With their piped, white-icing smiles and heart-shaped, cinnamon-candy buttons, gingerbread men are by far the cutest holiday cookies, and they’re also in the running for most healthy. Traditionally made with molasses – a thick, mineral-rich syrup that comes from mature sugarcane – and fragrant natural spices, these classic cookies get even more nutritious when refined white flour is replaced by gluten-free almond meal and coconut oil is subbed in for butter. Your family will run, run as fast as they can to the cookie jar—and you won’t even have to stop them!
Paleo-Friendly Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Coconut butter (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In sauce pan, bring molasses to a boil, then add maple syrup, coconut oil and coconut milk. Stir mixture until combined, then remove from heat.
- In small bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into wet, and stir until batter is fully blended.
- Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes.
- Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4″ thickness. Cut batter with cookie cutters of choice.
- Bake for 10 minutes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Let cool, decorate as desired with coconut butter, and enjoy.