Reduced carb, reduced glycemic index chocolate chip cookies
Modified from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe, available at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/index.html (last retrieved June 23, 2009)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (see note 1, below)
1/2 cup erythritol (see note 2)
5 tablespoons DiabetiSweet brown sugar substitute (see note 2, 3)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour/finely ground almonds (see note 4)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces (see note 5)
8 ounces toasted macadamia nuts, chopped (optional – I don’t use)
Preheat oven to 325°.
Cream butter with erythritol and “brown sugar” until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla. Officially, you’re supposed to sift together the dry ingredients, but I just dump them all in; I don’t think that ground almonds would work so well with a sifter, in fact. Mix well to combine. Add chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, and preferably an hour.
Take 2 baking sheets, covered with parchment paper or Silpat/silicone baking sheets and shape dough into golf-ball sized balls, or approximately 1” (2.5 cm) in diameter. You’ll get about 30 cookies out of one recipe. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are set in the center – because of the nature of the dough, it’ll be difficult to tell if the cookies are browning.
Note 1: For the kosher set, this recipe works well with unsalted margarine as well, if you need a parve dessert. If you don’t keep kosher, well, then use butter. It’s not like cookies should be good for you anyway!
Note 2: Erythritol and DiabetiSweet (isomalt) are both sugar alcohols. They are supposed to be low glycemic index (0 for erythritol and 2 for isomalt) and do not have a significant impact on my blood sugar. Others say that they do have an impact that is the equivalent of sugar. Your pancreatic mileage may vary. Also, please note that sugar alcohols may adversely impact your gastrointestinal system. Erythritol is not supposed to have gastrointestinal effects, but I can’t swear that it won’t give you an upset tummy.
Since the original recipe here uses sugar for structure and not for flavor, Splenda will NOT work.
Note 3: DiabetiSweet brown sugar substitute is available from Amazon.
Note 4: To make almond flour, take a coffee grinder and pulse your almonds in it until ground fine. If you let it stay on, or you use a food processor, you’ll end up with almond paste. That’s not quite what you’re aiming for, though it is very tasty.
Note 5: Many sugar-free chocolates contain maltitol. Maltitol has a lower glycemic index than does sugar, but is not as sweet; thus, more of it is needed to give equivalent sweetness. In the end, you’re getting nailed just about as badly in terms of total impact on your blood sugar. With that in mind, either find a real no-carb chocolate, or do what I do and use Scharffen-Berger chocolate. If I’m going to take that kind of blood sugar hit, it might as well be for a good cause.