A few weeks back, my friend Lisa tagged me in a photo on Facebook. The photo was of her three adorable children, sitting at the breakfast table, eating cookies! These weren't just any ordinary cookies, they were my healthy Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, with an added twist. Lisa added bacon to the recipe and her kids loved them. I knew I had to give Lisa's bacon twist a try…this weekend I made a double batch, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint.

This is not a new recipe, however, for the sake of filing it away in my recipe index and for YOU, my friends, to print and put in your own recipe index, I am typing it up again. This is simply my Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe with added bacon.

I do however want to mention, after trying various sweetener combos in these cookies, I've settled on Swerve Sweetener yielding the BEST COOKIE. I have found that Swerve sweetener, which is a form of erythritol, acts like sugar in these cookies, it browns and adds some crispness. And because you may or may not have heard of Swerve sweetener…

What's So Great About Swerve Sweetener?

Swerve sweetener is a natural sweetener that measures cup-for-cup just like sugar.

Swerve sweetener is made from a combination of erythritol and oligosaccharides, derived from fruits and vegetables.

Swerve sweetener contains no artificial ingredients, preservatives or flavors.

Swerve sweetener provides browning and carmelizing functionality to sugar-free baking.

Swerve sweetener is considered non-allergenic.

Swerve sweetener does not contain GMOs.

The ingredients in Swerve sweetener are sourced from non-GMO vegetables and fruits.

Swerve sweetener does not contain MSG or any other glutamate derivatives.

The natural flavors in Swerve sweetener are derived from food sources.

Swerve sweetener is an excellent sugar-replacement for diabetics, those living a low-carb lifestyle or anyone wanting to reduce sugar consumption.

Erythritol is made by fermenting glucose with Moniliella pollinis (a natural microorganism found in honeycomb) which breaks down the glucose and yields erythritol. Erythritol also naturally occurs in many fruits and vegetables like melons, grapes, asparagus as well as fermented foods. It is classified by the FDA as a zero calorie, 4-carbon sugar alcohol that does not affect blood glucose.

Oligosaccharides are sweet, non-digestible carbohydrates extracted from fruit and vegetable sources. They are similar to soluble fiber in that they are a prebiotic. Oligosaccharides help feed the healthy beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.

When our local natural food co-op started stocking Swerve sweetener on their shelf last fall, I swooped in and bought both the granular and confectioners' style to play with in my holiday baking. I have played with it here and there for over 6 months as a replacement for what I typically use, which is a combination of erythritol and stevia. The thing I love most about Swerve sweetener is it measures cup for cup like sugar, which makes it easier to convert unhealthy recipes containing sugar to healthy low(er)-carb recipes using Swerve sweetener.

You can buy Swerve sweetener online or find a location near you that stocks it.

Some of my favorite low-carb bloggers use Swerve sweetener — visit their sites for more healthy recipes!

♥ Karen at Living Low Carb One Day at a Time

♥ Kate at Kate's Healthy Cupboard

♥ Carolyn at All Day I Dream About Food

♥ Maria at Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal

♥ DJ at DJFoodie

This is not a sponsored post. I am not being paid to endorse this product. I simply have found it to be a great solution to healthy sugar-free baking.

Read More: 4 Natural Sweeteners That Are Actually Healthy

Print Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Bacon Twist Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 13 minutes Yield: 2 Dozen Serving Size: 1 Cookie A gluten-free, low-carb alternative to chocolate chip cookies with a bacon twist! Ingredients 4 Slices Thick-Cut Bacon

1 c. Almond Butter

3/4 c. Granulated Sweetener -- for sugar-free I recommend Swerve or Birch Xylitol

1 Large Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

2 oz. Dark Chocolate Chips Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In skillet cook bacon as usual, set aside until cool, then chop into bits. In medium mixing bowl, with a large spoon, mix together almond butter, bacon bits, sweetener, egg, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda. Fold in dark chocolate chips. Using a cookie scoop, spoon cookie dough onto Silpat lined baking sheet. Flatten slightly by doing a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool on rack. Enjoy! Notes At 13 minutes the cookies will seem like they are not done. The bottom should be just starting to lightly brown. Take them out of the oven and with a spatula very gently move immediately to a rack. They will seem like they are not done. They are. They firm and crisp up as they cool. If you let them go longer, the bottoms will burn. Per Cookie 80 calories, 7 g fat, 3g carbs, 2 g fiber, 1 g NET CARB, 3 g pro (using Swerve sweetener) This recipe has been tested with my preferred ingredients. Please consider, if I recommend a substitution, it will be included as a note in the recipe. 3.1 https://healthylivinghowto.com/whats-so-great-about-swerve/ Copyright © 2012, Vanessa Romero www.healthylivinghowto.com

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