New club, Eat Right Elon, has started a new holiday tradition with their healthy holiday cookie extravaganza. Their first event was a success as many students met in the Mosley kitchen to make healthier versions of holiday favorites.
President Olivia Orr wanted the event to help the members relieve themselves from the stress of finals as well as a way to get into the holiday spirit. “I created this event so that we could have fun making some healthy treats that we can snack on during finals instead of junk food,” she said. Members of the club left with multiples of each cookie to enjoy while studying after a fun night of baking.
Although these cookies are not 100 percent “good for you” foods, they are filled with swaps that are better than the traditional alternative, which makes for a guilt-free treat. Ingredients like white flour, eggs, and sugar were replaced with whole-wheat flour, bananas, stevia, and dark chocolate to cut calories, fat, and sugar content.
Eat Right Elon is currently being revamped by Orr with the mission of bringing together students that want to work to maintain health and wellness during their college years. Other events they are planning include group hikes, picnics, dinners, and weekly snack preparation. For more information email her at oorr@elon.edu or eatrightelon@gmail.com.
Want to make your own healthy holiday cookies? Check out some favorites from that night:
“Sugar-free” Sugar Cookies
Ingredients: ¼ cup butter (softened), ¼ cup truvia or stevia, 1 egg, ½ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp almond extract, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/8 tsp salt
Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, and sugar substitute with a mixer until fluffy. Add egg, and extracts and beat until combined. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, until just combined. (Don’t over work dough or it will get tough). Wrap dough and place it back in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes, or until dough is cold.
When ready to cut cookies out, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, (or foil and spray with cooking spray). Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place on baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, ¾ cup truvia, 1 large egg, ½ cup molasses
Directions:
In a bowl, add 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Mix well to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (or with a hand-mixer), beat together ¾ cup butter and ¾ cup truvia until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add 1 egg and ½ cup molasses and mix to combine. Then stir in the dry ingredients. Refrigerate the batter 1 hour.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Roll the dough into 1 ½” balls, then roll the balls in truvia to coat the outsides. Arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven until set and crinkled on top, about 10 to 12 minutes (around 10 minutes for smaller cookies and 12 for larger). Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup natural peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup large egg (lightly beaten), 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla on low speed until well combined.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough 1 1/2 –inches apart onto the baking sheet.
Flatten the dough balls with the tines of a fork, making a cross pattern on the cookies.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they are golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to rest on the counter for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.