Sugar Cravings Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Easy Berry Tea Scone – Low-Sugar

An easy berry tea scone can be a low-sugar healthy dessert. When I don’t know what to bake, and have a sweet craving, it’s a scone!

Whether you pronounce it sgonn or scone, it’s a score that will be gone soon!

…Like this raspberry lavender scone plate that’s irresistible during heart month and for a Galentine’s dessert 💕

Pair heart healthy raspberries and dark chocolate (with flavanols that improve blood flow) for a tasty anti-inflammatory effect.

And if you’re wondering what separates a scone apart, here’s my take…

A scone is a breakfast pastry, a sweet snack like a cookie, and more elevated than a bar. It’s also an EASY bake you can make low-sugar and healthier with your delicious flavors!

Cut round like a pie, but looks flat like a pancake (before the oven)… a scone comes out of the oven wedge heel-raised elevated, puffs up in the center, and crunchy inside and around in all the right places.

You can be creative and dream up your own easy scone flavors to life. This is the new food wheel… with berry and white chocolate. 😊

And if you cut the wedges before it goes in the oven, like this…

…You’ll have less crumbs on the baking board and more in your mouth.

Plus with cut wedges, whether you share or not, you’ll know how many wedges are left… before it’s sgonn. 😋

That I’m sure is fast. It’s a good idea to go ahead and make 2 scones side-by-side to anticipate its appeal.

And if you have an event you need or want to bring a dessert to, a scone is a smart, foolproof one!

You can’t mess it up, and it will be a hit 🙌

On that note, the reason I really like a scone is you don’t have to do any prep work.

For starters, the few, small pats of butter you use can be straight from the fridge or freezer and works better.

Because cold keeps the fat separate with small pieces in the dough, so that when it goes into the magical oven, steam happens and creates air pockets so you get an airier scone like you expect in breakfast pastries.

That’s the fascinating baking science part.

And with the texture working for your easy berry tea scone, you can add almost any sweet food ingredient that inspires you.

Think of the variety of tasty, healthy anti-inflammatory flavors (aka flavanols).

…Like spices, healthy smoothie powders, extracts, berries, honey, tea, and fruit. And for the wet ingredients, you can use tea like Early Grey bergamot or lavender that I added.

Perfect pairings for weekend Sunday brunch or afternoon tea! 🫖

A technique I like: in a mug, add warm tea water to honey to liquefy, plus the tea all together. Let it cool and then add to the dough mixture.

You can also shredded coconut or zest like in a low-sugar orange scone (that’s like confetti 🎉).

Think also of healthy cake ingredients you can use.

…But without any egg or milk (if you choose).

Which means a easy berry tea scone can live longer if you want it to last on a room temperature plate.

All in all, this is a delicious dessert for any occasion that no one will know there is very little sugar (and no table sugar) if you choose.

Shhh!… unless you tell ’em.

Because honey and butter alone are a delicious pairing that is enough for a delicate and decadent pastry.

But why leave it there? Healthy tea and fruit in an easy berry tea scone adds an elevated taste.

And while I pulled 13 pantry and fridge ingredients in total (in the recipe), you can make this with half as many ingredients or less if you want to keep it simple… starting with some flour, butter, liquid, and sweet.

And to keep it healthier, use a healthier flour blend (e.g. almond or gluten-free flour), less butter, honey, and brewed tea. Up to you!

One thing in common is your easy berry tea scone will be delicious. See what you can come up with using my recipe as inspiration. 🍥

Enjoy your berry scone tea tasting!

Easy berry scone with raspberries for heart healthy.

Easy Berry Tea Scone

This is a berry tea scone that you can make your own flavors and ingredients with the instructions provided

Course afternoon tea, Breakfast

Cuisine American, british

Servings 8 pieces

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter, cold small pieces
1 tsp lavender tea (brewed and cooled)
1-2 tsp raw honey
1 Tbsp blueberries
1 Tbsp raspberries, dried or fresh
additional berries for tops
1/4 tsp cinnamon spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp white chocolate (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Fully hand mix ingredients into a 4" dough disc. If you find that the scone dough is too dry (and won't stick together), add a little inspiring liquid that can be water, or flavored teas to get a dough that sticks together and slightly moist to the touch. If you find the scone is too wet or sticky, add some dry ingredients like spices, almond flour, and/or healthy powders.
Press additional sweet ingredients like berries randomly to the tops.
Cut 4" scone into 8 pie wedges.
Bake at 325°F/165°C for about 35 minutes (or until browned all around).

Coconut Donut – No Butter Healthy

Coconut donut is one dessert that can be made healthy when baked. Like these chocolate glazed donut scones that are jammed… as in raspberry jam.

