Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

12 Christmas Cookie Recipes

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Is there anything better than a plate full of Christmas cookies? This is a great time of year to spend a Saturday making several different types of cookies, wrapping them up, and gifting them to your friends, family or neighbors!

1. Low Sugar Frosted Christmas Cookies

Some might say that Christmas desserts are treats that should not be messed with. Perhaps whole wheat flour does not belong in a Christmas cookie. Maybe “low sugar” should not be included in a Christmas cookie title. It’s a treat, right? Can’t we just leave it well enough alone?

Sure.

But the more I experiment with cutting down the sweetener in my baked goods, the more I’m discovering that treats still taste like treats even with the sugar cut in half or more!

Try these cookies, you won’t even miss the sugar!

2. Christmas Spice Cookies

I LOVE the way these cookies make my house smell! Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves they are oh so tasty!

3. Homemade Peppernuts

These tiny, old-fashioned cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats! They’re great to package up in small bags to give as Christmas time gifts to coworkers and neighbors.

4. Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies

I’m not a big fan of raisins in my cookies. But adding dried cranberries to this simple butter cookie? Well, that takes them up a notch without adding any effort.

5. Low Sugar Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies

While I’ve shared that I just can’t get behind Pumpkin Spice Coffee (typing it actually makes me shudder just a little bit), I most certainly enjoy making many Pumpkin Spice treats this time of year – to eat while I drink my (plain, non-pumpkin-spice) coffee. If my house smells of nothing but Pumpkin Spice from now until Christmas, there will be much joy in the holiday season.

6. Easy Low Sugar Almond Melt-Away Cookies

These lightly sweetened cookies taste amazing with a steamy cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk. Ah, life’s simple pleasures. :)

7. Sweet and Simple Butter Cookies

The combination of butter and sugar in this recipe makes for a perfectly sweet and rich cookie that melts in your mouth. Don’t worry though. The ratio of butter to sugar is such that these are only lightly sweet, but deliciously buttery. I’d still consider these a dessert, but I think they fit in the “low sugar treat” category.

8. Reindeer Cuties

These simple cookies are a hit. Fun to make…fun to eat. I like that they are made with honey and whole wheat. And they really don’t take much time at all.

9. Orange Cream Cheese Cut-Outs

These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. And this recipe makes a lot of them…which is why it’s a good idea to have lots of people in mind to share them with!!  Because having them just sitting around the house screaming at me to come eat them is a bad idea.

I’d like to give in to the notion that since they have orange juice in them, they’re good for me and just packed with vitamin C.  Oh, if only.

10. Chocolate Snowballs

I like that these aren’t super rich or heavy…just kind of like a little bite of chocolate cake.

11. Cream Cheese Cookie Cut Outs

The cookies have cream cheese in them and the frosting is made with cream cheese. Let’s just say these cookies are soft, rich, and I have to work hard to keep myself out of them.

12. Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

A Christmas classic! Your kids will love helping you make these sweet, Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men!

Your turn to share! What’s your all-time favorite Christmas cookie?

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Low Sugar Pecan Cookies

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It’s baking season! These Low Sugar Pecan Cookies are buttery and delicious!

You might remember our other Low Sugar Cookie recipes. Here are just a few of our favorites:

We adapted a few of those to create these Low Sugar Pecan Cookies because it’s so easy to make a tiny tweak to create a brand new recipe!

The “melt-away” cookies listed above are my favorites simply because they are so buttery. This truly makes them melt in your mouth! No one can tell that these are low in sugar OR that they are made with whole grain flour. And the toasted pecans give these such a delightful flavor and crunch!

Low Sugar Pecan CookiesYum

Low Sugar Pecan Cookies
 
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Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups melted butter (3 sticks)
  • ½ cup sugar (sucanat, raw, brown)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • ½ cup pecan pieces toasted in 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
  1. Toast pecans by stirring them in a small saucepan over low heat for 2-4 minutes. Set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, stir together butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour.
  3. Fold in toasted pecans.
  4. Scoop ½ inch sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet.
  5. Press balls down with the end of a drinking glass.
  6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

Want to cut down on sugar while still enjoying occasional treats?

We have an entire eBook full of Low Sugar Treats, which you can check it out here. But it makes more sense to join our Heavenly Homemakers Membership Club so that you can enjoy ALL of our eBooks and much more any time, anywhere. :)

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Special (Easy) Breakfast: Chocolate Syrup on Pancakes

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If you want to turn a regular breakfast into a special breakfast, simply pour chocolate syrup on your pancakes! Here are two chocolate sauce recipes for you (one is dairy-free and low in sugar!).

