With the holidays upon us, the number of sweets piling up around our houses seems to be endless. But that doesn't mean our diets have to be negatively affected by it! Over the past few years I've tried to make healthy cookie and cake recipes for my family and friends. Though some of them may have found their way into the trash, the recipe I'm sharing with you today is a great way to get a little sweet treat this holiday without feeling the need to run a marathon afterwards. This recipe is also perfect because you won't be a slave to your kitchen for hours and hours baking them. Even better-they travel really well and are perfect for giving as gifts.

Holiday Sugar Wafers

I love eating these alongside a nice cold glass of almond milk, but they also go great with any beverage of your choice. If you're feeling a bit daring, dip them in a tablespoon of peanut butter or add some cocoa powder for a sweet addition. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Happy holidays!

The Recipe
Yield: 24 Cookies | Serving Size: 1 Cookie | Calories: approximately 94

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While you're waiting for the oven to heat up, place the sugar, butter and coconut sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is well blended together. Add in vanilla extract and egg whites.

Combine flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a second mixing bowl; stirring well with a whisk. Once well mixed, add this mixture to the butter mixture and beat well. Remove dough from the mixer and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal portions. At this point, roll out each portion to an eight inch circle between two sheets of plastic wrap. Freeze the dough for 20 minutes. When you freeze the dough, you make these cookies crunchy instead of softer cookies.

After 20 minutes, take out one portion of dough. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and cut the dough with a three-inch cookie cutter of your choice. Place cookies on baking sheets coated with cooking spray and discard the bottom sheet of plastic wrap. Repeat the procedure with the remaining frozen dough from the freezer.

Bake cookies at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for eight minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool down.