Myra's Basic Cookies Recipe

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer until well blended. Divide into 4 ziplock bags or plastic covered bowls and flavor according to your tastes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before baking.

Make cookies by forming dough into 1/2-inch balls, placing the balls on a cookie sheet (I use the airbake pans). Flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass tumbler dipped in water to about 3/8-inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and cool.

Entire batch of dough has about 89 carbs, about .62 carb per cookie.

NOTE: I buy almond flour from http://www.almondsonline.com/. If you have a blender or mill, you can grind your own - 8 ounces of blanched almonds makes about 2 cups of almond flour.

NOTE: Xanthan gum is a natural product that adds stability to mixtures. Without wheat flour (and the gluten in wheat flour), these cookies come out *very* crumbly. The teaspoon of xanthan gum gives the cookies a very good texture - crisp without falling apart when you pick them up. Xanthan gum is expensive - $9.99 for an 8-ounce bag at Whole Foods - but a little goes a long way.

Flavoring: Add 1/2-1 teaspoon extract (or 1/4 teaspoon Nature's Flavor) to each portion. I've found that lemon and orange work *really* well. Adds negligible amount of carbs.

For chocolate cookies, add 1 square melted unsweetened chocolate to one portion (1/4 recipe), along with an additional tablespoon or so of Splenda. For this variation, add about .25 carb to each cookie.

For nut cookies, add some chopped walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts (try adding macadamia to the chocolate variation). Add appropriate amount of extra carbs for the added nuts.