These are a delightfully plain cookie – sometimes all I want is just the flavor of a simple vanilla baked good without any pomp and circumstance. This is it ! And at only 21 calories a cookie, I can have 5 without any guilt. Dip them in coffee, serve with some yogurt of some fat free, sugar free pudding – or just indulge in their simple elegance.

Vanilla Rounds

24 servings
21 calories per serving (1 cookie)

2 eggs, separated
½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
¼ c sugar
2 t vanilla
¼ t grated lemon zest
½ c flour
Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites until foamy. Mix baking powder, salt, and sugar and slowly add to egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Mix yolks, vanilla and zest and beat with a fork the fold into egg white mix. Sift flour over egg mix and fold until smooth. Use about 2 t of batter to make each cookie and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes. Cool on sheets a few minutes and then move to racks. Cookies will crisp as they cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar once completely cool.

You can’t imagine my pleasure at biting into a ‘healthy’ cookie and being so blown away by the flavor and texture ! These cookies are incredibly good. And with no added fat or salt, no preservatives, and no cholesterol, you just can’t find a reason to say ‘no’. Believe me, that’s a good thing.

Almondina

The first thing you notice when you bite into these great cookies is the perfect texture. Not so hard like a traditional biscotti that you break your teeth if you don’t dunk them, yet not soft or crumbly. These are perfect. They are much like a thin cross section piece of a traditional biscotti. But I believe the texture and the flavor are superior.

These thin, light, crunchy cookies come in many flavors – one is better than the next. They are great for entertaining. But there is no reason to not ‘indulge’ (and I put that in quotes because you can barely consider this an indulgence considering there is no guilt!) all the time – no cholesterol, all natural and ONLY 99 CALORIES for 3 cookies (original and bran).

Almondina

Like all the best recipes, this one was Grandma’s secret recipe until the end of her life. We are so glad Zaliouk has made them available for us all. Try all the great flavors – original, sesame, cinnaroma, bran treats, gingerspice, pumpkin spice, choconut and chocolate cherry. Each is packed with nuts and full of flavor. I think my favorite is chocolate cherry, though the original keep calling me back to the package

Get your ALMONDINA biscuits (named after Grandma Dina) now ! You can order online or they are available locally in most areas (I’ll be getting mine at Whole Foods and Trader Joes). Head on over to almondina.com for more information.

I am so addicted !!

Almondina

At 118 calories per cookie, these are a bit high cal, but they are so rich and so delicious that 2 definitely satisfy your sweets craving. A large portion of the calories is due to the walnuts in the recipe, but these are GREAT calories full of MUFA. So don’t feel too bad Serve with a nice Low Fat Latte for a great dessert.

Chocolate Drizzle Cookies

30 servings
118 calories per serving

5 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
1 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/3 c flour
1/3 c walnuts, finely chopped
30 walnut halves
Chocolate Glaze (see below)

Beat butter on high 2 minutes or until smooth. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and then stir in melted chocolate. Finally stir in flour and chopped nuts then cover and chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and shape dough into 30 balls about 1 inch big and place on cookie sheets. Press a walnut half into each and bake 10-12 minutes and then cool completely. When cool, drizzle chocolate glaze on cookies and let sit until glaze is set.

Glaze:
Melt 1 oz. sweet baking chocolate and 1 T butter then add ¼ t vanilla, 1 c powdered sugar and 2 T skim milk.

Biscotti is a very hard and crumbly Italian cookie that is perfect next to a cup of coffee. This one has such great chocolate and almond flavor !

Chocolate Biscotti

24 cookies
154 calories per serving

3 c flour
½ c unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 c sugar
2/3 c margarine, at room temperature
¾ c Egg Beaters
1 t almond extract
½ c whole blanched almonds, toasted and chopped
Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer beat sugar and margarine until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and extract and beat well then gradually add in the flour mix mixing by hand. Dough will be very dry – don’t worry ! Then stir in almonds. On a baking sheet sprayed lightly with Pam form dough into 2 logs and bake 25-30 minutes and then cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Add a few nuts to the top of the logs for extra almondy goodness. Using a serrated knife slice each log on the diagonal into 12 slices each 1 inch thick and place cut sides up back on the baking sheet and bake another 12-15 minutes per side or until crisp. Cool completely on wire rack.

If you don’t like the way the cookie crumbles, then this is not a recipe for you. But if you like crunchy little cookie bits like me, then these are heavenly ! And you get the added benefit of eating your MUFA since these have semisweet chocolate and nuts.

Cookie Brittle

48 pieces
60 calories per serving

½ c margarine
2 t vanilla
3 T water
1 t salt
4 T Splenda
1 c flour
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts, chopped very finely

Combine margarine, vanilla, water, salt and Splenda and beat until smooth. Stir in flour, chips and nuts and press into an ungreased 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees 25 minutes. Remove from oven and score into pieces. Cool completely then break into pieces.

I would not classify these with Gramma’s version – much like when you are eating a bran muffin vs. eating a gooey chocolate muffin, you know this cookie is more nutritious than sweet and buttery. But it does have CHOCOLATE…and butter…and is sweet, so it does satisfy the cookie craving !

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

48 servings
89 calories per serving

1 ½ c whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 c quick oats
1 c light butter
½ c Splenda brown sugar blend
1 c Splenda
½ c Egg Beaters
1 ½ t vanilla
1 c chocolate chips

Blend butter and sugars until they are creamy. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Then by hand, stir in the oats and the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes. Makes 48 cookies.