sugar free sugar cookies

i know, it's a blatant disrespect of desserts and all things cookie. let me explain my dilemma:

my husband works at a job. he has the insurance. the insurance company is full of hippies who are trying to help us be "more healthy". in order to do that, they offer us this " premium rebate". a sweet $200. the husband did it last year, and we found out that for this year, i could do it too. what it involves is masochistic and sadistic challenges that include altering what you consume to be in line with "healthy alternatives".

now, the insurance people are mean. the first challenge included the words "cut out dessert" and "refined sugar". my two favorite things. so i've been coming up with alternative ways to help calm the sweet tooth monster.

since it is valentines day, and you simply cannot have a valentines day without sugar cookies, i found an alternative.

sugar free sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting

1 cup of splenda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

the recipe that i use, just says to dump all this together. which sort of makes it lumpy. i like to cream the liquid and eggs and add the dry. i don't know if it makes much of a difference. it just makes me feel powerful and smart.

i know it is against reason, or tradition, but do not chill this dough. something quirky happens and the dough won't roll out well. i know, weird. i once used the splenda in frosting, and it was the same thing. it was really weird and stringy after i chilled it. so don't do it.

you roll this dough out to 1/3" thick. these are yummy soft sugar cookies. it totally depends on how thick you want them. i like them thick and puffy, but my sister in law, who's recipe this came from, really likes them thin. it's up to you.

cut them in your favorite shapes...bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. again depending on how thick you rolled them.

cream cheese frosting

this is where the sugar free stuff became tricky. most of the stuff i could find online called for half splenda and half sugar. so i nixed that. i love a challenge. so i did a hybrid of a couple i found.

1 package cream cheese (warm to room temperature)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter ( depending on your taste. i used 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons of agave nectar

it makes a really rich frosting, so you only need a bit. the agave nectar is so sweet, it almost tastes like corn syrup. and make sure you do refrigerate these cookies.

warning: unlike regular refined sugar, splenda will make you sick,if you eat too many. as in the-next-day-don't-wanna-leave-the-bathroom sick. i know it wasn't true when your parents told you when you were a kid, but it's so true now. so these cookies are really made to share, or at least not to eat the entire batch in one sitting. i promise. trust me.