Chocolate and raspberry are a decadent pairing and can be made healthy. Raw cacao and organic raspberries are loaded with polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory good.

Chocolate pairs well with almost any flavor like coconut, and many of them are healthy like nuts, fruits, and spices.

And in our flavor choices… once upon a time, I ate my last cream filling donut (…well, that was not healthy)…

Why?… The donut showed up on my arm the next day. 😀

I don’t think I’ve had a store-bought donut since. Even though I love how cute they look and glossy glazed. And don’t get me started about the fresh bakery scent trail it leaves.

Kidding aside, I found other store-bought ways to get the sweet taste without the fried-ness in traditional donuts. …because like sugar, fried foods are addictive.

You can’t have JUST ONE and be satisfied.

…So if you eat smaller bites and healthy sweets, then there’s no guilt.. and there’s NO eat now, pay later after effect.

Those are all heathy moves.

And when there’s an emergency sugar craving 😊… (for me, that’s daily and often)… low-sugar snacks like this healthy baked donut do the trick.

Oh, and there’s no butter in this recipe, so you save on fat calories. Healthy fat foods like coconut oil (that’s minimal) is a good alternative.

And if you’re someone who likes variety, you can zhugh and flavor each baked donut with different looks and tastes.

Like rose and rosewater, pistachio, coconut and other plant-based foods. 🌹🥥🌱

They’re good healthy food substitutes. And if you’re looking for a good sweet food substitute, give this baked coconut donut a GO-GO!

Baked Chocolate Coconut Donut - Healthy Donut Alternative

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour (or gluten-free flour)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp yeast
1 egg
3/4 cup milk of choice
pistachio bits and shredded coconut

Instructions

Combine donut cake ingredients by hand. Use enough milk to get the consistency closest to a cake batter (not too liquid and not too dense). Grease your pan with coconut oil and pour batter into the pan. Bake until top looks baked and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. Cut out with round cookie cutter (easier to do before completely cooled).
Make melted chocolate glaze and dip donut top side in glaze.
Zhugh with coconuts and pistachio bits while glaze is still wet.
Keep the donuts out in a cool spot for 2 days or for longer lasting, refrigerate in a covered container.

Sugar Cookies – Healthy Recipe

Sugar cookies can be tasty and healthy cookies with honey as the sweetness. And this recipe uses 4 ingredients and is one-bowl easy.

And with strawberry (or any berry), that’s berry good! 🍓 Like this plate of cookies is made low-sugar, gluten-free… and tasty good. Recipe below 👇

How this low-sugar sugar cookie recipe is different and can be cookie controversial is that there is no white sugar (or sugar crystal substitutes like Stevia that alters tastes).

With an optional light strawberry chocolate glaze at the end, you can keep this naturally low-sugar without missing a sugar beat! 🎉

Think of the strawberry seeds as sugar seeds 😊 And the gluten-free cookie crumbly bits falling off as sugar bits to please your sweet cravings.

This is a cookie challenge because with sugar in the name, NO table sugar doesn’t make sense… but if you’re like me, you’re up for the low-sugar challenge for your healthy body!

It’s a good balance FOR sweet taste buds with a healthy mix so there’s NO compromise.

And this is an EASY challenge because there are only 3 wholesome ingredients needed for these one-bowl sugar cookies to come together. And white table sugar is not one of them.

It’s 1/2 teaspoon of natural honey sugar per regular-size cookie cutter cookie. And you can substitute butter that’s usually in cookies with coconut oil if you would like to make your sugar cookies more healthy.

But it was not easy to come up with this on my end…

This was a journey… because I remember the crunchy hard sugar cookie vividly with sugar crystals on top shaped in dainty flowers with a whole in the middle that I once happily dreamed about. 🧒🏻

I had a sweet relationship with sugar.

…Never in my wildest dreams did I think making and eating my own cookies would be a typical Day in the Life that I’m happy about.

…And I never thought I’d graduate to making my own sugar cookie… without sugar crystals.

Maybe you get it because you too ate spoonfuls of sugar (and enjoyed every sugary food thing out there) like those of us who have a sweet tooth (or a full set of sweet teeth 😊)?

Thankfully for us who also aspire to healthy… the less sugar we eat, the less we crave and the fewer sweet taste buds as we get older.

That helps us align happy and healthy living.

Happy living is good for mental health.

And so if you want to add a glaze top to cookies and desserts, you can balance the healthy and happy ways (…and that’s what pleases my healthy and ex-catering self 😊).

Here on this plate I use a melted chocolate. I chose strawberry chocolate, but white or dark chocolate would work great too.

