Oatmeal-Raisin-Fig Cookies!

Sugar-Free Monday! It rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? You might be saying "I have a few other words that will roll off my tongue if you think I'm going a full day without sugar!" And I understand, sometimes I need a cookie when I'm grumpy, too.

Before I started my health and nutrition endeavor, I was a baker. Oo boy, I love my sugar. Frostings, ganaches, cakes, pies, puddings, brownies, tarts, ice creams... I could go on and on. If the sound of those words make your mouth water and you're asking yourself why I would torture you with saying a bunch of things that you can't have today, well, the good news is that you CAN have these things. They just need a little tweaking here and there, and we can make something that is much healthier than it normally is without sacrificing the taste.

When I say sugar, I mean "white" sugar and other refined sugars like high-fructose corn syrup. These sugars overload the liver which is unable to metabolize it, causing problems with cholesterol and heart disease. Sugar can cause insulin resistance which leads to type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Sugar feeds cancer cells as well as the "bad" bacteria in your gut, depressing your immune system. It makes your blood sugar and hormones irregular. It causes an unnaturally large release of dopamine in the brain when eaten, making it extremely addictive, and also affects the neurotransmitters in the brain.

All of these things are not always enough to deter me from eating it anyway, because I don't always know where to turn when I NEED a sweet fix (hmm, addicted much?).

I recently picked up this fantastic book:

(The public library is a wonderful resource for cookbooks that are too expensive to buy!)

While many of the recipes are not perfect in that they still contain a touch of white sugar, that is easily remedied with the use of coconut sugar. Coconut sugar can be substituted in roughly the same amount, which makes it a really smart no-brainer, since coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than sugar (amongst other things, it doesn't cause the drastic spike in your blood sugar, so no crash)! It has more nutrients and has not been so highly processed.

Here is the recipe, slightly modified to suit our no-white-sugar purposes:

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
7 Tbsp coconut sugar
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup dried figs, stems removed and chopped (you can use any dried fruit, just make sure it is unsweetened and doesn't have any nasty oils!)

Mix the dough using the basic cookie method:

1. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy
2. Add eggs, one by one, incorporating each thoroughly before adding the next, and scraping bowl between each
3. Add vanilla and maple syrup, stirring to combine
4. Mix dry ingredients (everything but the dried fruit) together in a separate bowl
5. Add dry to the wet, mixing just until combined (don't over mix!)
6. Add dried fruit last, mixing by hand or with the paddle just until they are mixed in
7. Allow dough to sit in the fridge for an hour before scooping
8. Scoop dough onto a silocone baking mat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and edges just turn crisp

If you shop somewhere that has a bulk section, you can buy only the amounts of ingredients that you need! Always use pastured butter, organic if possible!

It helps to measure everything out before you start!

Cream together butter and sugar first, then add eggs. Mixture should be creamy, light, and fluffy before adding the dry ingredients.

Use real nutmeg, the taste is noticably different and it is as simple as just grating it into the bowl of dry ingredients:

Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop cold dough and flatten each scoop slightly with the palm of your hand:

The cookies were delicious, had a nice chewy oatmeal cookie texture, and were slightly savory (I always enjoy my sweets a little on the salty side)!

Let me know how yours turned out! And feel free to bake these any day you like, or every day. They don't have sugar, so they're basically good for you :)