But people still like cookies, muffins, biscotti, cinnamon rolls... So my philosophy is eat those things, but healthier versions and in moderation. When I say my cookies are better for you I don't mean substitute one for the piece of fruit you were going to eat! There is room in a healthy diet for treats.
So how do I make "healthier" treats? Pay attention to the ingredients I cook with. Yes using higher quality, healthier ingredients is more expensive, but I don't want to sell baked goods that I wouldn't bake for my own family. So let me break down some of the products I use and give you more information. I think for now I'll touch on sweeteners and leave the other ingredients for later.
Sweeteners:

Honey- I use local organic honey to help support our local farmers and to decrease the amount of pesticides we are ingesting. Here is a link to some nutrition info.
Blackstrap molasses- I love the flavor of this nutritious syrup, so hearty & rich. I use it in my ginger cookies, wheatberry bread, pumpernickel bread. The organic, unsulfured molasses I use has the best flavor of any molasses I have ever tasted. I love the fact this is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium among other nutrients.
Sucanat- b/c I can't always use molasses in baking I use this unrefined dried cane juice in place of brown sugar. It is in my cinnamon rolls and ginger cookies. I figure it's better to get some nutrients with your sugar. On the very bottom of this page is some info nutrients found in sucanat.
Organic raw cane sugar- in some recipes (toffee biscotti, chocolate cherry muffins) I don't want the flavor of molasses overpowering more subtle flavors. So instead of using completely refined sugar I use this. Although it is not as nutrient rich as molasses it does have some of the nutrients that refined sugar is void of.
Organic barley malt syrup- has a distinct malted flavor that is nice in my barley apricot bread. This is not the brand I use but here is some good information malt.
Boiled apple cider- it is what it sounds like, a fruit juice that has been reduced to a syrup. It is sweet, but in a mild unassuming way. B/c it is mild & expensive I can't use this for everything. It is a nice subtle sweetener for my malted apple bread & the only sweetener I use in that bread. Certainly it can not be considered a fruit, I know the fiber & nutrients were lost in processing, but it is a less refined sugar for sure.
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