Naturally sweetened Maple Walnut Cookie Bars with Raisins. Whole-grain nut crust topped with walnuts and naturally sweet raisins with pure maple syrup and vanilla. Only 8 grams of added sugars per cookie.
Lets talk about sugars for a moment. I still agree with what I said about limiting sugar two years ago. But recently I have been thinking about sugar more and more. It is a hot topic. We have a lot of recurring conversations in this house about nutrition, and I am working on teaching my kids about added sugars. So I feel like it is worth re-visiting the conversation here too.
I recently explained to my kids that there is a difference between naturally occurring sugars like those that are found in dairy (lactose) and fruit (fructose) and those that are added in the form of added-sugars in the kitchen or in processing. Added sugars take on many names. Here is a list of the names added sugars come in.
Right now there seems to be a crush of interest in moving from refined sugar (white sugar and corn syrup) to less refined sugars (honey, maple syrup, molasses, coconut sugar and even turbinado would be examples of those.) I’ve been wondering, and maybe you have too: Are less-refined sugars healthier?
Phone a Friend
So I asked Rachel K Johnson PhD, MPH and RD point blank, “Is it healthier to eat less refined sugars? Like maple syrup.” Her response was, “We use the term added sugar, and yes maple is one of them.” In terms of amounts we should be eating of these sugars, she said that her recommendation is to look at the limits set by the American Heart Association. They say women should get no more than 100 calories a day from added sugars and only 150 for men. [I’ll do the math for you: that gives women a 25 gram budget to work within every day or two tablespoons of white table sugar or honey or agave or molasses or corn syrup…] Which I am interpreting to mean is that she is saying, uh, nice try, but sugar is sugar. Same thing I said two years ago.
Read More About it
Still feeling a bit unsure about it, I re-read this article “Solving the Sugar Puzzle” by Rachael Moeller Gorman which is an awesomesauce piece of journalism and deservedly won the James Beard Award for Journalism in Health and Well-Being in 2013. It addresses Robert Lustig MD’s viral video “Sugar: the Bitter Truth” vilifying fructose. Rachael’s article is fantastic and worth the read. This is a more nuanced approach to the conversation. Though, my take away from it is that I should be eating less sugars overall.
Then this week, Andrew passed on this article. It is written by a heart surgeon about the American diet. The doc states that this typical diet, which is high in refined carbohydrate (aka sugar rich) and coupled with too many omega-6 fatty acids to too few omega-3 fatty acids, will cause inflammation. Inflammation causes heart disease. Again sign points to eating less sugars. Ugh.
What about trace minerals and micronutrients?
You’ll hear a lot of people argue that you should choose natural sweeteners because they are high in micro-nutrients or antioxidants. Like molasses is “high” in iron. And a lot of these natural sweeteners do have these nutrients. ie They aren’t empty calories the way table sugar is empty calories. But when I hear this talk I’d like to steer the convo back to the AHA’s recommendations for added sugar limits. In order to get a significant amount of antioxidants from maple syrup for example, I’d have to eat more than twice of my daily sugar maximum and staple 200 calories to my butt in doing so. I am much better off getting my antioxidants from a carrot at 35 calories a piece. Need iron? Eat a big sexy steak. Don’t try to get it from molasses.
Swearing off Sugar
I don’t believe in swearing off any food (except maybe Cheese Wiz… ‘cuz that stuff just ain’t right) and I don’t really think unrealistic dietary restriction is a long-term fix. I believe in intuitive eating. My thoughts on moderation and not-dieting are best summed up in this post. So swearing off sugar isn’t an option for me. Personally, doing that would tip my balance toward wanting to binge on…everything. [More on restriction leading to binge behavior.] Maybe you’re different… Seriously, my degrees are in studio and culinary arts, don’t listen to me. But for me, when I have a culinary itch… I scratch that shiz. With sugars my thinking is that it comes down to choosing the lesser of two (or twenty) evils.
My two cents on Sugar
Right, so where does that leave us? What if we want a little something sweet to eat? What do I tell my kids? It seems like we should be eating less sugar, that is obvious. But what if I have a hankering for something sweet, and an apple just won’t cut it?
