Cassava Holiday Cookies

There are so many sugary treats this time of year, so I started making these decorated cookies as an alternative. When they are decorated with nuts, cinnamon, stevia sweetened chocolate chips or 100% dark they offer a delicious alternative! They are just as fun to decorate as well.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cassava flour
• 3/4  cup Lakanto golden sweetener
• 2/3 cup softened grass-fed butter
• 2 pastured eggs
• 1 TBL vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 TBL collagen peptides

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter on high with a hand mixer, until creamy.
3. Add the Lakanto sweetener, baking soda, peptides, and salt. Beat once more until combined, scraping the sides to mix well.
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
5. Add the flour and mix with a rubber spatula until mostly combined, then finish mixing with the hand mixer. The dough will be on the dry and crumbly side – similar to a pie crust dough. Press it into a ball after mixing. 
6. Place a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and place the ball of dough on it.
7. Flatten it out and place another piece of parchment paper on top, then carefully roll it out to 1/4″ thickness with a rolling pin. Don’t press too hard or the parchment paper will stick. Lift top piece of parchment and then replace. Flip and repeat. This will make the process of getting the cut piece off the paper much easier. 
8. Use cookie cutters to cut out festive shapes, then carefully transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
9. Space cookies 1-2″ apart on a baking sheet
10. Decorate cookies! Or if you would rather frost them, bake them and let them COMPLETELY cool!
11. Bake for 10, or until edges become lightly golden.
12. Meanwhile, repeat cookie cutting process with remaining dough by combining dough scraps into a ball and rolling it back out. Bake remaining cookies.

OPTIONAL ICING #1

• 1/2 cup softened grass-fed butter
• 2 Cups lakanto powdered sugar
• 6 tbsp Vital Proteins Peptides
• 2  tsp vanilla
• 2 TBL almond milk

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high for 30 seconds, until creamy and fluffy.
2. Add Lakanto sugar and beat another 30 seconds until smooth.
3. Add Vital Proteins Vanilla Peptides and vanilla and beat once more until smooth.
4. Slowly add almond milk until desired consistency is reached. 

Adapted from:
https://www.thefamilythathealstogether.com/cassava-flour-sugar-cookies/

OPTIONAL ICING #2 – My favorite!

If frosting isn’t your thing but you want a little more decadence coconut butter is amazing on these! When the baked and undecorated cookies are hot out of the oven bread softened coconut butter on top to create a glaze-like covering. Add toppings (if desired) right away and then allow the cookies to cool and the coconut butter to harden. They are great dusted with cinnamon and some lakanto sugar. Stevia sweetened chocolate chips are also a must!

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