I have all sorts of recipes for you, actually.

  1. First, we’ll talk about pancakes.
  2. Then, I’ll give you these great chocolate sauce recipes.
  3. Then, I’ll share different homemade whipped cream recipes to top everything off!

What’s great about this idea is that it turns ordinary pancakes into something super special! And if you’re hesitant about putting chocolate sauce on your pancakes because of the sugar, might I remind you that maple syrup is straight sugar also (even if it’s pure maple syrup)? ;) Not only that, if you make the Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce recipe below you’ll actually have a lower-sugar option to pour (or spread) all over your pancakes!

Pancake Recipe Ideas:

Chocolate Syrup for PancakesYum

Hot Fudge Sauce

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
 
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Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup brown sugar or sucanat
  • ½ cup cocoa
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. In medium saucepan, stir together cream, sugar, cocoa and butter.
  2. Cook on medium heat until butter is melted and ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

 

Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce

Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce
 
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Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 13.5 ounce can of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ - ½ cup sweetener (honey, sucanat, or brown sugar)
Instructions
  1. Mix ingredients in a small saucepan, cooking and stirring on medium heat until well combined.
  2. Serve warm or cold.
  3. Store this sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator, rewarming on the stove-top as needed. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge.

Drizzle or spread these onto your pancakes and you’ve got an amazing feast. But really, it’s thousands of times better if you then top it all with whipped cream!

Whipped Cream Recipes:

Still want more ideas?

Bonus Pancake Topping Recipes:

What’s your favorite way to top a pancake?

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe

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If you love chocolate, and you love pumpkin spice, then you are going to love, love this Chocolate Pumpkin Cake!

I love any treat that includes ingredients healthy enough for us to serve for breakfast.

What? Cake for breakfast? Oh yes. All year long. And since this one includes pumpkin, it’s a step above. #veggiecake

Of course, the pumpkin in this recipe makes it super moist. And the chocolate in this recipe? Well, that makes it chocolate. Need I say more?

You’ll love that this cake is topped with a thin layer of Honey-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting. Sigh…while I sure do love summer best, NOTHING can beat fall baking!!

Enjoy this fun video we put together, sharing how to make this cake!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake RecipeYum

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe
 
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Serves: 15-18
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup sucanat
  • dash of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sucanat, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
  2. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring oil, water, and cocoa to a boil.
  3. Pour liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredient mixture.
  4. Stir well.
  5. Add pumpkin puree and eggs, mixing well.
  6. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  7. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Low Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk
2-4 Tablespoons honey (sweeten this to your taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine butter, cocoa, milk, and honey. Cook and stir over low heat until ingredients are well combined and mixture begins to thicken slightly. Removed from heat. Stir in vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Do you love fall baking like I do? Will you be eating this cake for breakfast? :)

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Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

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Perhaps you have become great friends with the infamous Whole Grain Raspberry Cheesecake Bars? If not, you must. And now, you must also get to know our new friend, the Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars. Where has this friend been your whole life?

But speaking of whole, it is fantastic to know that these bars are made with whole grains. But no one, not even the boxed poptart lovers out there, will realize that these are packed with delightful nutrition. I know this because I fed a batch to a bunch of teenage boys who were visiting our home and who had just polished off a box of poptarts they had brought over. The next morning, I presented them with these bars.

Perhaps it was the added chocolate chips that made these so inviting. Well yeah, of course it was the chocolate chips. Still, they gobbled these down with a pitcher of iced coffee and some fruit, thanking me for the great breakfast like the sweet boys that they are.

It’s so fun to make treats like this that provide nourishment while still being “not weird.” You cannot go wrong with the words “chocolate chips” and “cheesecake bars” in the same title, am I right?

So get yourself some oats (which you probably already have), some chocolate chips (which you probably already have), some whole wheat flour (which you probably already have), and some cream cheese and some butter (please tell me you keep a lifetime supply of these golden ingredients on hand at all times). You will love these delightful Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars!

Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake BarsYum

5.0 from 2 reviews
Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1½ cups rolled oats
  • ½ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • CHEESECAKE LAYER:
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Mix together flour, oats, sucanat, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Stir in melted butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
  3. Press half of the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking pan.
  4. In a blender or with beaters, whip together cream cheese, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla.
  5. Spread this cheesecake layer over the top of the oat layer.
  6. Sprinkle ½ of the chocolate chips over the cheesecake layer.
  7. Drop spoonfuls of remaining oat mixture on top of the cheesecake layer, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
  8. Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

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Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe

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Apparently, it is the week for pudding! We’ve shared our Homemade Vanilla Pudding recipe, a great idea for a Pudding Parfait in a Jar, and today our Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe!