But in reality, most people use powdered sugar with a flavored liquid for a quick sweet glaze.

And that’s where sugar amounts can be over the top (in more ways than one!). ☹️

Because powdered sugar glazes are using another form of potent table sugar and even more white sugar, that’s not good and can tip the scales.

…AND you need a-lottta powdered sugar to make very little glaze. About 1-3/4 cup of powdered sugar is needed to replace 1 cup of granulated sugar… UGH!

So finding healthier ways like melting real chocolate is a smart and sweet tasty idea…

And you can happily smear the melted chocolate glaze on tops as you anticipate your cookie plate.

That’s one glaze that will go far! A mere 2 oz. of chocolate with a teaspoon of coconut oil will give the shine and get the job done for half-a-dozen cookies.

…You can make this no-guilt, low-sugar cookie batch in minutes when you get the sweet hankering!

Comment below whatcha think 💕

Healthy Honey Sugar Cookie

This is a beautiful cookie with ingredient pairing with no white sugar.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings 6 cookies

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp honey, raw
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
pinch of salt

Instructions

Combine ingredients.
Bake at 300°F for about 15 minutes or until cookie tops are baked (not soft).

Cacao Frozen Beverage

Frozen cacao beverage…whaattt? Cold cocoa (vs hot cocoa) is probably not what you think of when you think of cozy Christmas-y holiday vibe drinks in December. ❄️

And not a beverage you would hold with mittens around a dreamy outdoor cozy fire.

…But before you turn away the idea, a frozen HYGGE-cozy flavored and FUN layered cocoa variety can be a welcomed chiller! 🧊 Think of it like an unusual frozen smoothie. And that is great for cooling any stress-irritated moods that can sink in.

Like this one I share how to easily make…

…It’s layered, and looking like a sand art glass (yes?). And one you can imagine maybe finding at a Christmas market or art show.

Oh, except this one is deliciously drinkable made with drink slip away ingredients (and not slipping sand)! 🧋

And this frozen cacao beverage is inspired by dairy-free spumoni ice cream flavors dreamt up from a childhood travel experience in Italy. 🇮🇹

Each layer is frozen and when the drink melts, it’s more fun to watch than a snowman melting. ☃️

You can use anti-inflammatory cocoa like I did with Hershey 100% raw cocoa, and then layer with cherry juice… and then add almond milk with a few drops of Pandan (for natural mint green color) and pistachios.

If you’ve never tasted Pandan 🌱, it’s a plant-based ingredient with a vanilla-nutty vibe that taste mixes well with plant-based milks like almond or cashew milk.

For healthy cocoa, instead of going to the cocoa mix beverage aisle of the grocery store, visit the baking or seasonal aisles instead to find the pure multi-purpose cacao.

The cocoa can be used to make a drink like hot or cold cocoa, or used to bake with and make desserts like healthy chocolate cake, brownies, and cookies.

You want to find an unsweetened, raw cacao that is not alkalized (processed or Dutched cocoa) for the healthy tastes. And this is the best kind to bake with too!

Most marketed drinking cocoa coming in packets or pouches with the options of marshmallows are the processed kind often loaded with sugar.

You can always sweet treat yourself with marshmallows (sugar) ontop at the end. Or simply zhugh with coconut chips or pistachio crumbles.

You can also substitute the cocoa with a healthy coffee milkshake or pure cold brew coffee.

And then after you’ve made your frozen cocoa beverage artwork 😁, you can serve with cocoa desserts like this cocoa brownie cake with cashews and dried raspberries.

Which btw, polyphenol-rich cacao and raspberries are an anti-inflammatory power couple.

…But me-thinks 🧒🏻 that a frozen cacao beverage is just what these healthy un-iced and faceless molasses gingerbread men ordered. The mystery remains… 😊

Oh, and they’d be good to dunk in the your frozen cacao beverage.

Lemon Cookie – With Strawberry

Lemon cookie in a recipe is one tasty way to brighten up your holiday and Christmas cookie baking fun. 🎄And even better to brighten up a Christmas in July! Basically a lemon cookie is great year round and when you pair with strawberries you’ve got a heavenly tasting pairing!

Around the holidays, it may sound strange to bake in lemon.

…Because when we think of Christmas cookies, we traditionally think of chocolate, pistachio, or spices for Christmas-y vibes… and not summery lemon-y ones.

…But actually lemon is a winter fruit as most citrus fruits are. So think year-round lemon cookie!

Tip: you can buy lemons in the grocery stores in the winter months and freeze them for year-round use. You can save money this way as lemons are abundant in winter and when their price falls.