I repeat, I am a trained chef and an artist. I am not a dietitian or a doctor, please don’t listen to me. I am just saying this is what I have decided for myself on the matter. And here’s where I wish I could say that I discovered that less refined added sugars are healthier than refined added sugars. As of now the RDs that I’ve talked to say, they’re not. I can’t say that it is okay for me or anyone to go above the 100/150 cal per day limit either. What I can say is that if I choose to add sugar [and I personally say you should have some sugar when you crave it so that you don’t drive yourself crazy and binge on other things and then end up eating the sugar anyway] ..If I must, I should eat a bit of awesome dark chocolate (even better a fair trade or organic dark chocolate) or make something from scratch and know/choose exactly what goes into that recipe. Best yet is when I can choose an environmentally friendly and sustainable sweetener like local honey or maple syrup. Here is a great post about why natural sweeteners are better, that has no health claims.
Add Naturally Sweet Fruit
In addition to being a sustainable choice, maple and honey also have the added benefit of adding flavor, so they will enhance the overall flavor of a recipe while giving it a sweet taste. Table sugar just adds sweetness. I’d argue that you’ll end up needing less sweetener, teaspoon for teaspoon, overall.
What I do then is that I like to boost sweetness by pairing these sustainable sweeteners with naturally sweet fruit. For example, I added prunes to this gluten-free chocolate cake or I sweetened up this zucchini oatmeal bread with dates.
Today I added fiber-and-iron-rich-raisins to these Walnut Maple Cookie Bars and they are plenty sweet for me with only 9 tablespoons of added sugars for 16 servings. That works out to 8 grams of added sugar per bar, about a third of my daily limit. FYI, 8 grams is less than many “healthy” brands of cereal or granola bars.
These bars also have the added benefit of the omega threes from the walnuts and canola (which has a desirable balance of omega 3s and 6s) which help with combating inflammation. Read more on why I choose to cook and bake with canola here. Plus they are made with whole-grain flour, which gives you fiber, which will help you feel full and satisfied and is good for digestive health.
No cookie is health food, and these are cookie. But if you have a sugary itch that you need to scratch. And you just need a cookie… these are the ones to choose.
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Maple Walnut Cookie Bars with whole-grain nut crust, naturally sweet raisins and only 8 grams of added sugar from maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 2 cups walnut halves, divided
- 1 tablespoon maple sugar or sugar
- ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 ½ teaspoon all-purpose flour, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 3 tablespoons canola oil, preferably organic
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- ½ cup pure maple syrup, dark or amber
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place ½ cup walnuts and maple sugar or sugar in a food processor fitted with steel blade attachment. Process until the walnuts are the consistency of rough meal. Add whole-wheat pastry flour, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and pulse until combined. Stir 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and canola oil in a small bowl. With the food processor motor running, drizzle yolk mixture through the feed tube and process until completely mixed in. Drizzle in water with the motor running and then pulse just until mixture clumps together.
- Turn mixture out into the prepared pan; spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Prick all over with a fork and transfer to the oven. Bake, pressing down with the back of a fork only if it starts to puff, until dry and slightly golden along the edges, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, the remaining 2 eggs and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium bowl. Set aside ¼ cup of the maple mixture for glazing the walnuts for the top of the tart. Chop 1/2 cup of the walnuts halves and add to the medium bowl with the larger amount of maple mixture. Stir in the raisins. Mix the reserved ¼ cup maple mixture in a small bowl with the remaining 1 cup of the walnut halves for the walnuts for the top of the bar cookies.
- Remove the crust from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. While the crust is hot, brush the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons flour over the crust with a pastry brush to fill in any holes or cracks. Spread the raisin and chopped walnut mixture in the baked crust. Arrange walnut halves decoratively over the top. Drizzle any remaining maple mixture over top. Bake until the center no longer jiggles when gently shaken, the top is lightly crackled and the filling is set-up, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely, at least 1 hour. Cut into 16 squares.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 228
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 83 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
DISCLAIMER: I am a total idiot, don’t listen to me. And if you do please realize that all opinions expressed here are my own. This post is in no way sponsored by any third party element. This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and purchase an item, I may receive a small commission which helps to support me in bringing you content like the above.