Just like our Homemade Vanilla Pudding recipe, this one is tried and true and worth another share. We wanted to highlight it again as another school year is approaching (I know, I don’t want to talk about it either!). This is a great recipe for an after school snack or to pack in a lunch.

How should you pack it in a lunch, you ask? Well now, check out this fun idea for How to Make Your Own Pudding Cups!

And get our other homemade pudding recipes here so that you can mix and match!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding RecipeYum

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼-1/2 cup real maple syrup
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder, and salt.
  2. Cook over medium heat, whisking/stirring CONSTANTLY until pudding begins to thicken.
  3. Stir over the heat for about 15 more seconds.
  4. Remove immediately from the heat, and continue to stir until pudding is creamy.
  5. Add vanilla and continue to stir until mixed.
  6. Pour into serving dishes and serve warm, or chill for two hours and serve cold.

Need some Homemade Whipped Cream to eat on top of your Homemade Chocolate Pudding? YES, you really do! It’s super easy to make and well worth the small amount of effort so that you can enjoy the additional treat of whipped cream on top of your homemade pudding! Get our Homemade Whipped Cream recipe here.

 

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Summer Activities with the Kids: Make Donuts!

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Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Make Donuts. Who can say no to that?

Here’s what’s great about making donuts with your kids (besides the fact that everyone gets to eat donuts!):

This activity gives you a chance to help your kids learn more about reading a recipe, measuring ingredients, rolling, cutting, and kitchen safety. Our favorite recipes are listed below!

Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

And if you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Bonus Boy too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here.

Make Donuts ~ Read a Book

Summer is an awesome time to spend more time reading fun books with your kids!

Have you read Homer Price? It’s a great read-aloud for your family! There’s a great chapter in the book about Homer making donuts with his uncle’s donut machine – SUCH a fun chapter! The donuts got out of control!! After you read that chapter, you’ll have no choice but to get into the kitchen and make donuts with your kids!

Here are a couple pictures of my four oldest boys enjoying the donuts we made after reading Homer Price many years ago. Aw, they were so little! (And Malachi was apparently playing dress-up too!)

chocolatedonuts3sm.JPGchocolatedonuts5sm.JPG

He’s 14 now. But he still loves donuts.

Ready for some Donut Recipes? Here’s a classic favorite of ours!

Summer Activity with the Kids: Make Donuts

Whole Grain Cake Donuts
 
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Serves: 15-20
Ingredients
  • 3 ¼ cup whole grain flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ⅔ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • Oil for frying (I use palm shortening or coconut oil)
Instructions
  1. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter.
  3. On a floured surface, roll dough to ½ inch thickness.
  4. Cut with donut cutter, biscuit cutter, or cookie cutters.
  5. Heat oil in skillet or electric skillet (enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet about ¼ inch).
  6. Place donuts into the hot oil to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
  7. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate.
  8. Sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, or powdered sugar over the hot donuts.

 

Want to make your donuts even healthier? How about adding a veggie – without anyone noticing? Whole Grain Pumpkin Donuts for the win! Truly, when you add pumpkin puree to donuts it not only adds nourishment but adds moisture and delicious flavor too! Find the recipe here:

Whole Grain Pumpkin Donuts

Need a little frosting for your donuts?

Here’s a high-sugar chocolate recipe. I will provide this recipe for you, but I will not be held responsible for giving your kids a sugar high. ;)

Simple Fudge Frosting

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa
¼ cup butter
¼ cup water
½ t. vanilla

Stir powdered sugar and cocoa together in a bowl. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add water and bring to a boil. Pour boiling water and butter into powdered sugar and cocoa. Add vanilla. Beat with hand mixer until frosting is combined.

How about a donut glaze that is much lower in sugar!

Orange Honey Glaze

2 teaspoons orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons honey

Whisk ingredients together on the stove until smooth. Drizzle over warm donuts!

Get out the Cookie Cutters!

Regular circle donuts and donut holes are fine. But we can make donuts even more fun when we use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes! Any cookie cutters will do. Make stars during the Fourth of July. Make animal shapes after a visit to the zoo. Make hearts and deliver them to someone you love. Oh the fun you can have!

You might also consider baking your donuts in a cool silicone donut making mold.

