope you enjoy :)