Posted on: Wednesday, February 2, 2005
RECIPE DOCTOR
Valentine cookies to lite up your love
By Elaine Magee
Q. My husband is in love with thumbprint cookies, and I would really like to surprise him with a platter of "better for you" thumbprint cookies for Valentine's Day. Do you have a recipe you can share?
A. What better way to say "I love you" than to try to keep him healthy? I'll do my part by sharing a recipe for lower-fat and lower-sugar raspberry almond thumbprint cookies. But I confess, I didn't lighten these for my valentine — this cookie is for me. I absolutely love them.
To keep these as good as the originals, I could only lower the fat by a third (I use a low-trans margarine with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon, such as Take Control or Land O'Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste Spread). But I cut the sugar calories in half by using Splenda for half of the sugar and by using lower-sugar preserves. I also increase the fiber a bit by substituting whole-wheat flour for some of the unbleached white flour.
The calories went from 170 to 127 per cookie and the fat grams from 9.2 to 6.7. The saturated fat grams lowered from 4.2 to 1 and the cholesterol went from 31 milligrams to 14. Not bad for cookies that are still delicious.
You can shape the dough in the form of a heart in honor of Valentine's Day if you wish. Fill the cookies with any jams or preserves you like (even lemon curd works), but I highly recommend seedless raspberry.
RASPBERRY ALMOND THUMBPRINT COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, beat the margarine with sugar and Splenda on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add egg yolk, and vanilla and almond extracts; beat well.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flours and salt together. Beat flour mixture into the margarine mixture gradually on low speed just until combined.
In a food processor, process almonds until nicely ground. Beat into cookie dough mixture on low speed just to combine.
Use a cookie scoop (1/8 cup) to place dough on a nonstick cookie sheet or jellyroll pan about 2 inches apart (line with parchment paper, if desired). Make a deep indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb. Bake for 8 minutes and remove cookie sheet from oven. Fill the center of each cookie with a slightly heaping teaspoon of jam (press down the center of cookies again if necessary before filling with jam). Bake about 8 minutes more or until golden brown. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 15 large, bakery-size cookies.
• Per large cookie: 127 calories, 2.5 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 6.7 g fat (1 g saturated fat, 3 g mono-unsaturated fat, 2.5 g polyunsaturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 1.3 g fiber, 78 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 46 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids, 0.8 g. Omega-6 fatty acids, 1.6 g. Weight Watchers points, 3. Elaine Magee's new book is "Fry Light, Fry Right." Reach her through her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses can't be provided. This column is distributed by Knight Ridder News Service.
