Let the baking begin! We’re ready to hit the kitchen this holiday season and bake up a storm…or at least one batch of cookies, before we run out of time.
We’re calling out some of the most fantastic ingredients for holiday baking this year, from impressive extras like edible flowers to carmel-y, healthful white sugar alternatives like coconut sugar, that will keep your baking game strong. Read through our list and make a couple of adjustments to those classic cookie recipes. Need recipes to work with? Check out some of our favorite treats here and here!
Does your kitchen arsenal need an upgrade to get you through the holidays? Check out our top picks for our favorite kitchen tools too.
10 Healthy Baking Ingredients We Love
Vanilla Ghee | Ghee is the new butter, and Tava takes things to a whole other level infusing their grass-fed, 100% lactose free ghee with Madagascar vanilla bean, enhancing baked goods – or simply toast – with a divine aroma, flavor and slew of health benefits!
Natural Extracts | Bringing flavor to your sweets doesn’t have to mean using artificial flavors loaded with dyes and chemicals. Reach for the real thing with extracts made from pure food extracts.
Coconut Oil | is here to stay, and it’s an absolute necessity for baking. It’s ideal for higher heat cooking like baking and Nutiva’s cold-pressed variety is never refined, deodorized or bleached.
Goji Berries | Try adding a pop of superfoods to your holiday cookies. Instead of those raisin buttons on your gingerbread man, try swapping in these sweet gojis, packed with nutrition and a prettier color. We love this superfood goji brownie recipe.
Creamed Coconut | Dairy free? No worries! Creamed coconut is the easiest and best solution for whipped cream lover’s out there. Add a pinch of sugar and whip until it holds peaks. Perfect for frosting cakes, cookies or just adding a dab to your hot cocoa.
Smoked Chocolate Chips | We’re all for trying pops of interesting flavors in surprising places. Add these smoky chips to a classic chocolate chip cookie for an unexpected blend of sweet and savory.
Coconut Flour | We love the light coconut flavor that coconut flour brings to desserts. High in fiber and easy to substitute in baked goods, coconut flour is an easy gluten-free baking swap.
Edible Pansies | Yes, they’re edible! These adorable, delicate pansies are perfect any time of year for all your baking decorating needs. Add atop fluffy white cake or cupcakes – winter wonderland bliss.
Noble Maple Syrup | Crafted in small batches and flavored with Tuthilltown Bourbon barre, Tahitian vanilla bean or Egyptian chamomile blossom, this maple syrup speaks for itself. Use to bring a unique richness to baked goods. Also makes a perfect gift.
Coconut Sugar | Sweet and caramel-like in flavor, coconut sugar makes a great replacement for brown sugar. With a lower glycemic index and a nutritional nutritional profile including amino acids, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron and B vitamins, this is a no-brainer swap for white sugar.
