Healthy Snack of the Week: Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Cookies don’t have to be on the no-pie list when it comes to snack time.

No one knows healthy eating better than Jo-Ann Heslin of TheNutritionExperts.com. Jo-Ann is a noted author, registered dietitian, and certified nutritionist, and she offers this recipe for whole wheat cookies, developed by the Wheat Food Council and Kansas Wheat Commission, that kids will love.

“Everyone loves cookies,” she says. “As parents, you struggle with letting your children enjoy a favorite food and offering snacks that are good for them. This recipe for whole wheat sugar cookies is both.

“These are easy to make (we baked them with a three-year-old) and they freeze well, providing a quick pick for brown-bag lunches.”

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup (4 tablespoons) butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  ½ teaspoon baking soda
  1 cup sugar
  ½ teaspoon salt
  1 egg
  ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  1 tablespoon orange peel (optional)
  ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  2 tablespoons nonfat or low-fat milk

Additional ingredients for optional topping (mix together):

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar

To make:

• Preheat oven to 375^oF.
• In medium-sized bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed gradually adding granulated sugar. Beat mixture until creamy and combined. Add egg, orange peel, vanilla, and milk; beat mixture until well combined.
• Stir in the flour mixture into butter mixture until combined.
• Shape into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped into topping mixture.
• Bake cookies in a preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

The results:

• One cookie = 74 calories, 3 grams fat, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 12 grams carb, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, and 59 milligrams sodium.

Have you made whole wheat cookies? Do you have a twist on this recipe or a recipe you’d like to pass along? To share, please use the comments section below.

For previous Snack of the Week suggestions and more articles on healthy eating, visit Learning Liftoff’s food posts and view our recipes.

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Featured Image – Lesley Parker / CC by 2.0