Halloween is inevitably one of the hardest holidays to control the consumption, or should I say, over consumption of your children’s sugar intake. Sugar is in every aisle, in every store, at every party and in most every kid friendly treat available. Making a healthier Halloween snack is easier than you might think and this recipe is one that will surely please kids and adults of all ages. No one will notice these cookies are sugar-free and gluten free!
Wild Blueberries are the perfect ingredient for a healthier cookie, replacing chocolate chips in a typical sugar laden cookie. Wild Blueberries have twice the antioxidants compared to regular blueberries and a more intense luscious blueberry flavor. Because Wild Blueberries are picked at peak ripeness then frozen within 24 hours, they are the freshest blueberries you can enjoy year round. The joy in frozen fresh Wild Blueberries is the convenience, you can find them in most every frozen section of your supermarket! They never spoil and because they are typically smaller in size than regular blueberries, you get more berries per pound!!
Making cookies look and taste just like a typical sugary treat is the key to getting the kids on board with eating less sugar and not complaining about it. The old cliché is true, we eat with our eyes! Making a batch of these Halloween Mummy cookies for the school or scout Halloween party is a great way for kids to see healthier cookies don’t have to taste bad. To make these cookies even more special and fun, I used a Halloween Mummy mold I found at a local Arts and Crafts store.
Of course balance is key in life and there is no doubt that kids will still eat candy on Halloween, but providing at least one healthier option without them even realizing it is a wonderful way to help control the sugar intake in your family.
A few notes on the recipe:
- Erythritol is a natural occurring sugar alcohol in powder form and a great substitute one for one for typical white refined sugar, although it is not as sweet cup for cup. You can substitute erythritol for Truvia, which is as sweet as sugar and still a good sugar-free substitute. Another healthy option, but not sugar-free is to try honey in place of the erythritol used here.
- Stevia is a plant found in South America and is naturally sugar free but 300 times sweeter than sugar. Vanilla Liquid Stevia is found at most supermarkets today or health stores. It’s a perfect complement to the Wild Blueberries and cream cookies. Since stevia is sweeter than sugar only a small amount should be used, but it provides a nice balance here since the erythritol on it’s own would not provide enough sweetness.
- If your family has no gluten allergies, whole wheat flour could be used in place of gluten free flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour blend.
