Cranberry Walnut Cookies

With their festive red cranberries, these drop cookies make a nice Christmas cookie, but they are a great healthy cookie any time. Sugar-free, low-carb, and gluten-free. See notes on some of the ingredients below.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter
• 4 oz cream cheese (can use low fat)
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar substitute (see below)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup whole cranberries

Preparation:

Notes on Special Ingredients: In this recipe, a combination of almond meal and whey protein powder takes the place of flour. If you use a flavored protein powder, you will probably want to cut down the amount of sweetener in the recipe. I used Designer brand Vanilla Praline, which does have artificial flavorings in it. If I didn't use the flavored powder, I'd be more inclined to add a little intense black molasses, which has about 4 to 5 grams of carbohydrate per teaspoon. I use Sweetzfree liquid sucralose (sucralose is the sweetener in Splenda®) as a sweetener. More about the advantages of liquid sweeteners

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1) Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add sweetener, cinnamon, and salt, and beat again. Add eggs, and beat until combined.

2) Add almond meal, protein powder, and baking soda and combine well.

3) Mix in cranberries and walnuts.

4) Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, or one covered with a silicone mat. The size is up to you, but avoid very large cookies.

5) Bake about 7 to 9 minutes, until top is just browning. Cool completely before eating -- really, they are so much better after they are cool. I don't know why. Store in a sealed container.

Nutritional Information: Each of 32 cookies has 1 gram effective carbohydrate plus 1 gram fiber, 4 grams protein, and 94 calories.

Looking for more low carb cookies? Try these recipes:

• Almond Spice Cookies - Taste like Hermit cookies; slightly chewy
• Chocolate Coconut Cookies - Miss Almond Joy bars? Try these.
• Sugar-Free Macaroons - 4 ingredients, very easy
• Low Carb Chocolate Rum Balls - can be made without alcohol, and are also very easy to make
• Miracle Brownies - delicious and good for you at the same time!

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