Shortbread with Stevia
Written by Lori Nichols Davies.
Assuming 40 cookies - 86 Calories per cookie
Serve these Christmas classics with Mandarin oranges and fragrant herbal tea made with a cinnamon stick and fenugreek seeds to help regulate blood sugar. Butter also regulates blood sugar.
Family and friends have not detected our transition from unbleached white wheat flour to spelt all-purpose flour. The light beige color is not that different from the very white shortbread cookies seen prevalently at Christmas that use bleached flour and cornstarch. Bleached flours cause heart attacks and should not be regarded as treats after all.
Cornstarch feeds unfriendly bacteria in the intestinal tract to break down immunity. On the other hand, unbleached, organic, all-purpose spelt flour prevents arthritis. It has a light texture so desired for Christmas, and arrowroot flour supports friendly bacteria in your gut for higher immunity. Bean flour, such as Romano bean flour sold at Farm Boy adds balance and improved assimilation of protein from grain flours.
As you replace cornstarch with arrowroot wherever it is called for, everyone around you will gain the advantage of having some trace minerals from the ocean as arrowroot plants grow at ocean shorelines. Arrowroot flour is distinctly and naturally white; it is not processed to be white.
Replacing some flour with low-temperature-dried protein powder builds immunity against all disease. Scoops vary is size from brand to brand, but brands with a 25 gram scoop are common for whey protein isolate powders.
One scoop is a quarter-cup volume. Protein per scoop when lower means more must be used to get the 75 g. suggested here. Increased dry volume means more butter will be needed. Fermented soy powder has carbohydrate; whey protein isolate powder has less. My calculations are based on fermented soy protein powder (Prairie Natural brand). Shortbread is deliciously fatty for warmth in winter, a nourishing tradition indeed. Tea and oranges balance the fat.
Prep time: 50 minutes
Bake time: 7 minutes when 1/'4 inch thick
- organic, unbleached spelt all-purpose flour or sorghum lour
- arrowroot or Romano bean flour
- unflavored protein isolate powder (3/4 cup volume usually at 25 g. per scoop)
- stevia powder
- light-colored finely ground raw cane sugar
- unsalted butter at room temperature
- ocean salt with trace minerals
- xanthum flour (to prevent crumbling)
- large eggs - reserve one egg for glazing to hold toppings
- Prepare the dough. In a large bowl mix flours, protein powder, xylitol, and then cut in the butter until it's as fine as peas. (Ten minutes) If you don't have a pastry cutter, then use two knives. Add 1 egg to reduce the tendency of shortbread cookies to crumble. If allergic to eggs use xanthum flour. It makes a nice texture.
- Knead the dough. With washed hands knead until all is well mixed; the more you knead the 'lighter' it'll be.
- Shape the dough. On a clean counter, rollout dough until it's a quarter-inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter shapes to get the designs you enjoy. Use a thin metal spatula to lift cookie to a clay tray or a tray with parchment paper. Gather up extra pieces, and roll it out again, and cut and shape to the last bit left.
- Finishing touches. (Opt) As you may wish to sprinkle your shortbread with colorful Christmas candy, or extra sugar on top, beat another egg and brush over the surfaces you wish to sprinkle. Sugar on top balances the high fat. Prepare a fruit dessert to accompany the cookies and put honey in your tea.
- Bake at 300 F. (150 C.) for seven minutes.
What's in it for me per cookie, two-inch shape, such as a star shape?
- Calories: 85 Protein: 3 g. (14%) Fat: 5.3 g. (55%) Carbohydrate: 6.5 g. (30%) Fiber: trace Vitamin A: 180 units
- Folate: 7 mcg. Vitamin C: none Calcium: 38 mg. Magnesium: 11 mg. Phosphorus: 62 mg. Iron: 0.1 mg.
- Potassium: 57 mg. Sodium: 51 mg.
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