Celebrate Valentine's Day with these healthy cookies or healthier candy alternatives!
Most of the candy we see in stores today use ingredients like high fructose corn syrup which is one of the worst sugars we can eat. They also have a lot of additives and preservatives that have been linked to different health issues.
But there are some companies now making candy a little bit better.
Healthier Candy Alternatives
The Unreal company makes things like peanut butter cups and chocolate covered peanuts that are very similar to m&m's. Instead of artificial dyes, which have been linked to behavioral issues in kids, they use real foods, like beet juice and turmeric, to color their candy.
Smart Sweets is a company that makes better gummy-type candies. They have gummy bears and peach rings that are vegan and made with healthier sugars.
Turn over a bag of chocolate chips and you'll see a lot of ingredients on most of them, but in reality, chocolate chips only need 3-4 ingredients. Enjoy Life chocolate chips only have 3 ingredients. They use dark chocolate which has shown to contain antioxidants and other health benefits, in moderation of course.
If you're trying to cut sugars, the chocolate chips made by a company called Pascha have zero sugars, including sugar-free alternatives. These chocolate chips taste very bitter, but when you pair them with things like a date or cookie dough that already has sugar in it, they taste much better.
Tips For The Cookies
The cookies I've made here are made with healthy ingredients like unbleached all-purpose flour and coconut sugar.
Date sugar is another healthier sweetener that can be used for this recipe.
I used the Unreal M&M-like candies for this, but you can also use chocolate chips, or make them more like traditional sugar cookies and ice them with this healthy cashew icing.
Aquafaba is just the liquid from a chickpea or garbanzo bean can. If you need a way to use the chickpeas try these blondies!
These cookies were loved by my whole family and I hope you love them too!
Healthy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
- 1 cup Coconut Sugar (date sugar or other preferred sugar also works)
- 2 tsp Arrowroot
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Aquafaba (the liquid from a can chickpeas)
- ½ cup vegan butter (I used Miyokos)
- ¼ tsp salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a mixer or with beaters, cream the vegan butter and sugar together. Then add in the aquafaba and vanilla and mix again. Then add the dry ingredients - the flour, arrowroot, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix it all together.
- To make traditional sugar cookies with cookie cutters, flour your hands and the counter or baking mat. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. It should be about ½ inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut the cookies and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- If you want cookies like I made here, then you don't need to roll out the dough. I added in ⅓ cup of the Unreal (m&m-like) chocolates to the dough and mixed together. Then scooped out spoonful size balls and placed on the baking sheet. Baked in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow them to completely cool before serving. Enjoy!
