When you find out you're diabetic, you may think you'll never be able to enjoy your favorite foods again. That's not entirely true, however. Though you should ask your diabetes educator or doctor for specific advice, often diabetics are advised not to exceed 15 grams of sugar at any meal, or 45 grams of sugar per day. You can find this information on food labels.
You can also find many good diabetic cookie recipes and modify some of your own recipes. Diabetic cookie recipes can help you enjoy a sweet treat without going over your recommended sugar intake.
Here are some numbers to help you make a quick calculation of sugar content.
One tablespoon of white sugar (3 tsp.) contains 15 grams of sugar. That means that 1/4 cup of white sugar contains about 60 grams of sugar, 1/2 cup contains 120 grams, and 1 cup contains 240 grams of sugar. So if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar and makes 3 dozen cookies, then each cookie will have 240/36, or just under 7 grams of sugar. You could enjoy two of them with a balanced meal without blowing your sugar budget.
You can also modify your favorite sugar recipes so that they contain less sugar. Some sugar substitutes can be used for baking, and some cannot, so read the labels to be certain. With sugar substitutes that can be used for baking, it's not usually a good idea to substitute it for all the sugar in the recipe. That's because these sugar substitutes have a different consistency and will alter the texture of the final product.
However, by using a sugar substitute in place of half the sugar a recipe calls for, you can cut the recipe's sugar content in half, and still have the taste and texture of the regular recipe. This works great for many of your favorites, including peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. When calculating sugar content, don't forget to include it in other ingredients, such as chocolate chips.
Some diabetic cookie recipes contain no sugar at all. For example, you can make peanut butter cookies using a cup of flour, 1/2 cup peanut butter, one egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1 Tbsp. of liquid sugar-free sweetener. Simply mix the ingredients together, form them into tablespoon-sized balls, and bake at 375 for about 12 minutes.
Diabetic lemon-coconut cookies are easy too. Take one stick of butter, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. liquid sweetener, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 1 cup shredded coconut, 1-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. baking powder. Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Combine coconut, flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix into the first mixture. Bake spoonful-sized cookies at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes.
Finding a favorite diabetic cookie recipe can take some trial and error, but today you can find plenty of them online, and you may be able to modify your own recipes to cut sugar content as well.
Published At: Isnare.com
