Wet Mix

1.   Into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (use paddle attachment), add the butter. Whisk for 2 to 3 minutes to pale yellow stage. Add the sweetener and beat for 1 minute

2.   Add the whisked eggs one at a time, beating to combine. Add the lemon zest and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute

Dry Mix

3.   To the same bowl, add the almond flour. Beat to combine. Add either the coconut flour or the whey protein powder, the glucomannan, and the salt. Beat for 1 minute

Teddy Bear Cookies – watch video for more detailed explanation and visual

4.   If making both shapes of cookies, weigh the dough and divide into 2 equal amounts. Also remove about ½ cup of dough from the half you are using for teddy bears and transfer to a separate bowl. Add red gel color and knead until the dough is a uniform color

5.   To form the head: Scoop out 1 tbsp of the white dough, pinch off some of the dough and roll into balls, to make 1 large ball (head), 1 small ball (muzzle), and 2 much smaller balls (ears). Place the large ball on the parchment paper, gently flatten to spread out into a disk. Place the medium sized ball on top of, but near the bottom edge of, the flattened disk. Press down gently to slightly flatten into a muzzle shape. Position the 2 smaller balls as ears on the disk. Use your finger to make an indentation in each ear.

6.   To form the hat: Scoop out about 1 tsp of the red dough, pinch off a tiny bit for hat rim. Roll the dough into a short pointy cone, flatten and move the tip to about a 45-degree angle. Place the hat between the teddy’s ears. Roll the reserved dough into a tube and place between ears and edge of red and white dough. Transfer to parchment-lined cookie sheet and place into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking

7.   Bake in the preheated oven (350 F or 180 C) for 10 – 12 minutes. Remove immediately and let cool in cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack. To add face, melt dark chocolate and with fine tip dabbed in the chocolate, add the nose and 2 eyes. Use a toothpick to draw on the smiling mouth. Let chocolate set before serving. If possible, let rest overnight before serving

3-D Christmas Tree – watch video for more detailed explanation and visual

8.   To form the trees, remove about 1/3 cup of dough and to that third add the cocoa powder, knead to blend into uniform color. Set aside. To the rest of the dough add the green gel food color, knead to a uniform color

9.   Scoop out 1 tbsp of the green dough and roll into a 14 inch or 35.5 cm tube. Start at the bottom of the tree and make a 2 to 2 ½ inch, or about 5 – 6.5 cm bottom row. Fold back and forth in a descending width to form a triangle shape

10.   Scoop out 1 tsp of the brown dough and roll into a ball then into a tube. Place the tube as the tree trunk at the bottom of the green portion. Press gently with a fork to make the bark texture. OPTIONAL: use a bit of the red dough to make tiny red Christmas balls and position on the tree

11.   Place trees on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in freezer for 10 minutes before baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes. Leave the cookies to cool in the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack

OPTIONAL DECORATIONS

12.   Melt the white chocolate. For the teddy bears, dab some melted white chocolate to form a white ball on the tip of the hat. For the tree, dip the side edges into the white chocolate and with a toothpick drizzle some white on the tree. Set aside for the white chocolate to set

13.   Store in an airtight container on your counter. Alternatively, scoop out 1 tbsp dough balls for the white and green, and the brown and red into separate balls. Place into a freezer safe container and freeze. Thaw before using