Paleo gingerbread cookies that have crisp edges and chewy centers! With a vegan option. Easy to make and no rolling out required. Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for making today’s post possible!
Gingerbread cookies have always been a favorite of mine. There’s something about all those spices that are so comforting, especially around Christmas-time!
I already have a few paleo gingerbread cookie recipes but wanted to make yet another version for today. My paleo gingerbread men cookies are super tasty, but I’m usually too lazy to roll out the dough.
My paleo ginger cookies are also great, but they’re really round and just have the appearance of healthy cookies. And they don’t taste totally like regular cookies.
Every year, I make a crazy amount of cookies to give away. Last year I made paleo orange cookies and these paleo double chocolate cookies (both of which also have vegan options!). I like them because they’re nice and sturdy, making them easy to pack up.
Most of the people I give these cookies to couldn’t care less whether the cookies are healthy or not. But still, I like to take the opportunity to show them that healthier sweet treats can be just as delicious as the traditional version. :)
So I had to come up with a recipe for gingerbread cookies that was super easy (because I’m not making roll-out cookies with a newborn) and yielded cookies that taste and look like regular cookies. I think I succeeded with these paleo gingerbread cookies!
I packaged these cookies up for a friend who had just had a baby and she and her family loved them! I put them in a little baggie instead of in a box with other types of cookies because I think they’d absorb some of the moisture and become soft.
I made her paleo peppermint cookies as well, which also use almond flour, and they were a big hit, too!
These cookies are super delicious on their own but if you eat white chocolate, I highly recommend adding some! I have to say though that I’m not a huge fan of vegan white chocolate (is it just me or is it usually super sweet?!). Semi-sweet chocolate is also a delicious option!
A chia egg makes these gingerbread cookies vegan, but a regular egg works just as well!
I used Bob’s Red Mill blanched almond flour for these cookies (as I do for all my recipes with almond flour!). It’s ground so finely and you can really see a difference.
Here are those paleo gingerbread men cookies I mentioned earlier. See all those flecks of almond in there?! That’s what it looks like when just use whatever brand of almond flour, like I did back in 2012.
Ocassionally it just affects the appearance but sometimes it really plays a role in the overall outcome. I’ve found that the less finely ground almond flour is, the more greasy the result will be and the flatter the cookies will spread.
Here’s another example. The cookie on the right uses Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour and Coconut Flour and the one on the left a random other brand. Both use exactly 44 grams of dough. Isn’t that a crazy difference?!
The ones on the right spread less, baked up perfectly, didn’t have a soft bottom, and weren’t floppy after a day.
Also the dough felt totally different. The Bob’s Red Mill dough was almost firm enough to bake right away. The other version was pretty wet and even after chilling overnight, still felt pretty soft. That’s because the flour wasn’t ground as finely as Bob’s Red Mill and so didn’t absorb enough of the liquid.
That’s it for today’s Cookie Case Study. :D
One more thing! You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil. The difference is that the ones with refined coconut oil are a little spicier. You can’t taste any coconut in either version so use whichever one you prefer.
Oh and while these paleo gingerbread cookies are soft and chewy, you can make them crisp if you just bake them longer. I didn’t have enough dough for the last cookie so I baked it along with the other larger cookies and baked it the same amount of time. It came out totally crisp! I’m guessing it was about 30 grams and that I baked it for 15 minutes.
Looking for more vegan Christmas cookies? Check out these 7 Vegan Christmas Cookies Everyone Will Love from Bob’s Red Mill! I’m thinking I definitely need to make those snickerdoodles.
Thanks again to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring today’s post! Make sure to hop on over here to get a $1 coupon that you can use in retail stores.
Paleo Gingerbread Cookies (vegan option, grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 grams) Bob's Red Mill blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup (32 grams) Bob's Red Mill coconut flour, sifted if lumpy
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter, room temperature (if your coconut oil is a little soft, put it in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes or until firmer, like softened butter. If you use very soft coconut oil, the dough will be greasy.)1
- 2/3 cup (133 grams) coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (44 grams) molasses (I used blackstrap molasses)
- 5 tablespoons (80 grams) natural almond butter (the kind without added fat / sugar)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (50 grams, out of shell) or 1 chia egg2 for a vegan version
Directions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (almond flour through cloves). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer, beat together the fat, sugar, molasses, almond butter and vanilla until well combined.