I agree that you should limit all sugars, but when you’re looking for a fix, you have to figure a little maple syrup or molasses etc… is better than HFCS! And
Ha ha, nice alias. Thank yo ufor heckling me. Good point, though I am going to repeat what Kay said in my post 2 years ago. Link above in top paragraph. What she said, and I am guessing what a lot of other dietitians would say is, that if you stay below the limit, one sugar over the other would not make a significant difference on health. You and I have talked about this before, and I know that you’ve read the Omnivore’s Dilemma. Id point to the chapter about the invention of Super Sizing (which started with movie concessions)This occurred because the HFCS made sweetening cheaper, so companies made sizes larger. My take away from that is that the new larger volumes had more to do with the resulting rise in obesity than the type of sugar itself. Meaning, it is mere volume of sugar not variety of sugar. That said, the only HFCS we have in this house is in the ketchup, and right now we have the kind without.
Great post, Katie! I’m with you on every point. I limit sugar in my diet “most” of the time, but if I have an itch, I scratch. I’m one of the fortunate ones, though, in that I’m not always craving sweets. My one vice used to be sugar in my coffee but I weaned myself and developed a taste for stevia. Great looking bars and fantastic photos!
My cravings for sweets really subsided once I gave myself permission to eat them. Kind of a catch 22, isn’t it? Thanks for visiting Bill.
Certainly, if we’re “just” talking about weight control/gain, then yes…HFCS verse Maple syrup won’t matter all that much. It’s about the amount.
The obesity issue has so many sides to it though…and just to continue on the sugar side…how about this question, could we have produced enough “natural” sugar (like maple syrup) to make america this fat? Obviously it’s not just sugar as the problem, but you see my point.(I hope :-)…I don’t look at it as “which one is worse for you”, it’s more like, why do we need this at all? Oh yeah, to exploit people and make money…it’s from start to finish also…(don’t think the drug companies don’t LOVE HFCS, just like our privatized prisons love strict drug laws, inmates are money :-)… “limitation” of anything doesn’t fit into a consumption model where the sole goal is increase profits quarterly, yearly etc…our system (food included) is working exactly as it’s built too…maximize profits regardless of anything…people included… Sorry for getting off topic, but ranting is sorta what Chowdaddy does 🙂
Unfortunately, I think there is a lot of truth to what you say. I’m not sure I agree that the drug companies are happy about the obesity epidemic, but I certainly can’t argue that we would be in this mess if our food system was based on naturally occurring sweeteners. And I’m also thinking that you need to spend less time inspiring kids, and getting them into shape and start a blog so you can rant all you want. Lol, I am so glad you stopped by for a rant.
My own research on the “source of sugar” topic came to the same conclusion. One of my best friends has a PhD in food science and his stance is also the same – your body treats it the same way regardless of if it’s white sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.
That being said I definitely have a sugar issue in that we eat WAAAY too much of it. I love pastries and married a man who does too. We never eat just one cookie. I haven’t found a good solution to this. We’ll stick to a paleo diet for a few months but sadly it’s a bit feast or famine over here. Blerg…
It isn’t easy striking the right balance. That is another story all together. Trying to stay below the limits, if it means famine, I suppose is better, as long as it doesn’t cause a binge down the road. For me moderation is more sustainable. glad to hear that your PhD friend is backing up the Dietetic refrain. When you are ready to step off the paleo bandwagon, if you decide to, let’s talk girlfriend:) I can hook you up with some lower sugar pastry for you and your man;)
If we go beyond the sugar equality aspect of the products themselves and get to how they are produced, there is a whole other side to the story. I would rather get my sugars in the form of locally produced maple syrups and honey and natural fruits than from a box out of a factory. But that’s just me.
Here here! I think that is super important to mention and I am so glad you did. Thank you for your comment Karen!
I absolutely agree, Katie! Sugar is sugar, agave or white sugar. Different sugar but still not like lactose or fructose. When I need a sugar fix my first choice is fruit, then organic dark chocolate and then I bake once in a while with healthier sugars like agave and honey. I try to stick to greens, lean protein and complex carbs. Works like a charm for me.:)
I am often satisfied with a sweet apple too. Or a date or two. That is what I go to most often. But when I feel like having a sweet treat,or my kiddos want to have one, I try to make sure it is exactly as you described. Either great chocolate or a baked treat that is home-made with ingredients that I can stand behind.
