The Ultimate Healthy Mini Soft Sugar Cookies

Yields: about 60 cookies

Say hello to my all-time favorite sugar cookies! They’re soft and buttery, just like the ones from my childhood, yet they’re much healthier with no refined flour or sugar. Yum! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container.

1 cup + 6 tbsp (165g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
¾ tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp butter extract
¼ cup (60mL) honey
¾ tsp vanilla crème stevia

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, vanilla extract, and butter extract. Stir in the honey and vanilla crème stevia. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Transfer the dough to the center of a large sheet of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1”-tall rectangle. Cover the top with another large sheet of plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days*).
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Leaving the cookie dough between the sheets of plastic wrap, roll it out until 1/16” thick. Carefully peel back one piece of the plastic wrap. Lay a silicone baking mat on top, and flip the cookie dough over. Carefully peel back the second piece of plastic wrap. Slice the cookie dough into small squares using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife.
Slide the silicone baking mat onto a large metal baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before separating the cookies and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, but the cookies will have detectable “wheat-y” taste.

Use store-bought gluten-free flour blends for the gluten-free option, but make sure you measure them carefully, like this or with my favorite kitchen scale!

If using coconut oil, the cookies may have a faintly detectable coconut flour.

Vanilla extract may be substituted for the butter extract, but the cookies will not have the same iconic taste.

Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.

You cannot substitute additional honey for the vanilla crème stevia because cookies require a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients. However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the honey and stevia, but the cookies will appear “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well.

If chilling the cookie dough longer than 1 hour, it may be necessary to “thaw” the cookie dough on the counter for 15-20 minutes before trying to roll it out. It gets stiffer the longer it chills, so letting it rest on the counter for a short period of time makes it easier for you to roll it out!

Parchment paper may be substituted in place of the silicone baking mat. If using parchment paper, cut the cookie dough into small squares as written. If the parchment paper rips, then place another fresh sheet of parchment paper underneath before transferring to the metal baking sheet.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2017/05/14/the-ultimate-healthy-mini-soft-sugar-cookies/