Weight Watchers Lemon Cherry Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of light butter (instead of regular butter) – 16 points
- 1/2 cup of sugar (substitute with a zero-calorie sweetener) – 0 points
- 2 large eggs – 0 points (if eggs are 0 points on your plan)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract – 0 points
- 2 and 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour (substitute with a mix of whole wheat flour and almond flour) – 20 points
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda – 0 points
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder – 0 points
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt – 0 points
- 1 cup of sugar-free cherry jam – 0 points
- 2 cups of powdered sugar (substitute with a zero-calorie sweetener) – 0 points
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice – 0 points
- Grated peel of 1 lemon – 0 points
- Yellow food dye (if desired) – 0 points
Instructions:
- Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare the Dough:
- In a large bowl, mix the light butter and zero-calorie sweetener until light and fluffy.
- Crack the eggs one by one, then mix in the vanilla extract.
- Combine Dry Ingredients:
- In a separate bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined.
- Form the Cookies:
- Place spoonfuls of dough on the baking sheets, leaving some space between each one.
- Press your thumb or the back of a spoon into the center of each cookie to make a small hole, then add a bit of sugar-free cherry jam into each hole.
- Bake:
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges turn slightly brown. Allow the baking sheets to cool for a few minutes, then move them to cooling racks until they are completely cool.
- Prepare the Icing:
- In a small bowl, mix the zero-calorie powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel until smooth. If desired, add yellow food dye.
- Pour the lemon icing over the cooled cookies and wait for it to harden before serving.
Weight Watchers Points Calculation:
- Light butter (1 cup): 16 points
- Zero-calorie sweetener: 0 points
- Eggs: 0 points
- Whole wheat and almond flour mix (approx. 20 points)
- Baking soda: 0 points
- Baking powder: 0 points
- Salt: 0 points
- Sugar-free cherry jam: 0 points
- Zero-calorie powdered sugar: 0 points
- Lemon juice and peel: 0 points
- Yellow food dye: 0 points
Total Points for the Entire Batch:
- 16 (light butter) + 20 (flour mix) = 36 points
Servings: Assuming the recipe makes 24 cookies, the points per cookie would be:
36 points / 24 cookies = 1.5 points per cookie.
So, each cookie in this Weight Watchers-friendly version would be approximately 1.5 points.