As soon as I saw this recipe from MORDAVIA on AllRecipes.com, I knew I had to adapt it for low carb. It combines the berry of the winter holiday, cranberry, with the refreshing taste of orange. It’s a wonderful combination and this cookie is absolutely delicious, one of my favorites already. To keep the carbs down, I used orange extract in it instead of orange juice, but if you want to use orange juice, feel free. I’d still add a little extract to really get the orange flavor in it. I also used sugar free orange syrup in the icing, but you can use either the extract or orange juice in it if you don’t have orange syrup.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

 

1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
1/4 cup Brown Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 Egg white
1 teaspoon grated Orange Zest
1 tablespoon Orange Extract or Orange Juice
1 cup CarbQuick
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup chopped Cranberries
1/4 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts (optional)

Icing (Optional, but recommended)
1 teaspoon grated Orange Rind (optional)
1 tablespoon Orange Sugar Free Syrup or Orange Juice
1/2 cup Confectioners’ Sugar Substitute*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F . Line baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or just spray the pan directly.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and egg white until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1 tablespoon orange extract. Combine the flour, coconut flour, protein powder (if you are using it), baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts, if you are using them, until they are evenly distributed.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons sugar free orange syrup and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

* To make your own low carb confectioner’s sugar, put crystal sugar substitute, such as Ideal or Splenda, into a food processor and pulse until it turns to a powdered sugar. Measure out after processing the sugar.

Makes 18 cookies.

Nutrition Info per cookie:
Calories: 79.2 Fat: 7.4 g Net Carbs: 1 g Protein: 1.7 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 12/16/2013