Almond Flour Raspberry Cookies
Yummy yum! Who doesn’t love cookies? Crispy edges and soft center! These sweet morsels are going to put a smile on even the meanest mugs. Here we explore baking with a variety of different sweeteners to help you decide which one will make the ultimate cookie! At the end… We reveal the ideal substitute for regular sugar!
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Diabetic Friendly Cookies
Baking some sweet treats while keeping your diabetes in mind is challenging. Below we listed pros and cons of the most widely used artificial sweeteners so that you can make the ultimate low carb almond flour cookies! Don’t be afraid of using artificial or “fake” sweeterners- some alternatives are created from natural sources. No worries, we will talk about using good old sugar too!
NOTHING is worse than having everything done and ready to go in the oven to find out that you forgot to turn the dang thing on.
STOP reading and go pre-heat that oven to 350 F!
We created 5 different batches of cookies to test out the different sweeteners, monk fruit, swerve, truvia, splenda and compared them to regular sugar. The following sweeteners were compared on crunchiness, sweetness, and price $$. I gathered a few family members and friends to help me decide how each cookie ranked. All of the cookies were made with the same recipe with the only difference being the sweetener. These sweeteners were used as a 1:1 swap to regular sugar.
Why use almond flour? It has little effect on blood sugar levels! Almond flour also contains a higher amount of protein and fiber compared to white flour, creating a wonderful crumb when baking. Want to learn more about almond flour? Here you can find a great almond flour article.
Choosing the best sweetener for your Almond Flour Cookies
BAKING WITH MONK FRUIT
This sweetener is made from dried monk fruit and has no effect on blood sugar levels. You can buy monk fruit at your local health food store or online here. You can learn more about monk fruit in this article.
Crunchiness: #1 crunchiest cookie
This cookie was the crunchiest of all of the four cookies which is a huge plus for me!
Sweetness: 2nd sweetest cookie
This cookie wasn’t overly sweet but did have that “cooling” aftertaste that some sweeteners have.
Price $$$: 3rd most expensive
- I found monk fruit for $0.48 per ounce on amazon. You can also check your local health food store for monk fruit sweetener.
Worst part of the cookie: It had a strong “cooling” effect even after baking. Some people enjoy this but I don’t particular like it.
Best part of the cookie: I really enjoyed the crunchiness of this cookie!
Baking with Swerve (erythritol)
Swerve, aka Erythritol, is a sugar alcohol that promises to not cause any tummy issues, unlike traditional sugar alcohols. After eating a cookie I did not notice any issues. It also has very few calories and does not affect blood sugar levels. Want to know more about swerve? I found this article that goes into the sciene behind the sweetener.
Crunchiness: This was the 2nd softest cookie
If you like soft cookies this may be the one to go with! It was soft but not so soft that it fell apart.
Sweetness: Swerve cookie ranked 3rd sweetest
Price $$$$: The most expensive
- This one was by far was the most expensive but is it worth it to have an amazing cookie? I found Swerve for $0.60/ounce online or check your local grocery store.
Best part of the cookie: If you like a soft cookie go with swerve!
Worst part of the cookie: The cookie wasn’t very sweet but still delicious.
Baking with Truvia (stevia)
Truvia is a brand of stevia that can be found in most grocery stories. The brand truvia does have a mixture of stevia and erythritol (also found in swerve). Here is a great stevia article if you want to learn more.
Crunchiness: 2nd crunchiest cookie
Sweetness: The sweetest cookie
This cookie was almost too sweet but hey if you LOVE sweet things this may be the cookie for you!
Price$$: 2nd cheapest!
- This was the second cheapest choice! I found it online for $0.39 per ounce if you buy in bulk. This sweetener can also be found at most grocery stores.
Best part of the cookie: It had a nice crunch to it.
Worst part of the cookie: It had the strongest “cooling” factor compared to the other cookies.
Baking with Splenda (Sucralose)
Splenda (sucralose) is actually made from sugar but is processed in such a way that removes most of its calories and carbohydrates. Splenda contains negligible amounts of calories and will not cause any blood sugar spikes. Read this article to learn more!
Crunchiness: The softest cookie
It was a little too soft and broke apart easier than the other cookies.
Sweetness: The least sweet cookie
This cookie was the least sweet but not far behind swerve.
Price $: The Cheapest!
Splenda has been around the longest and is the cheapest. I found it online for $0.33/ounce but you can find it just about anywhere. If your store doesn’t have this by now, they need to get it together!
Best part of the cookie: No “cooling” sensation with this cookie!
Worst part of the cookie: The glaze did not turn out great with splenda.
Everyone’s favorite was…. Swerve! Which is also the most expensive. It had the perfect softness, sweetness without the “cooling” sensation or weird aftertaste. Splenda was a VERY close second and happens to be the cheapest of all of our choices. But at the end of the day it is your preference!
Want to use regular sugar? No worries there are still only 12 carbs per cookie if you go with regular sugar! Talk to your dietitian today to discuss what is an appropriate amount of carbohydrates for you.
Did you choose your sweetener? Great! Here are a few tips to help you get the BEST cookie:
Make sure that butter is softened, NOT melted. Set the butter out an hour or so before cooking or if you forget (like me!), just place it in the microwave on the defrost setting for about 15 seconds.
If making 12 large cookies (like done here!) bake for 12 minutes at 350 F. If cooking 24 smaller cookies check the oven at 6 minutes - add time if needed. You will know they are done when the cookies have light brown edges.
Pro Tip: Make your own powdered sweetener!
This recipe calls for powdered sweetener. You can find some sweeteners in powder form like swerve, stevia, or monk fruit.
If you can't find the powdered form or want to save some $$$ make your own powdered sweetener with a coffee grinder
Put the amount needed into your coffee grinder and go! You will have powdered sweetener in under 20 seconds! Don’t believe me? Just look below :-) Sound like too much work? Skip the glaze altogether and you will still have an amazing cookie!
