How to Reduce Sugar in Cookies
Sugar is an important ingredient in a number of recipes, but it can be augmented or entirely replaced using several methods. This is beneficial for people seeking to limit their sugar intake for health reasons. Sugar substitution in cookies can be difficult at first, as the proportions of substitutes needed for a recipe can be difficult to gauge. Experiment with several methods until you find the one that works best for you. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Fruit juice
- Dried fruit
- Mashed fruit
- Lemon or orange zest
- Vanilla, nut or butter flavoring
- Spices (such as cinnamon and nutmeg)
- Sugar substitute
- Honey, molasses or maple syrup
- Egg whites
Instructions
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To add sweetness without adding sugar, boil fruit juice and keep it at a high level of heat until it has been reduced to one-third of its original volume. Then add it to your mixture in place of -- or in addition to -- sugar. For every cup of sugar called for in your recipe, use 3/4 cup of fruit-juice concentrate and then reduce the amount by 3 tbsp.
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Cut dried fruit into very small pieces and insert them into your cookies as you would chocolate chips. The smaller the pieces, the more evenly sweetness will be distributed. Overripe fruits that are not dried can be used in the same way.
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Add moisture without using sugar by adding mashed fruit, such as applesauce, pears or ripe bananas to your mixture. Using alternative sweeteners to sugar in this way will reduce the time needed to bake your cookies, so be attentive while they are baking.
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Flavor may be added without sugar by using lemon or orange zest. These two things heighten flavors, especially fruity ones.
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Using nut, butter and vanilla flavorings is another way to add flavor to your cookies without adding sugar. All of these things add sweetness to the finished product.
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Use spices such as cinnamon, ginger and cloves as an alternative to sugar. Combining more than one spice can lead to interesting flavors. Spices may also help to give your cookies a brown color.
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Use a sugar substitute in place of sugar. The amount of sweetener you need may not be equal to the amount of sugar in the recipe, so follow the directions on the sweetener's packaging to get the right proportions. A granular sugar substitute, for example, may be used in the same proportion as sugar, but sugar blends should be used at a 1/2 cup to every cup of sugar.
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Use sugar made from sugar cane rather than that made from beet sugar. The former is sweeter than the latter, so you will need to use less of it. Honey, molasses and maple syrup may also be used, but these are higher in calories than sugar.
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Reducing sugar in cookies can reduce the volume of the finished product. To augment this, use whipped egg whites instead of eggs. The spread of your cookies will also be affected, so flatten them before baking.
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References
- Photo Credit cookies image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
