Rosie's Holiday Ginger Cookies

It's Halloween! Time for tricks and treats... and temptation.

Don't let those candy bars and chocolates you bought for trick or treaters spoil your commitment to a low-fat, healthy style of eating. Halloween is just the first of many occasions coming up that will tempt us all to overindulge.

There are two ways to look at this time of year. Some people, faced with all that temptation, just decide to give up and promise themselves they'll be better after the New Year. Don't let that happen to you!

Instead, look at the "eating holidays" as an opportunity to try new ideas and find delicious substitutes for those high-fat favorites. It's much easier than you think!

My Holiday Ginger Cookies are a terrific alternative to the chocolate and candy that seems to be everywhere in the Fall and Winter. Keep a batch around the house to nibble on and satisfy your sweet tooth. Kids love them, too, so they're also a good way to help your children from going overboard with the Halloween candy.

Making these cookies is also a great activity to do with your kids. Pick up a few of the fun Halloween-themed cookie cutters available in stores--or use a knife and your imagination to carve jack-o-lantern shapes out of the dough once it's rolled out. After brushing with apple juice concentrate (see below)you can make designs with dried cranberries, dried cherries, citrus zest, sunflower seeds, almond slices or raisins.

Have a good Halloween--and don't let the treats trick you!

(15 ingredients)
  • 2/3 cup molasses or sorghum*
  • 1/3 cup canola oil*
  • 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate*
  • 1 egg white*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
  • 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup fructose
  • 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon grated orange zest

    • For brushing cookies
  • 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate

    • Preparation:

    Combine all wet ingredients (*) in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg white and beat for three minutes. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl along with the orange zest. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet using a wooden spoon to mix into a stiff dough.

    Knead dough for one minute and divide into two parts. Make two flat disks, wrap in plastic and place in freezer until completely chilled (approx. 20 minutes).

    Roll out cookie dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Sprinkle dough with additional flour and roll out until 1/8 inch or desired thickness. Cut with cookie cutter, brush with apple juice concentrate and decorate.

    Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking oil spray. Arrange cookies on the sheet and place in a preheated 350-degree oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before placing warm cookies on a cooling rack. Copyright 1994 by Rosie Daley

    CHEF ROSIE DALEY
    Author of "In the Kitchen with Rosie"