Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

This 100% whole grain and dairy free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe was developed in 2009. We use this recipe everything Christmas and this year is no different. They are full-proof delicious. They roll out perfectly and bake crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside.

Although my Gingerbread Cookie Recipe tastes just like the ones your probably grew up eating, it is far from a “conventional” gingerbread cookie recipe.

This delightful Christmas cookie is not only dairy-free and whole grain, but also free from refined sugar. I sweetened the cookies with fiber-rich stewed prunes and molasses.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Recipe that’s Healthy!

Over the years, I have experimented with three different whole grain flours, all of which work very well. And everytime it comes down to the amazing whole grain, gluten free flour made by King Arthur Flour. The flour is a cup-for-cup replacement for any of your other Christmas cookie recipes that call for flour.

Healthy Gingerbread Cookies Still Need to Taste Good

Here’s the deal with kids and “healthy” cookies. If you are going to go to the trouble of making cookies they absolutely have to taste good. Plus, kids are the ultimate cookie taste-testers. I’ve found you can’t fool kids with foods.

However, health conscious adults can often be talked into liking something if they think it is good for them, you just can’t fool the kids.

Kids get right to the bottom line with food…in other words, does it taste good or not? I can always count on my son to tell me the truth about whether my healthy cookie recipe is a winner or not.

Tweaking an Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

You can find a lot of gingerbread cookie recipes online that called themselves healthy (“low fat”, vegan, etc.). Unfortunately, when you look at the ingredient list you see they call for unhealthy margarines, way too much sugar, refined flour, etc.

The extra virgin coconut oil I use in my Gingerbread Cookie recipe yields the same melt-in-your-mouth texture you’d get from butter. Plus, it tastes substantially better than artificial margarine. And don’t worry, the extra virgin coconut oil does not taste “tropical” at all! I assure you the spices completely mask the flavor of the coconut.

Bake with Natural Sweeteners

By incorporating naturally sweet but also nutrient-dense and fiber-rich prunes as a sweetener, I was able to slash the sugar. This removed the sugar from the class gingerbread cookie recipe and but the molasses in half.

As a side note, I am a big fan of prunes. As a snack I often eat prunes smeared with raw almond butter. Prunes are rich in iron and vitamin C—which, by the way, boosts your body’s ability to absorb the iron. They actually have one of the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacities (ORAC) of any other food. Plus, prunes are super sweet so they do an incredible job sweetening my healthy cookie recipe.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Print Recipe

Gingerbread cookie recipe is delicious and healthy. It’s also gluten free and dairy free with a fresh taste of ginger and molasses.

 

 

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 8
• Total Time: 28 minutes
• Yield: 15 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 9 organic prunes
• 1/4 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil, such as Barlean’s, melted
  
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• 1 heaping teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons 1-for-1 gluten free flour, like this one from King Arthur
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil two heavy-duty baking sheets with extra virgin coconut oil.
2. Place the prunes in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and add 1 cup of water. Place the prunes in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove prunes from microwave and let sit 5 minutes. Drain water and set prunes aside.
3. Place the melted oil, molasses, water, freshly grated ginger and softened prunes in a high speed blender. Process on high for 1 minute, or until all ingredients are well blended.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and unrefined sea salt. Add the wet ingredients in with the dry and knead with your hands to thoroughly combine (the dough will be thick and heavy.)
5. Roll out the dough on lightly floured waxed paper or a nonstick mat. Cut gingerbread people with a floured cutter.
6. Place cookie cutter on rolled dough and press down evenly. Pick up shapes with a metal spatula and transfer to baking sheets.
7. Continue to knead dough scraps to roll and cut more cookies.
8. Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Gingerbread cookies can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days or frozen in a zip-top bag for up to a month.