This post is part of the SPLENDA® Brand Sweet Life blogger program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

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Springtime Hat Cookies #SweetSwaps #ad

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It is here! SPRING!! That glorious season where the sun shines, the flower blooms and our moods improve ten-fold. With the birds chirping, the squirrels working off their winter weight and the windows open, the season is meant to promote happiness and joy. Along with spring comes the unsticking of the creative wheels in my head. For years now, I have wanted to take a stab at Springtime Hat Cookies. They are just so pretty and so festive looking. Plus, with a tea party coming up with friends, I wanted to try to master them before the big day! One caveat? I am really trying to cut my sugar intake. Lucky for me, I have SPLENDA Sugar Blend and their entire line of products. I looked at SweetSwaps.com for tips to help me succeed in this recipe! I ended up getting 10 more ideas to try!

Springtime Hat Cookies #SweetSwaps #ad

Aside from a conversion table that helps you convert your recipes into ones that contain less sugar, something we all really need to look at doing, you can get awesome ideas for recipes from drinks to cakes to sauces and more! Since the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day, and I am an American, I am all about using the vast variety of Splenda products to reduce my intake. I already only use Splenda sweeteners in my tea and buy it in bulk. It is in my purse at all times for restaurants and drive ups. There may even be a stash in my car. I simply can not have my coffee or tea without Splenda!

Springtime Hat Cookies #SweetSwaps #ad

The cookies recipe I found for the Springtime Hat Cookies is so easy. It calls for one cup of sugar though. I know that by swapping one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, granulated, I can save more than 600 calories! Since I love me and my friends coming to the tea party, making the sweet swap is an easy decision.

Springtime Hat Cookies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Make these Springtime Hat Cookies with Splenda and save on calories and sugar but not taste!
Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup Splenda Sugar Blend
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ICING
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2¼ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons whipping cream - or more to get consistency
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Food coloring
Instructions
  1. Beat butter and Splenda Sugar Blend until creamy. Add egg and extract, beating well. Combine flour, soda, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating well. Divide dough in half; cover and chill 1 hour. Roll half of dough to ⅛-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 2½-inch round cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6 to 8 minutes; let cookies stand on baking sheets 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Roll remaining dough to ⅛-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out smaller cookies using a 1¼-inch round cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 4 to 6 minutes; let stand on baking sheets 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Assemble cookies by placing 1 small cookie in center of 1 large cookie. Decorate with Decorator Frosting to resemble hats; let dry.
  2. ICING
  3. Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar alternately with whipping cream until blended. Stir in vanilla extract. Divide some in separate bowls and add desired food coloring. Using candy flowers and icing, decorate to your preference.

A few tips on these cookies.

Springtime Hat Cookies #SweetSwaps #ad

– Instead of one layer of the ‘hat’ party, I added two layers. It made the hat part taller and it holds the icing better. Since I was using a large star tip to decorate the base of the cookie, this made the hat look more pronounced.

– Add more than the whipping cream in the icing to get the right consistency. Just 2 or 3 made it into balls and not creamy and ready to use. Add until you are happy.

– I wish I had a lazy Susan to spin the cookies as I iced. It makes the ribbon around the cookie easier to apply. Think about getting one ahead of making these!

Springtime Hat Cookies #SweetSwaps #ad

The cookies came out moist, sweet and delicious. You can not even tell that the Sweet Swap happened! That is the awesome thing about Splenda and their array of products. They give you the taste you love without the calories and unnecessary sugar you don’t need!

Get more ideas and the conversion table for any recipe at SweetSwaps.com!

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