Low FODMAP Night Before Christmas Mice Cookies feature hand-shaped sugar cookie dough, shaped into an oval, sliced almond ears, chocolate eyes and nose, and a licorice tail.
These are the ultimate in crafty Christmas cookies and delight all who see them perched on the edge of a cookie plate. Get the kids involved.
How Christmas Mice Cookies Were Born
Many, many years ago (the late 80s) I was in a specialty shop in New York City and saw tiny chocolate mice with chocolate covered almond ears and colorful silk tails. Larry Burdick, an amazing chocolatier was responsible and before I knew it, I was seeing articles and mentions of these mice everywhere. These are my cookie version and a tribute to the original. This low FODMAP version was adapted from my original recipe, which appeared in A Baker’s Field Guide To Christmas Cookies.
Ingredients For Christmas Mice Cookies
The cookies are principally made up of a sugar cookie dough, with no leavener. This is so the mice hold their shape well.
The ears are made from sliced almonds, and you can use either natural (skin on), or blanched. I kind of like natural as the little bit of brown skin gives me a bit more character, I think. You will want to begin with more nuts than you need (you ultimately need about 40 sliced almonds; 2 per mouse) so that you can sort through them. You want whole pieces and match them up in size, into pairs. This will make the best looking ears.
The eyes and nose are made from melted semisweet chocolate piped though a parchment cone. Make sure to cut the tiniest of holes on the end of the cone. You can also go larger, if needed.
Great question and the answer is that first of all, not all licorice is created equal, and some have a better ingredient list than others from a FODMAP perspective, and also, if you eat one cookie, the tail is such a small portion that it literally does not even register on my digital scale.
Did you know that a lot of licorice contains wheat flour? It does! Due to this fact we are not calling this recipe gluten-free. Try to find licorice – red or black – without any high fructose corn syrup, however, again, the portion is so small that it would most likely test as low FODMAP. Remember, even ketchup with high fructose syrup has been lab tested by Monash University and certified as low FODMAP! As always eat to your tolerances.
The serving size is based on being conservative because of the licorice. Without the tails, you could eat 3 cookies.
If you would like to read more about candy ingredients in general, we have an article for you.
How To Make Christmas Mice Cookies
You can double this recipe, if you like. It is not hard, but it does take time and you have to want to get crafty. Positioning the ears, nose, eyes and tail takes some finesse.
Here are some tips:
- Sort the almonds while the dough is chilling, so that they are ready to use when you need them.
- You will need to chill the dough, so plan accordingly.
- When you roll the dough between your palms, do not overwork it or it will get too soft. Use a light touch.
- Making the mice different sizes is to be encouraged. After all, not all mice are the same size.
- Have a bamboo skewer or toothpick ready to create the butt hole. Yes, I just said butt hole. Kids LOVE doing this but help them handle the warm cookies; stay safe! Read and re-read that part of the recipe so that you are familiar with the technique, which you cans below:
Take your time creating the holes for the licorice; you do not want to crack or break the cookies.
FODMAP Information
Our recipes are based on Monash University and FODMAP Friendly science.
- Almonds: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested whole almonds, and their results vary from one another. Monash says that a Green Light low FODMAP portion is 10 whole almonds at 12 g, but a high FODMAP portion is 20 whole almonds at 24 g. FODMAP Friendly gives them a “Pass” at 30 g or ¼ cup.
- Butter: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested butter. Monash states that a low FODMAP Green Light portion is 1 tablespoon or 19 g and also states that “butter is high in fat and does not contain carbohydrates (FODMAPs)”. FODMAP Friendly gives it a “Pass” at 1 tablespoon or 19 g. Both recommended serving sizes are presented as part of healthy eating guidelines, not as maximum FODMAP serving size. Fat can affect guy motility and trigger IBS symptoms in some people. Eat to your tolerance.
- Chocolate: Monash University has lab tested dark, milk and white chocolate all have low FODMAP amounts: 85% dark at 20 g; dark at 30 g; milk at 20 g; white at 25 g.
- Eggs: Eggs are high in protein and do not contain carbohydrates, according to Monash University.
- Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is ¼ cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine.
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.
Low FODMAP Night Before Christmas Mice Cookies
Low FODMAP Night Before Christmas Mice Cookies feature hand-shaped sugar cookie dough, shaped into an oval, sliced almond ears, chocolate eyes and nose and a licorice tail. These are the ultimate in crafty Christmas cookies and delight all who see them perched on the edge of a cookie plate. Get the kids involved.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes 20 mice; 20 servings; 1 mouse per serving
Ingredients:
Cookies:
- 1 1/3 cups (194 g) low FODMAP all-purpose gluten-free flour, such as Bob Red Mill’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g; 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- Generous ⅓ cup (80 g) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- Sliced natural almonds
Decoration:
- 5 feet (152 cm) of red or black licorice laces (thin, spaghetti-like strands) cut into 1 to 3-inch, (2.5 cm to 7.5 cm) lengths
- 2- ounces (55 g) semisweet chocolate, melted
Preparation:
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Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
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Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
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Place butter in bowl of mixer and beat with flat paddle on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice; beat in almond or vanilla extract. Beat in egg.
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Turn machine off, add about one-third of the flour mixture, then turn machine onto low-speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended, scraping down bowl once or twice. Scrape dough onto large piece of plastic wrap and wrap completely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm enough to roll. Dough may be refrigerated overnight. (You may freeze dough up to 1-month double wrapped in plastic wrap; defrost in refrigerator overnight before proceeding).
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Roll dough between your palms into about 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) ovals. Slightly elongate one side to form nose. Gently pinch the bridge of the nose to form eye sockets. Place two sliced almonds behind eyes, inserting as shown in photographs to make ears. Place mice on prepared cookie sheet a generous inch or so apart.
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Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan front to back once during baking, or until mice are light golden brown on the bottoms and around the edges. Place pans on racks, allow to cool very briefly, and insert bamboo skewer or toothpick into mouse’s rounded posterior while cookie is still warm, going in about 1/2-inch (12 mm). Remove skewer and insert pre-cut length of licorice for tail as far as it will go. It will wedge in and adhere to the still warm cookie.
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Place melted chocolate in parchment cone and snip tiny opening. Pipe small chocolate eyes and nose in appropriate places (refer to photograph). Place pan in refrigerator until chocolate has firmed up, if desired. Cookies may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks; these must be stored in a single layer – take care of the ears!
Notes:
FODMAP Information
Our recipes are based on Monash University and FODMAP Friendly science.
• Almonds: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested whole almonds, and their results vary from one another. Monash says that a Green Light low FODMAP portion is 10 whole almonds at 12 g, but a high FODMAP portion is 20 whole almonds at 24 g. FODMAP Friendly gives them a “Pass” at 30 g or ¼ cup.
• Butter: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested butter. Monash states that a low FODMAP Green Light portion is 1 tablespoon or 19 g and also states that “butter is high in fat and does not contain carbohydrates (FODMAPs)”. FODMAP Friendly gives it a “Pass” at 1 tablespoon or 19 g. Both recommended serving sizes are presented as part of healthy eating guidelines, not as maximum FODMAP serving size. Fat can affect guy motility and trigger IBS symptoms in some people. Eat to your tolerance.
• Chocolate: Monash University has lab tested dark, milk and white chocolate all have low FODMAP amounts: 85% dark at 20 g; dark at 30 g; milk at 20 g; white at 25 g.
• Eggs: Eggs are high in protein and do not contain carbohydrates, according to Monash University.
• Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is ¼ cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine.
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
