Coconut Cranberry Vegan Cookies

Coconut Cranberry Vegan Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free and low sugar so you can have a healthy alternative to your cookie cravings. The sweetness comes from the cranberries and coconut so these are more like a shortbread cookie.

My husband is a diabetic, and he struggles with cravings for sweets and high carbs. I believe it is something a person without diabetes can not understand but I do try to help him by having alternatives to high carb and high sugar snacks around the house.  These Coconut Cranberry Vegan Cookies are a healthy alternative to a sugary carb-loaded cookie.

Why Use Almond Flour In Vegan Cookies

 I use almond flour in this recipe because foods made with refined wheat are high in carbs but low in fat and fiber. This can spike blood sugar levels and then follow with a rapid drop, which can leave a person feeling tired and hungry, craving foods high in sugar.

 However, almond flour is low in carbs and high in healthy fats and fiber. For this reason, almond flour’s properties give it a low glycemic index, meaning it releases sugar slowly into the bloodstream to provide a sustainable energy source. 

Almond Flour and Diabetes

It is important to note that people with diabetes may tend to be deficient in magnesium, especially if they have uncontrolled high blood sugars, because their body may be clearing it out along with excess sugars in the urine. It is estimated that between 25–38% of people with type 2 diabetes have a magnesium deficiency, and correcting it through diet or supplements may significantly reduce blood sugar and improve insulin function.

Since almond flour is packed with magnesium, its ability to improve insulin function may also apply to people without type 2 diabetes who have either low magnesium levels or normal magnesium levels but are overweight. 

Switching from wheat flour to almond flour will provide low glycemic properties and high magnesium content which may help control blood sugar in people with or without type 2 diabetes.

For this recipe, I used Blue Diamond Almond Flour. You can find this in most health food stores or on Amazon.

I kept the ingredients in this Coconut Cranberry Cookies recipe as natural as possible so I used Frost Ridge Maple Farms maple sugar.  It is produced in Pennsylvania, using small batches and double sifting.

I tried a new product for these cookies that I was pleasantly surprised that I liked called Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil with Butter Flavor.  It is made from non-GMO, Steam Refined, Sustainably Farmed Coconuts and truly has a buttery taste and it’s vegan. I plan on trying it with popcorn, toast and in some other recipes. 

For a fun treat try Bacon Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are a  sweet chewy chocolate chip cookie filled with little surprise bites of salty pretzels and bacon.

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