Low-Sugar Molasses Cookies

I have teamed up with In The Raw® to create low-sugar molasses cookies.

Our family calls molasses cookies earthquake cookies. It is a tradition handed down from my husband’s great-grandmother along with her recipe for Molasses Ginger Cookies. Shortly after I married my husband, my mother-in-law gave me a recipe book with many of her family’s recipes and she included the recipe for Earthquake Cookies.

Baking cookies together is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Each year we bake cookies for friends and neighbors and we usually participate in at least one cookie swap. Of course we also make sure we have a few homemade cookies for St. Nicholas!

I didn’t want to have to give up our holiday baking tradition, just because I am cutting back on my sugar intake. While I could just try to abstain from eating any cookies, it seemed a little more realistic for me to try to create a cookie recipe that I could eat without too much guilt. I decided to try and modify our family’s Earthquake Cookie Recipe and create low-sugar molasses cookies.

While Stevia In The Raw® measures cup for cup when used to replace sugar in recipes, when you bake with Stevia In The Raw® it is recommended that you only replace half of the sugar with Stevia In The Raw® to ensure proper rising and browning. The original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of molasses. I decided to count the molasses as a sugar when determining how much sugar the recipe called for, so I used 3/4 cup of Stevia In The Raw®.  I used Organic White Sugar In The Raw® to make up the last 1/4 cup of sugar.

I also used Organic White Sugar In The Raw® to roll the cookie dough in before baking.

We were all impressed with the flavor of the low-sugar molasses cookies. While I noticed a difference in the texture of the dough (it was lighter and fluffier), I didn’t notice much of a change in the finished product. Not even my husband missed the sugar in the recipe that he grew up eating! I was worried that my low-sugar cookies would be missing the fault lines, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. These cookies are worthy of the name Earthquake Cookies!

Low-Sugar Molasses Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour*
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup Stevia In The Raw®
• 1/4 cup Organic White Sugar In The Raw®
• extra Organic White Sugar In The Raw® for rolling cookie dough in

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the shortening, Stevia In The Raw®, and  Organic White Sugar In The Raw® together.
3. Add the egg and molasses; mix well.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Form the dough into balls about the size of a walnut. Roll the balls of cookie dough in the extra Organic White Sugar In The Raw.
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

* to make this recipe gluten-free replace the flour with: 1 cup rice flour, 3/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup potato starch, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum.

In The Raw®, where sweetness runs in the family.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by In The Raw®, via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of In The Raw®.