Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)

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If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day treat, look no further! These Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies are my take on a lighter version of a shortbread dough, coupled with some quick, homemade jam. They come together to make the cutest sandwich cookies ever! I’m especially proud of these because I am definitely NOT a baker. That being said, these turned out.

The key to lightening up the dough is to cut back on the butter by substituting reduced-fat cream cheese. I also used less sugar than most traditional recipes I’ve found, but I think they are still perfectly sweet.

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (1)

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies make me pretty nostalgic. At the age of seventeen, my first job was at an after-school program for K-8 kids. We would have cooking making days, where the kids cut cut out the dough with cookie cutter shapes and decorate. We made something very similar to this quite often. This was by far one of their favorite activities. I wish I would have though to lighten them up back then!

As for shapes, you could cut the cookies into whatever you like, but I thought hearts were pretty cute and festive for this time of year. I found a set of different sizes at Michael’s for about 5 bucks. They are actually fondant cutters, but it’s all the same. Look for them in the cake decorating section. Wondering what to do with those mini heart cutouts? I cooked mine at 350 for 4 minutes, then drizzled with melted dark chocolate. You can have around 5 for 2 SP!

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2)

Here’s a tip–make sure you are rolling the dough out at thin as you can (about .2 mm thick). This will ensure even cooking and a cook cookie-to-jam ratio. Here’s how thin I got mine before baking.

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (3)

Also make sure you are measuring out your flour in grams to get the best consistency. Baking is all about formulas and ratios, so I included exact weights. If you must use measuring cups, make sure you are spooning and leveling your flour into your cups rather than packing the flour in.

Lastly–I highly recommend making your own Sugar-Free Jam to cut back on the artificial sweeteners. But if you want to save another step, jarred sugar-free jam will work.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@litecravings) and use the hashtag #litecravingsrecipes. I sometimes miss a tag here or there, but I always check in on the hashtag.

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Print Recipe

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies

The perfect shortbread cookie base to keep you on track, paired with a healthy 0 SP jam. A guilt-free and adorable holiday treat!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time38 minutes mins

Servings: 30 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 oz light cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (for best results, measure out 350 grams)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 lemon peel, finely grated
  • 1/2 cup sugar-free raspberry or strawberry jam*
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, In the bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to combine butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Then beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Add in flour, salt, and lemon peel. Mix until a dough begins to form. Knead with hands to competely combine.

  • Cut dough in half. Cover one half in plastic and place in refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll out other half as thinly as possible, until the dough is about 1/3 inch thick.

  • Use a cookie cutter to cut out shape of your choice. I used a 5-inch heart-shaped cutter. You should get 30 cookies out of this half of the dough. You'll probably need to knead scraps and roll out again to get to 30 cookies. Use the same process on the other half of the dough, or freeze and use later.

  • Use a smaller cookie cutter shape to cut out a hole in 15 of the 30 cookies (these will be the tops of the sandwich).

  • Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes in the middle of the oven until edges are just barely browned. DO NOT over bake! Let cool completely.

  • To decorate the cookies, sprinkle the cookies with hole with powdered sugar. Spread the tops of the cookies that don’t have a hole with about 2/3 tsp jam and put one of the other cookies on top. Let the cookies rest and come together for another hour or so, then transfer to an air-tight container. Store in a dry and cool place for up to 1 week.

Notes

*I prefer to make my own raspberry jam, using my 0 SP Jam recipe (no artificial sweeteners)

Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically)

WW Green, Blue, and Purple SmartPoints: 3 per cookie

Cals: 88 | Fat: 3g | Sat Fat: 1g | Carbs: 15g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Protein: 2g

Lightened-Up Sandwich Cookies | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What makes cookies light and airy group of answer choices? ›

As the steam gets hotter, it teams up with gases produced by the leaveners, expanding those air pockets. That expansion causes the cookies to puff and rise in the oven, creating an airy, cakey texture.

What makes a cookie light? ›

Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies.

What makes cookies fluffier? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

What reaction gives the cookie the airy and light feel? ›

The baking soda that you put into the cookie is now reacting to some of the natural acids in the cookie dough to produce bubbles of carbon dioxide. As the cookie continues to cook, the carbon dioxide bubbles escape and leave air pockets in the cookie.

What is the best flour for light cookies? ›

Using cake flour in cookies can give them a tender, delicate texture that's perfect for light and soft cookies. Consider blending cake flour with all-purpose flour to add structure while maintaining tenderness, especially if you're aiming for a melt-in-your-mouth quality.

How to make your cookie lighter? ›

Using granulated white sugar will result in a flatter, crispier and lighter-colored cookie. Granulated sugar is hygroscopic, so it attracts and absorbs the liquid in the dough.

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

How To Make Cookies Chewy Without Cornstarch
  1. Go heavy on brown sugar. It has more moisture than its granulated counterpart, which means the cookie comes out less crispy. ...
  2. Choose margarine or shortening instead of butter. ...
  3. Use baking powder instead of baking soda. ...
  4. Rest your dough. ...
  5. Shorten baking time.
May 14, 2023

What makes a cookie airy? ›

When butter is heated and begins to melt, this emulsion breaks as the fat naturally separates from the milk solids and water. Using room temperature butter can produce a more cakey, airy cookie because the butter melts in the oven, which creates air pockets in the cookie.

Why is my cookie dough airy? ›

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

What makes baked goods light and fluffy? ›

Leavening Agents: Ensure that your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. These leavening agents help the cake rise and create a fluffy texture. Butter: Use room temperature butter for better incorporation with other ingredients. Softened butter will contribute to a lighter texture in your cakes.

What makes baked goods lighter? ›

Milk is usually required in a cake recipe to thin out the batter and lighten up the crumb, but sour cream is often overlooked. In addition to milk, add a Tablespoon or 2 of sour cream. Of course this depends on the recipe, but you'll find that a lot of my cake recipes call for sour cream.

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