Dairy-Free Rosemary Sugar Cookies Made With Sola Low Calorie Sweetener

I am not going to let a dairy allergy get in my way of baking cookies

          I received a package of Sola Sweetener to facilitate this post.

 I love baking cookies for Christmas as it is my favorite part of the holidays. Since discovering dairy to be the cause of my out of control asthma, I had to learn how to bake without butter and milk. I never thought I would get excited about store-bought cookies that were made with dark chocolate, vegetable oil, or cocoa powder. Having a dairy allergy has been tough when it comes to making sugar cookies as I know that real butter is essential for the best flavor. So I have been experimenting in the kitchen and using vegan butter in my favorite cookie recipes. I have been discovering that vegan butter is more oily than regular butter so using a bit less in my cookie recipes has helped. I think that also may have to do with the high altitude as I live in the mountain region. I remembered the first time that I made chocolate chip cookies when we moved here and how the cookies spread way too much on the cookie sheet when baking. So I always use less butter when baking cookies and that is also good for my families health. I also try to cut back on the sugar when making treats so since I was making these cookies allergy friendly, I decided to try a low-calorie sweetener in this dairy-free recipe. I am glad that I was able to use real flour in my cookies.

  I discovered Sola at a conference that I attended last month and after trying it in my coffee, I knew that I had to try it in baking. This low-calorie sweetener actually tasted like sugar and did not have that bad after-taste that most sweeteners have. I liked that it looked like real sugar and measured like real sugar. So I decided to see if Sola could past the test of my family in my Rosemary Sugar Cookie recipe. This recipe is a family favorite and my boys have been asking me to bake them. My boys also like my Holiday Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies that I make after Thanksgiving with pumpkin pie spice.

 Sola is a blend of ingredients that, when combined, taste, bake, caramelize, and measure just like sugar. 

 I was amazed that the Sola Sweetener along with the vegan butter creamed up like real sugar and butter do. I made this batch of cookies with the no-roll version as I did not have the time to wait for the cookie dough to chill. My boys enjoyed helping me roll the cookie dough into balls. They are doing a great job when it comes to baking and learning how to remove hot items from the oven. My youngest son made chocolate zucchini bread the other day and did not need my help. I just supervised from the family room. The stand mixer makes it so easy for my son to bake by himself.

 My husband was not home when I made the cookies so I did not tell him that I used a low-calorie sweetener in the cookie recipe. My husband does not like low-calorie sweeteners and can tell when I have used them in recipes, like the time that I made a sugar-free mousse from a mix. My husband did know that I used vegan butter as he won't let me eat foods with dairy in them as he hates to see me coughing up a lung. My husband liked the cookies and did not notice a difference in flavor. I knew that they passed the family test when my boys kept asking if they could have another cookie. My husband kept telling the boys to leave my dairy-free cookies alone so I would not sneak cookies made with dairy like I did last week, and coughed all night. The funny thing is while my husband was telling the boys not to eat my dairy-free cookies, he kept sneaking them so these cookies went fast.

                                       Dairy-Free Rosemary Sugar Cookies

                                           Made with low-calorie sweetener

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

3 cups flour     

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

3/4 cup vegan butter, room temperature

1 cup Sola sugar 

2 large eggs or vegan egg substitute 

In a large bowl, beat the butter and Sola sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Then combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and rosemary in a separate bowl. Gradually mix in the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or longer. See instructions below to make the cookies right away without having to roll the cookie dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. On a lightly floured board, roll out 1/4 of the cookie dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a cup dipped into flour or a round cookie cutter cut, cut out circles and place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges brown. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes and transfer to a plate to cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.

No-roll cookie instructions

To make the cookies right away without having to wait for the dough to chill just simply take a spoon full of the cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place the dough onto the cookie sheet and lightly press it down. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Do you have a favorite dairy-free cookie recipe?

I would love links to dairy-free recipes that you love so I can discover more tasty recipes to help me stay away from dairy products.