SNICKERDOODLES

LORI'S SNICKERDOODLES
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick or 1/4 pound)
4 1/2 ounces almond flour (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1 cup granulated Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cinnamon Coating:
2 tablespoons granulated Splenda (not liquid)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put all of the ingredients except for the cinnamon coating in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon until you have a creamy dough. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour. Meanwhile mix the granular Splenda and cinnamon in a small dish.

Preheat the oven to 350? Drop the dough by walnut-size spoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet. I lined mine with a Silpat liner. Very quickly and gently roll them into balls in your hands. Use a very light touch to handle the dough. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the freezer and roll each dough ball in the cinnamon mixture to coat completely. Place back on the baking sheet. Using the bottom of the dish you mixed the cinnamon and Splenda in, gently flatten the dough balls. If they stick to the bottom of the dish, carefully peel them off and place on the pan. If you work quickly the dough should stay firm enough to work with. If it seems too soft, just place back in the freezer briefly.

Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving. They are very fragile while they're warm.

Makes about 17 cookies
Can be frozen

With granular Splenda:
Per Cookie: 103 Calories; 10g Fat; 2g Protein; 3.5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2.5g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Cookie: 97 Calories; 10g Fat; 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb

MY ORIGINAL COMMENTS: I did a bit of experimenting with these by making half the dough with granulated Splenda and the other half with liquid Splenda. It was a bit tricky to divide the egg in half, but I managed it. I saw no noticeable difference in the dough between the two kinds and they looked pretty much identical after baking. There is a slight difference in texture though. I kept them on different sides of the baking sheet, but forgot which side was which. One kind came out sort of soft and cake-like in texture and the others were more crispy and crumbly, more like what I would think a snickerdoodle should be like. I suspect that the softer, puffier cookies are the ones using the granulated Splenda, which would add a little more bulk. I think I prefer the ones made with liquid Splenda, but both come out very good.

The cookies did not spread all that much in the oven, so next time I might try flattening the balls slightly to make a bit flatter cookie. Be careful not to flatten them too much or they may become too fragile to handle. These are very delicate and tender and crumble easily, at least while still slightly warm. The original recipe said it made about 30 cookies, but I only got 24. The carb count is essentially the same per cookie either way. These are definitely worth making again! Be careful, these can be addictive.

UPDATE: I found that these cookies tend to get very soft and fragile if kept at room temperature. I recommend storing them in the freezer. You can eat them still frozen and they are great.

UPDATE 12/17/12: I've completely re-written this recipe to simplify it and to add some useful tips. I also updated the photo. This time I made them a little larger and only got 17 cookies. I've adjusted the counts for 17 servings. Click the photo to see a close-up.

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