Whole Wheat Sugar-Free “Sugar Cookies”

Sugar cookies, what a creation!!! They’re always super fun to make and they taste so good. BUT, I’ve always wondered if there was a recipe that would let you make Sugar Cookies without the enormous load of sugar, and I GOT IT!!! They turn out delicious, so here’s the recipe (Yields 30-ish cookies, depending on the size).

Ingredients:
• 3 1/2 C of Whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp real salt
• 1 C unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 C real maple syrup, room temp
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-6 tsp milk 

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter and maple syrup on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.

Slowly add the flour mix to wet ingredients and mix on low speed, until just combined. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. Add a little more flour if it seems too sticky, 1 tsp at a time.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let dough chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours, or overnight.

After it’s chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove dough from fridge and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly. Sprinkle some of flour on surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough until it's about 1/4-1/3" thick. The thicker your cookies are the softer they'll be.

Use your favorite cookie cutter shapes to cut out the dough and place them on your cookie sheet. Gather and re-roll the dough scraps as many times as needed until all the dough is used.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are lightly golden. Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cookies are cool you can frost and decorate them.

To make homemade icing: combine powdered sugar, vanilla and almond milk in a small bowl. Whisk until all lumps of sugar have dissolved and icing is the thickness you desire. You don't want it to be super thick, but also don't want it to be too runny where it melts off the cookies.