Grain Free christmas Gingerbread Cookies

This is our third year in a row making these cookies throughout the winter/Christmas season. My kids absolutely love them, and if I’m being honest I have a hard time controlling myself so they don’t last long around here! They are naturally sweetened with molasses and maple syrup, and are free of all the allergens. Tigernut flour offers an array of health benefits such as healthy pre-biotics for the gut as well as fiber and minerals. It is rich in iron, magnesium, potassium and vitamin E. Pair that with the molasses and you have yourself a gut healthy, iron rich delicious treat!

My absolute favorite Tigernut flour is found on Thrive. (use this link and receive 40% your first order). I also have used this one on Amazon. The Tigernut flour on Thrive is much less clumpy and has a better consistency overall but they both work!

I found this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Go Healthy with Bae, and have pretty much stuck to her recipe without making many changes. I have it linked above but will also write it out here with my notes. These cookies are fragile to work with so I find it works best to transfer them to the baking sheet while in the cookie cutter and gently popping them out onto the sheet. They become more sturdy once baked.

These are not overly sweet, and offer such a warm comforting taste of wintry spices. They pair perfectly with a warm cup of coffee, an after meal treat, and if you’d like to sweeten them up a bit some frosting would be a perfect touch. (use this link)

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 1.5 cups + 1 tablespoon (180 grams) tigernut flour (no swaps)

• ½ cup + ⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon (140 grams) arrowroot powder *(see notes for alternatives)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• A pinch of sea salt

• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons water

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 360°F (180°C).

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the tigernut flour, arrowroot, and spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger), along with the baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl, stir the molasses, maple syrup, olive oil, water, lemon juice, and vanilla until well blended.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until it forms a cohesive dough. If its too dry and crumbly I add a little molasses or water to get it to stick a bit more.

5. Flatten the dough slightly on parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment, and roll out to about 5 mm (3/16 inch) thickness.

6. Use cookie cutters to shape the dough into your desired designs, then carefully transfer the cutouts onto a lined baking tray with a spatula.

7. Bake the cookies for 10–15 minutes, checking around 10 minutes to avoid overbaking. (12 minutes works well for me.)

8. While the first batch bakes, gather the remaining dough, roll it out again, and repeat until all the dough is used.

9. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating or serving.

Notes:

*tapioca flour, potato starch or cornstarch can be used in place of the arrowroot flour.