Share with Others

Did you see the sentence above about using a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make heart-shaped donuts to share with someone you love?

One of the best ways to spend time with your kids this summer is to SERVE others with them. Perhaps one way you can serve together is to make donuts and deliver them to someone who could use the blessing of friendship and fellowship!

Ready to have some summer fun with your kids? Head into the kitchen and make donuts! Take pictures and let us know how it goes!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Easy Low Sugar Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake

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There are so many wonderful reasons to love the month of May. The school year ends (for most), the frigid weather finally becomes pleasant (in Nebraska), and strawberries are everywhere (in bowls, in plates, in my hand…). I will now introduce you to my most recent recipe experiment involving strawberries: Easy Low Sugar Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake.

This cake is moist. It’s flavorful. It’s low in sugar. It’s whole grain. It offers the wonderful taste of early summer joy. And friends, it is topped with Cream Cheese Frosting. I declare that to be the MVP of this cake – along with the strawberries, of course!

Cutting Back on SugarYum

If you’ve been around here long, you know that I’ve taken the liberty of cutting down the sugar in many recipes, making sure they still taste amazing. I believe a lower sugar ratio is something we can get our taste buds used to! I recommend cutting back on sugar gradually, starting with homemade desserts and muffins.

Hoping to cut back on sugar? Read some simple ideas here to help make that happen!

And now, I reward your cutting-back-on-sugar efforts by giving you this recipe:

Easy Low Sugar Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake

Easy Low Sugar Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake
 
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Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup sucanat or sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ cups fresh or frozen strawberries
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Puree strawberries until smooth.
  3. Add pureed strawberries, milk, sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
  4. Mix with beaters until smooth.
  5. Pour into a buttered 9x13 cake pan.
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  7. Allow cake to cool.
  8. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe options below)

Want to keep the frosting low in sugar too?

Here are my favorite Low Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting recipes!

Stevia-Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons softened butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use about 20 drops)

In a large bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and stevia – whipping until well combined and smooth. Spread over cooled cake. Store in refrigerator.

If you prefer, here’s a slightly sweeter but still not too sugary frosting option:

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
3-4 Tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer (or in your blender), whip together all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cooled cake.

Looking for more Low Sugar Recipes?

Here are just a few of our favorites!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Cut Back on Sugar

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We all know too much sugar isn’t good for us. Oh, but why must it taste so goooood???? It’s ok! We understand and we’re here to help. Here are some suggestions for how to cut back on sugar that are actually not terribly difficult!

How to Cut Back on Sugar

I’ll give you a step-by-step. BUT!!! If the order of these suggestions is too difficult for you, don’t give up and walk away! Instead, pick just one thing from the list that you feel is doable and go for it. Then once you’ve mastered that one thing, go on to another one. Put these in any order that works for you!


1. Wean yourself off of sugary drinks.

Are you drinking your sugar? Oooof, guzzling down the sugar in the form of soda or juice can be really hard on your body and your teeth. It’s amazing how much sugar is in just one cup of juice or soda. Work on weaning yourself back. You can do it!

Consider enjoying sugary treats only in the form of food instead of drinks. That way you can enjoy your sweet treats more, but will consume less sugar!

Suggestion: These Javita drinks are delicious, healthy, and help provide a sweet drink that actually benefits your health!! My favorites are the Peach Mango (I drink one every morning to help with digestion), the Defend (I drink one every day to keep my immune system strong), and the Flex (I drink one every day to help with inflammation). I love that they taste sweet and are FUN!!! (Get more details about these drinks here.)

2. Put less sugar in your tea and coffee.

My southern sweet tea drinker friends are not gonna like hearing this one. ;) But what if, when making a gallon of tea, you start gradually cutting back on the amount of sugar you add? Your taste buds probably won’t even notice the difference if it’s just a little bit at a time.

And your coffee? Can you gradually start spooning in less sugar or pouring in less sugary, flavored creamer? If you like your coffee to be creamy and the idea of cutting back on creamer doesn’t appeal to you, I’d suggest still cutting back on creamer, but adding heavy whipping cream or half-and-half to provide the creaminess and even some natural sweetness!

Suggestion: Try adding a squeeze of this Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Syrup, plus some heavy whipping cream into your coffee! From college kid to adult to teen – everyone I’ve made coffee for like this has LOVED it and had no idea there was no added sugar!


3. Only eat candy on special occasions, or work to give it up altogether.

This is a tough one if you have some candy favorites that you consider staples for traveling or game watching or TV watching. But I’ve found that eating candy really ruins a persons desire for real fruit and other naturally sweetened foods. (Right? Who wants a real strawberry after eating licorice?)

