Cranberry Chocolate & Chia Christmas Cookies (Low-Carb & GF)
I took my own advice this weekend and whipped out my handy Ultimate Recipe Substitution Guide to make a batch of extremely delicious and totally healthy Christmas cookies.
According to the harshest cookie critic I know, “They were delish. I ate them instead of a Kit Kat even.” – Claudia.
I found the original recipe on Anne’s incredible blog, Fannetastic Food. While her recipe was already super nutritious, I decided to make some substitutions in order to make these babies gluten-free and low-carb, and to give them some holiday cheer.
Instead of whole-wheat flour, I used almond flour. I also replaced the maple syrup with half the amount of honey to cut out some sugar (Note: this means they are no longer vegan. Feel free to stick with maple syrup if you have dietary restrictions). And instead of raisins, I used cranberries, mini cacao chips, and chia seeds.
The result: the most moist, melt-in-your-mouth cookies ever. The flavor combination with the sweet cranberries and rich cacao was perfect and the chia seeds added an unexpected crunch.
I was so satisfied, I ate a 1/3 of the batch immediately. We’ll call it dinner.
Luckily, these cookies are only 90 calories each, and full of healthy fat and dietary fiber. The almond flour and oats also give them a little protein as well.
Cranberry Chocolate & Chia Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
1 C. Oats
2/3 C. Almond Flour
1 T. Chia Seeds
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
Sprinkle of Salt
2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
1/4 C. FF Greek Yogurt
2 T. Honey
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/3 C. Dried Cranberries
2 T. Mini Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Then combine the two.
3.Stir in chocolate/cacao and cranberries.
3. Drop 2-3 T. of the batter on a greased cookie sheet (I sprayed mine with coconut oil) and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
4. Enjoy!
Total Calories: about 90 (makes 15) 13 g. carbs, 2.5 g. protein
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my guide to healthy recipe substitutions to makeover recipes like this on your own!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says:
Dude, if I could, I would totally eat that mixture RAWWWW!!!! ha ha ha ah!
You should come over on Thursday when I make XMAS cookies! ;)
LMFAO!!! “We’ll call it dinner”!
Whitney English says:
Not going to lie, this recipe might have made 17 cookies if I hadn’t been eating the batter :)
Jody - Fit at 56 says:
I need these so bad says this cookie lover!!!! :) I don’t have everything in the house so will have to wait but my mouth is watering!!!
I love the holiday flavors like molasses & gingerbread along with my fave oatmeal raisin & snickerdoodle.. :) I love cookies!
Whitney English says:
I LOVE cookies too! Know of any healthy snickerdoodle recipes? I’m dying to make some :)
The Vegan 8 says:
Oh, I pretty much only use almond flour and oats for all of my baking! It is the best combo! I don’t like bananas unfortunately :( but pumpkin or almond butter would be a yummy replacement. They look so festive :)
Whitney English says:
Yeah, I bet pumpkin or applesauce would work well. I’m loving baking with almond flour. I just started recently and it’s such great way to add protein and healthy fat to your recipes!
Kelsey says:
Yumm!! I will be making these!
Whitney English says:
Enjoy :)
zozo says:
I love oatmeal cookies but hate raisins! This cookie looks super tasty. I will test it before xmas rolls around and make some for my fam. :)
Whitney English says:
Let me know how it goes. You can really put whatever you want in them…nuts, coconut flakes, ect!
Luv What You Do says:
OMG! Yum! These look amazing!
I have baked with flax but always forget to add chia. Yet I love it when I get a bar or cookie made with chia at the healh food store. I am pinning these fore sure!
Jan @ Sprouts n Squats says:
Yum these cookies look all kinds of delicious! Love that they use almond meal too :)
Whitney English says:
Thanks! Yeah, the almond meal really makes these :)
Kristi says:
These sound and look amazing! I can’t wait to try them,
xx,
Kristi
http://www.currentlycrushing.com
Whitney English says:
Hope you like them!!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven says:
These are everything! I say make the healthy substitutions if you don’t sacrifice the taste. Most cookies can be equally as good. The only ones are shortbread which unfortunately there is no healthier alternative to butter haha
Whitney English says:
Darned butter!!! There really isn’t anything that completely compares :(
Kierston @candyfit says:
These look so delish! I love shortbread and gingerbread cookies…I be all like “I can’t wait to have Mama’s Christmas cookies!” ;)
I do like making my own healthy versions of many things. Holiday cookies haven’t been one of them. I don’t eat cookies very often, so when I do have a cookie, it’s sure to be a classic.
Whitney English says:
Yeah, I’m looking forward to trying some “normal” holiday cookies when I get to my parents house for Christmas too!
Arman @ thebigmansworld says:
Yum this look great Whitney! Depending on what the recipe is, I don’t mind making healthy substitutions but some things (like a fudge brownie or classic chocolate cake) is criminal to healthify ;)
Whitney English says:
Haha true that! It’s just not the same. Although… I’ve heard black bean brownies are pretty good :)
Ellen says:
Mmm, I am having a love affair with chia seeds. When it comes to Christmas cookies my family has a ton of traditional recipes we make every year-I tend to say that it’s okay to have some junk during the holidays-at least it is homemade junk.
That being said, cookies like these that are healthy can be just as delicious as the less healthy options:)
Whitney English says:
I totally agree! And if mom made it, it can’t be that bad, right?! ;)
Sydney says:
OMG these look amazing! How perfect for the holidays. And I love that you used almond meal, I’ll have to give these a try!
Whitney English says:
Please do! Let me know what you think :)
Mary says:
Did you use quick cooking oats or regular oats? XOX
Whitney English says:
Old-fashioned oats!