It’s that time of year with parties and cookies and treats galore! I shared a picture on Instagram of the crazy amount of cookies that ended up at my neighbor’s cookie exchange over the weekend, and one commenter asked how I handle parties this time of year. So here’s the answer: I often eat at least a little before I go so I don’t show up too hungry. And then I follow the same advice I give my girls all the time…
At Holiday Parties: Eat a lot of what you know is good and only a little of what you know is bad (or aren’t sure about).
Avoiding highly processed food doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun because, let’s face it, it is fun to sample all the goods at a cookie party! But when I say sample, I mean SAMPLE. I probably only ate half-inch sized pieces of two thirds of the cookies there. The hostess also had bags available for taking cookies home, and I carefully selected about 8 or 10 cookies (avoiding any that obviously had artificial dyes or didn’t look homemade). And when I got home, I cut more half-inch sized pieces for my girls to try. It was fun for all! And while sugar is not a regular part of our diets we do think it’s okay in TRUE moderation. As a family, we usually indulge in about one sugary treat a week so last weekend’s cookie party was a fun way to do that!
The cookies I took to my neighbor’s cookie exchange were one of my all-time favorites – Snickerdoodles! I even used half whole-wheat flour to make them a little better, and I honestly don’t even think you could tell, because the outcome was deeelicious. Like melt in your mouth good. So I hope this recipe and the advice above helps with any holiday parties you have coming up. Enjoy! :)
Whole-Wheat Snickerdoodles (50% whole-wheat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter, softened (but not melted)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar, + 3 tablespoons, divided
- 2 eggs
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or beaters. Slowly add in the flour mixture until it's thoroughly mixed.
- Use a 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop to form balls from the dough. Alternatively, you could roll the dough between your hands to create balls.
Mix together the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and roll each dough ball around until evenly coated. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Cookbook Recipe Chart by Dietary Need
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This recipe is the only one I use. My family loves these cookies.
So the first batch I made, spread out to cover the entire surface of the cookie sheets I was using. I made my next batch much smaller balls and I got 40 cookies per batch. Way more than the 18 predicted on the website. Word of advice to those making these: make sure you leave PLENTY of space in between cookies! All that said, they are indeed delicious.
Ok, these are awesome. I made them exactly as written, with half King Arthur AP flour and half King Arthur white whole wheat. They’re still soft on day two, and I’m not sure they’ll make it many days past that. Only word of advice, they spread a LOT, so my half batch on one cookie sheet was a bit of a jumbo cookie at the end.
What about organic coconut palm sugar?
Hi there. I bake with coconut palm sugar all the time.
Is it okay to sub out the sugar for splenda?
Hi Mela. We don’t use any artificial sweeteners so I can’t advise on how that would work. This explains: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/11/04/sugar-free-does-not-equal-healthy-startling-facts-artificial-sweeteners/.
Yum! Just made these, left them in for 10 minutes and they almost burned. Next two batches I did about 7-8 mins. Much better. Nice and chewy instead of crispy. Both sooooooooo good! Thx for the recipe!
Are these ok to freeze?
Sure, you can freeze them.
These were a hit at work. I used all whole wheat flour and they turned out great – although next time I will chill the dough before cooking so they turn out thicker and chewier.
I love to make half of this recipe! Perfect amount for a after dinner snack for a family of four.
Unsalted or Salted butter? :)
Hi Kelly. Unsalted. :)
Made these the other night for our work Christmas party. Used all whole wheat flour. Next time I will take the time to chill the dough as they turned out flat but they were still delicious. My son said they were awesome and my coworkers sought me out to tell me how good they were.
I believe it fits into a real food life style because ins tree ad of buying sweets from the store, full of preservatives and other such badness, you can make your own sweets with just sugar flour eggs, etc. The point being you know exactly what’s in the sweets yours eating. Sugar and flour are considered real foods compared to what’s in store bought cookies. Hope that helps, thinking of this is one of the only things stopping me from feeling guilty when I over indulge.
Do you think that spelt flour would also work or would they not rise as well?
We’ve not subbed but spelt usually performs similarly to whole wheat.
I would like to use honey in place of sugar, and would like to add some coconut & chopped nuts!
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE cookies, so I am all for finding recipes that allow me to enjoy treats but also nourish my body. I am a bit surprised and also confused…how does sugar (and even white flour?) fit into a real food “lifestyle”?
Hi Sunny. This recipe is a splurge. 99.9% of Lisa’s recipes use neither. :)
I am going to try to make these this weekend but will be using only whole wheat flour as that is all I buy now. I like to make peanut brittle and toffee during the holidays. Have you ever tried to redo these recipes? I would like a better version without the corn syrup.
Have you tried honey instead of corn syrup? I’ve been using it instead for awhile and everything seems to turn out well.
My husband loved these!! I halved the recipe and I got 12 big sized cookies. I had a little bit of the cinnamon/sugar mixture left so next time I might measure out less of that. I kept them in the ball shape going into the oven and they came out the perfect flat shaped cookie…looked like something from a bakery. :) Also, I used all white whole wheat flour. Thanks for a great recipe!! :)
These cookies are very good my whole family loves them. These will become a holiday tradition.
These were a hit at my house today! I don’t use white whole wheat flour at home (more expensive than the organic whole wheat I get at our local co-op) so used my regular ww and a cup of whole wheat pastry flour. They turned out really well and many are gone already!
I always love your advice, and take it to heart. For me, eating “real food” means taking as few “cheats” as possible since my body does not react well to the fake stuff out there. So, when I went to my In-laws for dinner for an “after Thanksgiving Thanksgiving” I stayed strong: I piled my plate with salad and turkey, with a dollop of fresh cranberry sauce… avoiding the jarred gravy and box-made stuffing and potatoes. for me, the real thing is always better, I don’t even like to eat the fake stuff.
And, for the record, your chestnut prosciutto stuffing is to DIE FOR!!! My husband and I have made it for the past 3 years :)
I just finished making your choc chip cookies and biscuits for tonight’s dinner party we were invited to. Thanks, as always, for changing the way I eat and live!