--Palm sugar is a low-glycemic sugar made from the sap of the Palmyra palm tree. It works like sugar in cooking and baking and has a caramel-like flavor, and is a tawny brown color. I order it on-line from several different places (currently using NAVITAS organic palm sugar). You might want to check with your health care professional before using this. I have several friends with diabetes who can't use Splenda (one friend ends up in the hospital each time she is unknowingly served Splenda) and use palm sugar in moderation without any problem. But each person is different. --Another sugar substitute I've been trying is SWERVE (made from Erythritol). This product is safe for diabetics. --Almond flour is made from ground almonds. It is high in protein (6 g. per 28 g. serving) and low in carbohydrates (6 g. per 28 g. serving). I purchase it in 5-pound bags from Honeyville Grain Farms (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/blanchedalmondflour5lb.aspx), but I also sprout and dry whole almonds and grind my own in my little Wonder Mill, Jr., as well as using almond pulp leftover from homemade almond milk I make. I dry the pulp in the dehydrator or use it moist. I make cookies, crackers, and there is even a recipe for Almond Pulp Freezer Fudge I'm going to try. Check out Elana Amsterdam's web site (www.elanaspantry.com) for recipes using almond flour. I've about worn out her cookbook "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook". She uses agave nectar in most of her recipes, and that's another low-glycemic sweetener you may want to check with your health care professional before using it. --Coconut Flour is a high fiber, low-carb, gluten-free alternative to wheat. You can find lots of recipes using it on-line and I love the book by Bruce Fife, N.D. "Cooking with Coconut Flour". Most of the recipes can be made with alternative sweeteners. Diabetes is rampant in hubby's family, so I work hard at making foods that will hopefully help prevent him from ever getting it. We don't do without our favorite goodies, I just make them with different ingredients. -Grainlady

Dawnp, you are so right! For years I searched for the perfect sugar cookie recipe. I found it, but it's really only perfect when I roll it thick and DON'T OVER BAKE THE COOKIES! Buttercream frosting is what I use too, but I've never added any salt - I'll try it next time! With grandkids and a huge investment in cookie cutters, I make sugar cookies almost every holiday. They have become expected! Here's my PERFECT SUGAR COOKIE recipe - it's a little different/more complicated, but worth the effort! 3 eggs 1 cup melted margarine 1 cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 2 T baking powder 4 cups flour 1/4 tsp. salt Beat whites till stiff. Beat yolks till creamy. Combine gently. Add melted margarine, sugar and vanilla. Beat. Sift dry ingredients together and work in. Chill. Roll 1/4-3/4" thick and cut. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until JUST DONE on bottem. Remove from pan, cool, and frost. These cookies are very good for cutting. They produce a thick, cake-like texture with a butter flavor. ENJOY!

I know you probably wanted a recipe before Christmas, but I first saw your post. I also was looking for a good recipe for a cut out cookie, and these had a good review. Found on Yummly: Danielle's Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies 5 ***** (2) Total time: 2 hr 25 min PT1620S Prep time: 10 min Ingredients: 1 cup salted butter (room temperature) 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 large eggs 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (good quality pure, worth) 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 T. meringue powder 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 3 T. water (lukewarm) 1 Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar. 2 Add the egg and vanilla, mix well. 3 Switch beater hooks for dough hooks on your mixer. 4 Stir baking power into flour then add to butter mixture. Beat well until flour is incorporate. Scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Take care not to over-mix. 5 Divide dough into at least 4 balls and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours. Can also be frozen. Allow to come to fridge temperature before rolling. 6 I like to make these on the thick side so the tang of the cream cheese can really be tasted. I roll mine just over 1/4" thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible from the first "sheet" of dough. Gather the scraps and put them back into the plastic wrap. Reserve all scraps for rolling later after they chill again. Put your cookies on a cookie sheet. I have never had a problem using an ungreased sheet. Cookies will not spread so they can be placed very close together. 7 OPTIONAL STEP: Put the cookie sheet with your raw cookies into the fridge for about 3 minutes. This keeps the edges very crisp and square. They will not soften and round in the oven. 8 Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake first batch and set timer for 8 minutes. Check at this point and see if they still look shiny. If so, add 1 more minute. Should not take longer than 10 minutes. 9 Let cookies cool and prepare icing. Mix icing ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. Scrape the sides to incorporate all the sugar. 10 Spread icing on cookies with an icing spatula or dip the tines of a serving fork into the icing and drizzle over the cookies. Color and add crunch with decorating sugars.

Hi Emma--sorry to hear about your health problems, but congrats to you for deciding to change your diet and FIGHT BACK! I skipped the heart attacks (*crosses fingers*) but was diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol 2 1/2 years ago. At first I tried just living like I always had (I'm a Mississippi girl :) and taking the meds, but I felt awful, so I started experimenting. I bought a book called _Reversing Diabetes_, and it HAS reversed mine. I've lost 50 pounds and come off ALL my meds. You want high (complex) carbs and fiber, low fat and protien (hard on those kidneys!). SOOO--I relearned to cook by taking a favorite food and playing with it. Cornbread? It's already whole grain (especially if you don't use the cornmeal "mix"), so use fat-free buttermilk in place of whole-fat regular milk and just spray your skillet with some olive oil in a spritzer. You'll still get the crispy crust, but with LOTS less bad stuff. As Ruthieg says, go a bit at a time. Soon you'll not only automatically make the healthy changes, but you'll actually LIKE the food better. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.