- Beat in the egg / chia egg on low and mix until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap (I form a flat disc so it chills quicker) and chill for about 4 hours or until firm. If you're in a hurry, press into a very flat disc or two and freeze for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 12 (44-gram) balls and place 4" apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 14-17 minutes or until the surface of the center of the cookies no longer appears wet, they've crackled a little, and they've browned a little. They'll be soft but will continue to cook as they sit on the cookie sheet.
- Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Don't keep them out at room temperature for more than a few hours or they'll get a little soft.
Notes
- You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil. The difference is that the ones with refined coconut oil are a little spicier. But you can't taste any coconut taste in either version!
- Mix 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl and let sit a few minutes until thickened.
- For paleo / dairy-free: use coconut oil.
- For vegan: use coconut oil and a chia egg.
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Erin, I made these yummy cookies last night. Thank you for a great recipe! Doubling the recipe, I used butter instead of coconut oil, as well as coconut sugar. I loved the strong ginger flavor. Since I don’t have a stand mixer, I used the food processor. The dough was very soft, and I was uncertain it would firm up enough, but it did. I used a scoop to form the balls, which worked well. Obviously, my scoop was smaller than you intended, as I got 3 1/2 dozen cookies out of a double batch. I baked them for 14 minutes in my convection oven.
Excited to make these! I’m curious if these are freezable as unbaked balls for baking later?
The dough freezes great! I’d let them thaw before baking first. :)
Great! Loved these. The dough was so easy to work with and they baked up perfectly. I ended up rolling them in a little turbinado sugar before popping the the oven. All the cookie recipes I’ve tried from you are fantastic—thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed these and the other cookies! A little extra sugar sounds nice. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
Can honey be used are a sub for the molasses? Or a mix of honey and maple syrup? Thank you for your help
I think it’d work, although I’m not positive. I would go with just honey as the texture is closer to molasses. They of course won’t taste as gingerbready as they would with molasses.
Hi, do you have a good substitute for coconut flour? I have a severe sensitivity to coconut or palm, can do butter though for the oil. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry, but there’s not a good sub for coconut flour as it absorbs so much more liquid than any other type of flour. Sorry about that. :(
Hi Erin, I want to make these but we don’t like the spicy aspect so much. We are just not big ginger lovers. I came here looking for a molasses cookie recipe and I saw the one you have on here and it looks so good but I want to go Paleo. Do you have any suggestions for adding more of the molasses cookie spice profile but for this recipe? I don’t want to mess the recipe up or have it be unsuccessful. Also, can you tell any difference in taste or texture when these are made with a regular egg versus chia egg? Thanks so much!
Hello! There’s no difference in the taste between the 2 egg options. But you can’t really play around with the molasses.
I specifically remember what a pain in the butt this recipe was. It’s based on my paleo chocolate chip cookies recipe and thought it would be an easy conversion.
I made it 20-30 times to get the texture right with the addition of molasses. When I added more than the recipe calls for, they were more work to chew. I think the chewy ginger cookies I mention at the beginning might be better for you! They’re soft and chewy but don’t have the crisp outsides.
Thanks for your reply. I don’t think I made myself clear. I’m looking at adjusting the spices ( not the amount of molasses) particularly lessening the ginger to avoid the kind of hot or spicy feeling ginger gives. We know it’s necessary to have some ginger etc in there and I’m not opposed to that I’m just wondering how to tweak the spices to mimic more of a mild flavor profile like in a molasses cookie . I’m really not into the soft cookies at all so I don’t think I would like the recipe you referred to. I love love love crispy cookies on the outside and chewy in the middle. all of your cookie recipes so far have been outstanding! If you have any suggestions here that would be great and if you don’t have any further suggestions that I completely understand. Thank you for the wonderful content you offer!
Oh, sorry I misunderstood! I hate to say that I have no idea how to tweak the spices without trying it myself. Looking at my other molasses cookie recipe, I’d suggest 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/8 tsp cloves and 3/8 tsp ginger. But it’s just a guess! That recipe has much more molasses, though, so I’m really not sure. If you try it out, please let me know how it goes!
And thanks for your kind words. :)
Omg!!!
After being unable to eat like everything after my EDS diagnosis… I thought I’d never eat my Nana’s gingerbread cookies again…
I almost cried as I ate these!!!
Thank u!! A gazillion times!
Can’t wait for Hubby to get home!!!
Aww, you’re welcome! I’m so very happy that you liked them so much! I hope your husband enjoyed them, too. :) Thanks for your nice comment! :)
These make a super cute gift for Paleo friends :)
Thanks! :)