Try to cut back on making candy a snack, and maybe only treat yourself on a special occasion here and there. Or stop eating it altogether so you can enjoy other sweet treats that aren’t so high in sugar!

Suggestion: Buy something fun like a box of this variety of Fruit Leather and let it become your “candy.” Now that I’ve stopped eating so much sugar, these really taste like candy to me – but they are 100% fruit!

4. Gradually add less sugar when baking homemade treats.

A few years ago I decided to start experimenting with regular cake, cookie, and muffin recipes to see if cutting back on the called-for amount of sugar would still turn out a good baked good. I have been so pleasantly surprised and pleased with this experiment! It doesn’t take nearly as much sugar as a recipe typically calls for to turn out a delicious cake, cookie, or muffin!

Don’t want your family to rebel against your cookies? Again, I recommend cutting back gradually until everyone’s taste buds have adapted to the lower sugar content. After a while, you’ll find that a treat made with full sugar will taste too sweet! How about that?

Suggestion: Check out this Low Sugar Treat list of recipes we’ve shared here!

Why cut back on sugar?

Here are my top reasons to encourage a smaller sugar intake every day:

  1. Sugar kills our immune systems. It’s so much harder to avoid catching illnesses when we’re eating sugar!
  2. Sugar can make us fat. Boo, I know. Our bodies only need a small amount of sugar each day to help us function properly. After that small amount is used up, any extra we consume has no use inside our bodies, so it goes to our fat reserves. Yuck.
  3. Sugar wrecks our teeth. But we already knew that.
  4. Sugar tricks us into not eating other more nutritious foods. As I mentioned before, who wants a real fresh strawberry after you’ve eaten licorice? When we eat sweet treats, we are less hungry for nourishing, whole foods. So our bodies become depleted of nutrients, and we are more likely to get sick (see #1) or fat (see #2).

Well, that wasn’t much fun to read, was it? Never fear…

Cutting back on sugar is possible!

If I can do it, you can do it! Set some small goals for yourself and get started. You’ll be surprised by how one change can lead to another! Ready, set, go!

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Our Favorite Lightly Sweetened Cookie Recipes

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Since I just shared a list of fun ways to enjoy coffee, I thought it was fitting to share a list of lightly sweetened cookie recipes to go with your coffee. Or your tea. Or water. Or milk. Choose your cookie – choose your beverage!

I love a barely sweet treat with my coffee. The recipes listed below are made with whole grains, wholesome fats, and have low sugar content. I have simply adapted our favorite cookie recipes through the years to make them lower in sugar while still keeping them delicious!

Lightly Sweetened Cookie RecipesYum

  1. Sweet and Simple Butter Cookies – Only 4 ingredients!
  2. Low Sugar Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies – My favorite to make for holidays!
  3. Buttery Almond Cookies
  4. Simple Oatmeal Cookies
  5. Honey Sweetened No-Bake Cookies – Just like when you were a kid, only less sugar!
  6. Easy {Low} Sugar Cookies
  7. Low Sugar Lemon Melt-Away Cookies – You must try all these Melt-Away varieties!
  8. Low Sugar Almond Melt-Away Cookies
  9. Low Sugar Orange Melt-Away Cookies
  10. Low Sugar Lime Melt-Away Cookies
  11. Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies
  12. Low Sugar Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies – Only 3 ingredients!
  13. Low Sugar Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
  14. Pumpkin Spice Cut-Out Cookies – These are a must in the fall!
  15. Low Sugar Chocolate Brownies
  16. Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – The sugar in these is cut down from 1 1/2 cups to just 1/2 cup!
  17. Sweet and Simple Cranberry Cookies
  18. Low Sugar Chocolate Cookie Cut-Outs

As a bonus, it is worth sharing my favorite flourless brownie recipes!

These are also low in sugar, and are completely grain free. I can’t get over how delicious these are. The trick to keeping them moist is to remove them from the oven BEFORE they appear to be done. If you leave them in the oven too long, they’ll get dry. But remove them when they are still a bit gooey and you are golden!

  1. Super Moist Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies – Only 5 ingredients!
  2. Super Moist Flourless Brownies – These are the same as the Peanut Butter variety, but they’re made with Almond Butter instead.
  3. Flourless Brownie Muffins – Use the above two recipes, and bake the batter into muffin cups. If it’s possible, that makes the brownies even better!

What is your favorite low sugar treat to enjoy?

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