Very thoughtful take on it. I am more “against” sugar (in all of its forms) than you are but I have reason to be. It’s funny because I follow a low carb diet but I don’t “diet”. I.e. it has nothing to do with my weight and everything to do with staving off full-blown diabetes.
So I am against sugars in general (even in moderation) but I am glad you agree that we’re fooling ourselves if we think that consuming “less processed” sugars is really making any difference to our health.
You are so right to bring this angle to the conversation, since there are other people with your not-so-unique condition who take the same approach. I wish there was such a thing as a healthy sugar, unfortunately for us all, diabetes or no, there isn’t.
wow, Katie! This is an incredibly interesting and awesome post. Not to mention that the picture of those bars is one of the best I’ve ever seen! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Thanks David. I submitted the overhead shot to FG this last night and they rejected it. Go figure:)
Katie, I LOVE this post! I love all the research you’ve done, the great resources of information you provided, your thoughts on cheese wiz, and these beautiful cookie bars! I love that you didn’t replace sugar with any fake crap, and that it’s realistic! This is one of the few dessert recipes I’ve seen that I think “I would make that without changing a thing”. And the photos…uggghhh…stop it. They’re perfect.
Thanks Ari. I have been obsessing over this for a while. You can probably tell:) That is such a huge compliment about the recipe too.
Not enough time at the moment, but I’ll be back soon to read the entire article properly. I think I eat too much sugar..
Please do Jack Andrew. This is one of those longer ones;) And it is too easy to do it. I know too well. It adds up so fast.
because I just love me a little chocolate any way I can get it, I’m thinking I’d whip these up with some yummy rasinettes! gorgeous pics as always chick 🙂
I don’t think I could ever swear off sugar, but in moderation it’s fine!
You have got to be kidding, Katie. You go through this whole investigation talking to all these experts, then you provide a recipe that includes one tablespoon of sugar or maple sugar AND 1/2 cup of Maple Syrup. I gave up added sugar 2 years ago. I am a sugar addict. I used to have a HUGE brownie after breakfast. I love sweets, but I saw a video from an endocrinologist who works with obese kids and was giving a talk to doctors at Johns Hopkins. Is it a well known video about sugar as poison. He begins by telling us that at the turn of the century, the average consumption of sugar in any form was 25 grams. Now it is up to 160 grams and growing. At the end of the talk, he compares what happens to people over their lifetime having 160 grams of sugar a day to someone who is an alcoholic.
As I said, I gave up added sugar two year ago. I only eat sugar that has the fiber naturally to go with it, which is fruit. No cakes, candy, health food bars, cereals with added sugar. And the only thing I drink is water because everything else had added sugar in some form. And, as you say, sugar is sugar in whatever form you ingest it. By only eating fruit you get a double benefit of having much more fiber in your diet and consuming much less sugar.
It is tough when you go to someone’s house and all the treats come out or in a restaurant when others order desert, but everyone knows to include fruit for me now.
I tuned in to your site because I was snacking on my bag of raisins and nuts and wondered if there was some way of just baking a brownie with no added sugar, just the raisins and nuts. But your recipe is not a healthy alternative. Is more of the same. How many grams of sugar per portion does your recipe deliver?
We have a health crisis in this country for a lot of reasons, but massive overdosing on sugar every day is killing us and hurting our economy and competitiveness because higher health costs take money that could go to growth out of our economy.
Just as a side note, I was on my sugar soapbox when some friends visited and Betty, made fun of me and said it was all bullshit. About six months later she was at our house talking about all the new studies and articles that are coming out saying just what I had said. She now agrees with me — does not stop her from drinking and eating lots of sugar. But recently she was diagnosed with lung cancer and was given 1 year to live. She is 65 years old with a husband and 4 grandchildren. She is still with us, but just recently, two weeks ago was diagnosed with brain cancer and the prognosis is not good.
Whether sugar is responsible, I am sure no one can determine, but we are killing our bodies in so many ways. I really would suggest that you rethink your attitude toward sugar and join me.
I can tell you that since I gave up added sugar, me health has improved, I lost 20 pounds, and my creativity is exploding. Something has happened to me as a result. You have a voice that can reach people. For me, I am a sugarholic and cannot allow myself even one small piece of candy of one desert because it is a slippery slope and sugar is addictive. I will never go back to the way I was.