Flourless Macadamia Nut Cookies

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My dad is a big fan of macadamia nuts, and he's on a low carb diet. These cookies should probably be avoided by calorie counters. They are absolutely delicious, and stopping at one might be difficult for some :).

The dough is very easy to make: there are only 4 ingredients, and you just use a food processor. It needs to chill overnight in the fridge. I found the recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and altered it slightly, substituting macadamia nuts for pistachios.

I used a cute, inexpensive mini-muffin tin from Fante's for the majority of the baking time, and then I removed the cookies and finished baking them on a jelly roll sheet. The dough is dense and doesn't spread much when baking, so you can use cookie cutters and trust that the cookies won't look like random blobs in the end.

Servings: 27
Ingredients:
-2 oz macadamia nuts, plus 27 nuts for topping
-1/2 cup & 1 T Splenda granular
-3/4 cup & 4 t almond meal
-1 egg

1) Grind 2 oz of macadamia nuts and 1 T Splenda in a food processor.

2) Add the almond meal and the rest of the splenda, and grind until combined and sticky.

3) Add the egg to the mix and process again until fully combined.

4) Wrap the dough in saran wrap and chill overnight in the fridge.



5) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

6) Fill a teaspoon with the dough, remove and top with a macadamia nut. Push on the nut slightly so it will stick to the dough. Do this 27 times.



7) Put the cookies on a jelly roll sheet (no need to grease; the dough is already quite oily) or put it into a tin like I did. Or, skip the nut topping, roll out the dough, and use cookie cutters. If using a jelly roll sheet, bake for 15-18 minutes. If using a tin, bake for 15 minutes, blot and then pop out the cookies, and finish baking on a jelly roll sheet for 5 minutes, or until the cookies are golden on the edges.



Each cookie has
50 calories
4.5g fat
1g net carbs
0.6g fiber
and 1.3g protein

Flourless & Low Cal Peanut Butter Cookies

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I got a recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies from Kalyn's Kitchen; I followed the recipe to a T for my boyfriend, but I wanted a lower calorie version for me.

I substituted the egg for Egg Beaters and the peanut butter for various low fat peanut butters. The cookies are a little crisp on the outside and soft on the inside; they don't crumble easily.

Use the cookies in an ice cream sandwich, or flip one over and cover the flat side with banana slices. Add chunks of dark chocolate and/or chopped peanuts!

Servings: 8
Ingredients:
-1/2 serving Egg Beaters (30g/2 T)
-1/2 cup granulated Splenda
-1/2 t baking powder
-1/4 t vanilla extract
-1/2 t tap water
-8 T creamy reduced fat peanut butter substitute*

*I used 4 T Better 'n Peanut Butter, 2 T SnacLite Power PB, and 2 T PB2 powdered peanut butter.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Put Egg Beaters, Splenda, vanilla, and baking powder in a mixing bowl, and beat from low to high for 1 minute.

3) Add water and peanut butter substitute, and beat for another minute from low to high.

4) Put parchment paper on a jelly roll sheet, and use a tablespoon to measure out 8 cookies. Smooth the tops with the bottom of the tablespoon.

5) Bake for 15 minutes.

Each cookie has
59 calories
2g fat
5g net carbs
1g fiber
and 3.6g protein