Anise Cardamom Shortbread Cookies with Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener

Every year the holidays come around and sweet treats of all shapes and sizes appear! We painstakingly attempt resisting these sweet treats, but they somehow end up in our bellies against our will. For one to two months of this Holiday food stampede, our inner strength is put on standby until it's time to roll out our list of new year’s resolutions and get back to our diets.

Yes, traditional baked goods have had a bad reputation, and for good reason! The ingredients in them are just not that healthy.

Do we avoid sugar at all costs? How realistic is this strategy? Let’s face it, sugar is EVERYWHERE. Even in your chicken soup. Oh yeah, read the ingredients in your bouillon. Next best thing is, alternative sweeteners but many of them like stevia and xylitol have an aftertaste not everyone loves.

Thanks to our global networking and culinary adventurists, I’ve stumbled upon a sweetener that not only has no aftertaste but is actually beneficial and even acts as an antimicrobial!

Lakanto monk fruit sweetener is my new best friend and is the new staple in my kitchen pantry. Monk fruit has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries to relieve common ailments like sore throat and extra phlegm. It’s sugar free, acts as an anti-inflammatory and is said to help keep your blood sugar level stable. This sweetener is so versatile it can be used anywhere: hot drinks, pickling, baking, making a winter syrup, and pretty much replaces sugar in anything. Did I mention, if you have kids and want to “treat” them with a reward, for let’s say picking up their toys, you can feel free to give them as many of these shortbread cookies as you like and you won't get the backlash of a sugar spike?

As a mother I am definitely feeling the joy of these sugar free cookies!

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp Anise seeds

1/2 tsp cardamom seeds

1/2 cup Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener

1 cup of room temperature salted butter ( I like to use Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter)

2 cups Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour

Preparation:

Grind spices in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder/coffee grinder
Heat a pan over medium low heat and add spices
Swirl around pan and let spices toast up for no more than a minute and a half
Remove spices from heat and set aside
In a bowl place the softened butter and sugar
Whisk together by hand or with an electric mixer until you get a creamy smooth consistency
Add you flour and spices
Mix until dough comes together
Shape the dough into two logs
Wrap each long with plastic wrap and chill in freezer for one hour
Take your frozen dough and unwrap
Leave the dough to sit at room temp for 25-30 min
Preheat oven to 350
Line a tray with parchment paper
After dough has softened, make even slices into log and place your cookie dough rounds onto parchment paper with enough space in-between
Place your tray in oven for 25-30 min
Take cookies out of the oven (they will still be soft)
Let cookies sit and cool (they will harden up as they cool!)
Wait an hour or two before eating; the texture changes after cool down and even better the next day!