Gingerbread Cookies

I love baking for the holidays because the oven warms the house and the smells are so wonderfully nostalgic. However, I do not love gaining weight during the holidays! These cookies are my compromise; they taste great but are made with more wholesome ingredients than a traditional gingerbread cookie. They are sweetened with maple syrup and made with whole grains so you can indulge, while still enjoying that yummy gingerbread flavor. They are a chewy cake-like cookies that are wonderful warm out of the oven with a glass of soy milk.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

1 tbsp ground flax meal
3 tbsp orange juice

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2  cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups oat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

Combine the ground flax meal with the orange juice and set it aside to let it thicken up a bit.

Next, mix all the rest of the wet ingredients together which are: vegetable oil, maple syrup, soy milk and molasses.

Then sift together all of your dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger).

Finally, add the wet ingredients to the dry, including the flax seed mixture, and stir to completely incorporate all of the ingredients.

Then put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Drop the cookies in rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Press them down to flatten a bit and then bake for 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a rack and then enjoy!

For 18 cookies. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 45 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 152 Calories from Fat 44

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4.8g 7%

Saturated Fat 0.9g 5%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 107mg 4%

Potassium 156mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates 25.4g 8%

Dietary Fiber 1.1g 4%

Sugars 10.7g

Protein 2.1g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 4% Calcium 3% • Iron 7%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet