Light and From Scratch Slice and Bake Cookies! (USA Edition!)

You read that right - Light and slice and bake! While making these cookies I couldn't help but imagine all the fun I will have with my son when he is older... making these cookies with pumpkins, hearts, maybe even clovers! It wasn't hard to make this cookie patriotic, and I can only imagine the other colors and shapes would be a fun attempt at holiday fun...

Why Light? Well I believe we eat too much butter in life... too many things are loaded with flavor but that comes with those shameful calories too. And it's OK.. it's OK to splurge from time to time... but this time I wanted to treat myself without feeling super guilty afterwards so I made these much lighter that cookies I have posted in the past.

I hope you enjoy them! I was nervous that my new recipe may not work, but in fact it became a huge success!

Light & From Scratch Slice and Bake Cookies!
What You Need:
1/3 cup Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 cup Sugar (or supplement with your favorite baking substitute to cut more calories!)*
1/3 cup Cream (I used fat free creamer)
3 cups Flour - Divided into 3 2/3 cups with the last cup separated
1 Egg
Red and Blue Food Coloring
Wax Paper

I had too much fun experimenting with these and truly cannot wait for another holiday (or reason) to try new colors and shapes!

To start, beat the coconut oil and sugar together until combined. Coconut oil is solidified at room temperature, but around 70 degrees it starts to soften (in my experience). Living on a (tight) budget I keep my house between 75-77 degrees so my coconut oil is easy to portion. If you find it hard for you to portion out or you keep yours in the fridge, have no fear! Do a quick microwave (seconds not minutes!) to soften the oil so you can measure.

Once the sugar and oil is combined, beat in the egg, baking powder, and vanilla.

Now it's time to have FUN! Based on how many different colors you want in the cookie, portion out the batter evenly into separate bowls. For example, I wanted Red, White, and Blue cookies and so I poured the batter into two additional bowls, eyeballing what looked even (this is why the flour is separated the way it is).

Once the portions are ready, color them accordingly. I wanted a pretty bold color (for America!) so I used roughly 10-15 drops of food coloring for the red bowl, and the same for the blue bowl. I did not add any color to the bowl I would be using for the "White" part of the cookie.

Next stir in the flour. To start, add 2/3 cup into each bowl. This will leave about 1 cup left over, which will be available to make sure each bowl is the right consistency. Since we broke the batter into multiple bowls, this helps get it uniformed again.

I like to mix with my hands to really feel my dough - and if its too sticky, add more flour. Form each bowl's worth of dough into a log and place onto a long sheet (about 3 feet) of wax paper. I pressed the last one on top of the first two to forms a triangle like "tube" of dough. Sprinkle a light layer of sugar onto your sheet wax paper, then with the wax paper, roll the dough into a uniformed tube that will be perfect for slicing.

Chill at least 2 hours before slicing. To chill roll the wax paper around the dough and place on a baking sheet. Let this rest in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.

 After chilling, heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice 1/3 inch slices place onto a greased cookie sheet (or line with parchment paper). I brushed coconut oil onto my pans. Bake for 9 minutes.

Optional
Once finished quickly place the warm cookies into sugar - powdered would work better than granulated, but for me I only had the one option, and while not much stuck to the cookies, it was just enough for the bottoms to have a pretty sparkle.

This wan't cookie #1 for me... I confess!

I hope you enjoy! It's nice to have a lighter version of a cookie AND the possibilities to make crazy cool slice and bake are endless!

He wanted to say Happy 4th!!

~Aimee and Baby