Christmas cookies are a tradition in my family. We spend a few days baking from sun up and until sun down. Once we have all our cookies baked we package them up and distribute them to the neighbors. The kids love running up and down the street placing boxes of cookies at doorsteps or handing them personally to the neighbors who are home. As lovely as this tradition is, I have to warn it is a dieter disaster. I think on baking days we are able to get so much done because of a constant sugar rush. It seems that breakfast, lunch and dinner consist of cookies. That is not a good for anyone and even low fat cookies need not be abused in such a manner. However, it is nice to have a low fat version of a traditional favorite on hand and sugar cookies are definitely a favorite.
Low FAt Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 5 tbsp butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Preparation:
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter and sugar until dough forms. Don’t worry if the dough seems a little crumbly at first; it will come together. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for two hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch or 1/8-inch thickness. Use holiday cookie cutters dipped in flour to make cutouts. Gather scraps and re-roll until all the dough is used.
Place cookies 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack after 1 minute to cool.
Makes 30 cookies, depending on size of cookie cutters used.