And these two healthy-inspired lemon cookies warm up the holiday baking season and festivities…

How to make this lemon strawberry and lemon cookie with rosemary is easy to divide up!

…So now that we’ve established lemons 🍋 are great, tasty year-round ingredients, they’re also super healthy.

Lemons are loaded with Vitamin C and full of limonene that’s an antioxidant.

And not only body healthy, the sunny lemon yellow is going to put anyone in a good happy mood… while brightening up tastes.

…Just ask those in the Mediterranean regions where cooking lemon into the daily diet for longevity reasons is a happy way of life.

Healthy Lemon Cookie

And so… in search of making one happy, anti-inflammatory lemon cookie, I was inspired by using healthy oils (no butter) and more healthy, natural sugar sources that have vitamins.

…But that was waayyy before I started baking all of my own sweets including cookies (my favorite!) for consumption…

Actually, I used to play a game with myself in the cookie grocery store aisle where I would find the healthiest cookie in a package with the smallest amount of sugar for the tastiest effect.

That was how I defined high cookie value.

Those were the day before I discovered how easy it is to bake your own cookies (that’s faster than if you go to the store and back).

And if you’re trying to lower your sugar intake (that’s a good idea! 💡) but love cookies, tart lemon is a great ingredient dimension add to cookies so the focus isn’t on sugar.

…The sour taste buds are doing a front row Radio City Rockettes happy dance with the secondary sweet buds behind. 👯

Like in this celebrational plate of healthy cookies with a strawberry lemon drizzle dessert surprise (made of Greek yogurt and buffalo mozzarella) in the middle.

plate of homemade and baked cookies including a lemon cookie with strawberry. — Clockwise from left to right: lemon strawberry cookie, lemon almond thyme cookie, spiced cookie

Baking in healthy ingredients is anti-inflammatory for skin and gut heath.

And making a cookie without butter or white sugar of any kind — that’s also deliciously tasty, holds together, and is crunchy (wow, that’s a mouthful!) — similar to store-bought cookies, is a dream come true! 💕 ..

And these lemon cookies with strawberries 🍓 fit the bill. They’re zesty and sweet in every way…

…Maybe that’s where zest-for-life came from?

And you can make lemon cookies like these with mostly healthy ground almond flour where you can save money by chopping your own whole almonds with a machine.

Recipe below.👇

…Or you can make a thyme-rosemary lemon cookie that’s Mediterranean-diet-lemon-and-olive oil healthy.

Since you’re using oil instead of butter for this cookie, you don’t need to refrigerate or cool the dough before rolling out as an added bonus.

For the flour for those lemon cookies, use gluten-free flour like coconut or almond flour (again).

And for the sweetness, use a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.

Those sweet ingredients also act as binders along with the olive oil. Honey is great for moisturizing in dry, winter months and maple syrup for cooling down in hot months. But either are great year-round!

You can measure the healthy EVOO, but it’s much more fun if you look at cookie making as a new adventure like the wonder you had as a kid. 💭

…In your wonder, you can take a cup of flour and make a mound. Then, make a small well in the middle (like you would if you were making pasta) and add a tablespoon of olive oil in the well and start combining… and see what happens.

You’ll probably see that you need more oil to hold the flour together.

Try another tablespoon of EVOO. Then add a tablespoon of honey (or maple syrup).

Then add lemon zest from one lemon, and you can also add your herbs like rosemary and thyme.

Keep combining and adding a little bit more of the ingredient amount you need, like more olive oil…

Cookies are super forgiving. 😋

When the cookie dough can hold together with crumbly bits falling off, that’s when you know you will have a good cookie crunch when fully baked.

Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper on top of your dough, and roll out the dough (or flatten dough with the palm of your hand for imperfect cookies).

Then you can form your cookies into the shape you like by hand or cookie cutters.

Bake on 325°F on the higher baking shelf for about 12 minutes. I like to flip the cookies (from bottom to top) about 5 minutes before they’re done so they are baked more even as the bottoms get brown faster.

Lemon cookies also tend to burn quicker than darker color cookies like gingerbread cookies, another favorite for this ‘lil Miss Cookie Monster! 😋

Lemon Strawberry Cookie - Coconut Oil

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1/2 cup almonds (or use almond flour)
1 tbsp coconut oil, solid
1 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of salt
strawberry
1/4 cup bench flour

Instructions

Use a chopping processor machine to chop almonds to a fine almond flour or use store-bought almond flour. Combine with all ingredients except bench flour to make the cookie dough.
Add bench flour to your working surface and roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes and add to a baking cookie sheet with a non-stick surface (Silpat or use baking spray).
Bake on 325°F for about 12 minutes or until sides are golden brown.