Christmas Treats without the Guilt and 5 Ingredients or less per cookie

How wonderful would it be to have a delicious Christmas treat without the guilt and  ONLY 5 ingredients or less per cookie?  

Well look no further! 👀 Here are 3 recipes that are gluten free, lower in calories and two of them have protein from the nuts! So get ready to make these delicious treats with only a handful of ingredients and they will be ready in no time. That is my favorite kind of baking . . . . few ingredients, easy to make, great tasting, quick cleanup and lower in calories! 👍

Best Tasting Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are so delicious you will not believe there are only 3 ingredients! Tom and Grant loved the delicious taste and Madeline and I really loved them warm right out of the oven! 😋 You could even add a few dark chocolate chips and then it would taste like a peanut butter cup, but healthier. I feel like you can never go wrong with a peanut butter cookie as most everyone loves them!

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. organic peanut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, or any nut butter)

1 large egg, beaten

6 T. sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cookie sheets with non-stick spray. Mix together the peanut butter, egg and sugar until well blended. Take a spoonful of the cookie mixture and roll with hands to create a ball then place on the prepared cookie sheet. Flatten the balls, then take the fork tines and create a criss cross pattern on each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool before removing or do what I did and eat one warm right off the cookie sheet! 🙄

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: approximately 20, depending on the size you make

Peppermint Chocolate Cloud Cookies

My mom always made these cookies at Christmas time when I was little girl and I always loved how light and airy they tasted, yet crunchy too! I made these with peppermint extract and candy canes, but you can also eliminate the peppermint (that’s Tom’s preference) and add just the chocolate chips. Although, I prefer the festive look with the candy canes and holiday aroma with the mint this time of year!

INGREDIENTS:

6 egg whites at room temperature (I used organic egg whites from the box)

1/4 t. cream of tartar

3/4 c. sugar

few drops of peppermint extract (or eliminate the mint and add 2 t. vanilla)

1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cover the cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone pads. (I used the non-stick silicone pads and the bottom of the cookies were a nice light color of golden brown.) Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl and using your mixer, whip the mixture on high speed until soft peaks form. (This took me about 5 minutes.) Then gradually add the sugar and mint extract slowly into the egg mixture continuing to beat until you have stiff peaks again. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop spoonful of the mixture onto your prepared cookie sheet. Optional: add crushed candy canes on top of cookie. I love the taste and look of the candy canes on the cookies this time of year! 🎄

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 to 40 minutes (until dry to the touch)

Servings: 30 servings

Chocolate Sea Salt Nut Clusters

This is the easiest and most delicious treat ever. I absolutely love the sweet & salty taste of these treats. You can use any nuts or even a variety of nuts for this recipe. I used pecans and roasted them before assembling as this gave the nuts a delicious and roasted taste to the clusters.

How to roast the nuts: (Thank you mom for this suggestion! 😊) Place the nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 275 degrees for about 15 minutes, then toss nuts around and bake an additional 15 minutes. This really brings a roasted, nutty flavor out in the nuts.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. nuts (I used roasted pecans, but any nut will work)

1 c. dark chocolate chips

sprinkle of coarse sea salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Place chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl and microwave about 45 seconds, then stir and continue to do this until all chips are melted. It took me 3 times at 45 seconds to get my chips melted. Then stir in the nuts and coat with the chocolate. Spoon the mixture onto parchment paper and quickly add a sprinkling of sea salt to each cluster. Let harden (depending on your temperature and humidity) and then enjoy!

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: approximately 10 minutes

Servings: depending on the size of cluster, about 30 to 40

Special thanks to my tasters: Mom, Dad, Tom, Grant & Madeline 😋

Another Thank you to Madeline for the photography of these cookies! 💗