In a break from all inauguration news all the time, I present you with these chewy, yet crispy ginger cookies!
Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- ½ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ¼ cup yacon syrup
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and ginger
- In a medium bowl, combine grapeseed oil, yacon, agave and lemon zest
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes, until tops start to crack
- Cool and serve
This recipe is based on Heidi’s “Triple Ginger Cookies” from 101Cookbooks. I’ve made them gluten-free, dairy-free and turned them into “single ginger cookies” as well. Basically, I’m just too impatient to use three types of ginger. Though I bet Heidi’s cookies are every bit as amazing as they look in her photograph and well worth the effort.
You could also call these gluten-free gingersnaps.
Update: In response to many of the comments I’ve received thus far, I haven’t tried making these without yacon, though feel free to experiment; just be sure to stop back here and let us know how your version turns out :-) I use the yacon in place of molasses (it’s a pre-biotic that aids in digestion). Yacon gives these cookies their dark, rich flavor.
Per the questions regarding the type of ginger called for in this recipe, I use dried ground ginger, the kind you can purchase in a bottle at the supermarket in the spice section.
mariska says
Thank you for this great recipe!
I used xylitol (4 tbsp) instead of yacon and agave (can’t eat fruits or honey at the moment so xylitol is a great substitute). Because of this I had less liquid in there, so I put in an egg. I had to cook them quite a bit longer, they were in there for almost 20 min, but they turned out super yummie!
Thanks
Susan says
I just tried making these ginger cookies for the first time, but I altered the spices to match a cookie recipe I have always loved. Lots of spices in these, but they are yummy!
I left out the lemon zest and kept the 2 Tablespoons of ground ginger, but I also added 2 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon of ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. I also used a gluten free molasses that I had on hand instead of yacon syrup.
I pressed them fairly flat and sprinkled with demarara raw sugar crystals before baking.
It is hard to tell the difference between these and my old recipe which uses regular flour, sugar and eggs.
Thanks for the recipe, Elena……now I am able to keep a holiday favorite going!
Susan
Sarah says
just took these out of the over! Great. My husband and four year old son and I love them. I subbed yacon with blackstrap molasses and the agave with maple syrup. They didn’t crack on top like elana’s but they are delicious and as they cool are getting crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I love that these are egg free and are my new substitute for ginger snaps (which i love!)
Thanks elana!
Babs says
Elana-
What are your thoughts on using maple syrup instead of yacon and cutting the agave? I follow paleo and wanted to know what you thought about the sub. Thank you!
Heather
don honor says
What can OI use to substitute Almond Flour
I am going to try to use flour and Almond extract, and regular flour
donhonor@yahoo.com
Thank you, D Honor
Scarlet says
I baked these about 11 min. (once they started to crack at the top). Once cool, these are very mushy and oily on the bottom? The batter was delicious but im wondering if it is perhaps too much oil?
elana says
Hi Scarlet,
It sounds as though it could be an almond flour issue –some brands are very wet and oily and I do not recommend those. What brand of almond flour were you using.
Elana
Brandae says
I’m so excited to try these once they come out of the oven! I didn’t have enough ginger so got creative, and the batter is amazingly delicious! I added cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and a bunch of pureed pumpkin to the yacon, agave, and coconut oil (reduced the oil since I added pumpkin and people above had commented their cookies turned out too oily). I didn’t have any lemon zest.
Even though the recipe is substantially different from the original, I’m very appreciative for your website, Elana. I have about 17 known food allergies (I stopped testing after I got that long list) so I really have a lot of gratitude for your recipes because they give me a great base to work from when I bake.
Thank you!
Brandae
steff (steffsays) says
i featured these gems on my blog today! i made them for my birthday and they were fabulous. in needed to bake them quite a bit longer than you did but that’s likely because i made them quite large cookies. i also substituted molasses for the yacon. the ginger flavor was amazing, and they got rave reviews from all who tried them. thanks for being so inspirational!!
Becky D says
I made these tonight with several changes. LOVED them! I’ve been experimenting with molasses cookie recipes all week – and with some changes, my husband declared these the very best of the bunch!
I substituted 2 teas. ground ginger, and 2 teas. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend for the 2 Tbls. of ginger.
I subbed 3 Tbls. blackstrap molasses for the yacon syrup
I subbed melted butter for the grapeseed oil
I omitted the lemon zest, because the cinnamon blend I used has orange zest in it.
I used a 2 Tbls. cookie scoop and used a scant scoop for each cookie, and baked them at 350 for 12 minutes. Perfect amount of spice, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Wonderful with a glass of whole cream-line milk. Even the 6 yr. old gave them two thumbs up!
amanda A says
I am so ready to make these they sound so delicious. thanks becky d for posting your results makes and easier recipe for me. :)haven’t had great look with making GF baked goods. hope this one turns out.
colormeknights says
can you use butter instead of grapeseed oil or coconut oil if so how much is the ratio difference? also I love the Butter cookie recipe maybe I will try to combine the two. I’m very excited to try Yacon syrup.
Becky D says
I subbed melted butter in a 1:1 ratio to the grapeseed oil. They turned out beautifully!