Low-Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups Splenda
1 1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses
2 eggs
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup vanilla-flavored whey protein powder
1/4 cup oat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
12 oz sugar-free chocolate chips *
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter, Splenda, and molasses until creamy and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the ground almonds, protein powder, oat bran, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, to the Splenda mixture, beating well after each 1/2-cup adition, until it's all beaten in. Stir in the uts and chocolate chips.
4. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and drop the dough by rounded tablespoonds onto it. These cookies will not spread and flatten as much as standard chocolate chip cookies, so if you want them flat, flatten them a bit now.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden. Cool on baking sheets for a couple of minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Yield: About 4 1/2 dozen cookies, each with 3 g of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 5 g of protein. (This carb count does not include the polyols used to sweeten the sugar-free chocolate, since it remains largely undigested and unabsorbed.)
* If you can't find sugar-free chocolate chips, make your own from sugar-free chocolate bars. Break 7-8 of the bars (1.3-1.5 oz each) into 3-4 pieces then place the pieces in a food processor with the S blade in place. Pulse the food processor until your chocolate bars are in pieces about the same size as commercial chocolate morsels.