These two-tone Valentine cookies are made with one dough, that is then divided and one half flavored with strawberries! If you use a set of graduated sized cookie cutters, like I did, it’s fun to create small cutouts in the larger cookies and fill them with the same size cutout of a different color. Each heart cookie is a puzzle! Of course, if you don’t have a set of heart cookie cutters, you can make these cookies into any shape using any cookie cutter. These red and white cookies are the perfect Valentine’s Day treat!
Keto Two-Tone Valentine Heart Cookies
Makes approximately 12 servings (depending on the size of your cookie cutters)
1 cup almond flour
5 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon unflavored protein powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
½ cup erythritol sweetener* (see note below)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon low carb milk of choice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened freeze dried strawberry powder
1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract
1 teaspoon water
2 drops red food coloring
A set of heart cookie cutters in graduated sizes (optional, but that’s what I used. My set is Mrs. Anderson’s brand.)
1. Before you begin, in a food processor, nut mill, or using a mortar and pestle, grind the unsweetened freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder; set aside.
2. Prepare two work surfaces, each with a silicone baking mat or a large piece of parchment paper. Dust lightly with coconut flour.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, and salt until no lumps remain. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup of erythritol sweetener together until creamy using an electric mixer. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla extract, and then beat in the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. Remove half of the dough from the bowl and set aside.
4. To the remaining dough, add the 1 tablespoon of strawberry powder, 1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract, 1 teaspoon of water and two drops of red food coloring. Beat until the dough is uniform in color.
5. Turn both doughs out onto the two prepared work surfaces. Pat each into a circle and then top with a large piece of parchment paper. Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/3 inch thickness. Place the rolled out dough and mat on a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (The dough is much easier to handle when cool.)
6. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Using heart cookie cutters, cut out cookies and lift carefully with a spatula. For fun and variety, cut a small heart out of the middle of a larger heart, then fill the cut out space with a small heart of a different color, pressing gently to fuse the doughs together.
7. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not spread as they bake, so space about 1” apart on the baking sheet. Re-roll your dough when necessary and cut out more cookies. (If your dough gets too soft to work with, you can return it to the refrigerator for a bit to cool and firm up again.)
8. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, or until they are just starting to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the pan. The cookies will be quite soft right out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes: How many cookies you get depends on the size of your cookie cutters. *I recommend using a sweetener that is erythritol based for a crisper, firmer cookie. Allulose will result in a soft and delicate cookie.
Nutritional Information per serving (1/12th of recipe): 117 calories, 3.7 g carbohydrates (1.4 g dietary fiber, 0.9 g sugars, 1 g sugar alcohols), 11.4 g total fat (6.1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 36 mg cholesterol, 59 mg sodium, 9.1 mg calcium, 22 mg potassium, 78 IU Vit A, 1 mg Vit C, 1.7 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 2.3 grams
Photos and recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2024
All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.
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