I’m wondering if climate change is making mother nature forget what month it is. We’ve had two winter storms two weeks in a row. It’s March, which should mean a gradual warm up. I guess now it means more snow. I love winter and I love snow, but in March I want to get the snow melted and get to the mud phase. Around here March and April are the mud months. We don’t really dry out until May. I would say March and April are my least favorite months of the year. They are just gray and the ground is gross. I’m not looking forward to summer either. I know a lot of people love summer, but I hate it. If it would not rise above 70F in the day time, I would be happy. Hot weather is not my friend. I overheat like crazy. If it could stay around October weather, I would be happy.

The weeks recipe is a cookie recipe. I haven’t done one of these for a while and I thought I would do one. I am starting with a recipe from Taste of Home for Cranberry Chip Cookies. I love that these are more interesting than a typical chocolate chip cookie. Don’t get me wrong, I will never turn down a chocolate chip cookie. However, I like to mix it up a bit with something different. This recipe uses white and dark chocolate chips as well as dried cranberries. I can get lower carb subs for each of these ingredients. That way we don’t lose the soul of the cookie and still keep things in line with our diets.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the sugar with their sweetener equivalent
• I replaced the chips with their sugar free equivalents
• I replaced the all purpose flour with almond and coconut flours to reduce the carbs.
• I reduced the number of cookies by half because I wanted bigger cookies.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Low Carb Cranberry Chip Cookies

Makes 36 cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sweetener
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar substitute
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet sugar free chocolate chips
• 1 cup sugar free white baking chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sweeteners until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the chips, cranberries and pecans.
2. Drop by 2 tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 9-11 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.