The 12 Days of Giving, Day 1: Healthy Christmas Cookies
I love doing a countdown around the holidays, whether it's a series of homemade gifts you can give away, how to stay healthy through the holidays, or a deeper look into the importance of tradition, and rest.
This year I'm pretty focused on gratitude - we have so much to be grateful for, even with the state the world's in. When things around the holidays get stressful and consumption-based, one of the best things we can do is take a step back and remember this.
So over the next month, I'll be sharing ways you can give back - to yourself, your friends & family, and the world at large. The 12 Days of Giving are all about turning traditional holiday stress on its head, and creating some new, healthy traditions.
Day one is a classic place to start - it's Dec. 1, so you might be thinking about all the Christmas baking you have on your plate.
This year, instead of passing around refined-sugar-filled treats, why not load up on a healthier alternative. This recipe for classic sugar cookies from Detoxinista is surprisingly similar in texture to more classic sugar cookies, and can still be cut into fun shapes and decorated - it just lacks the junk you'd normally find in holiday sweets. Bonus points for taking the time to bake & decorate these with friends and family - give yourself the gift of quality time, instead of treating this like a chore!
Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour (grind almonds in your Vitamix, or buy almond meal from the grocery store)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened (or use butter instead)
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cookie ingredients until a thick, creamy batter is formed.
Chill the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll out onto a surface dusted with more almond meal and cut shapes using cookie cutters.
Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake for about 8 minutes at 350F, or until the edges turn golden brown.
Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled to room temperature (about 1 hr), it's time to decorate!