Big soft and chewy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies that you won’t be able to stop eating! No one will know these delicious ginger cookies are Paleo. Perfect for a healthy Christmas/winter holiday cookie!
With Thanksgiving finally behind me (felt like I prepped since August!) I’m saying BYE BYE to pumpkin and HELLO to a whole lot of cookies. In fact, beginning today I’m bombarding you with at least 3 Paleo cookie recipes – please consider this your warning. But don’t be scared – be exited!
I know – you’re still working on Thanksgiving leftovers – I am too. BUT! December begins in a hot minute and it’s time to bake cookies. Warm, chewy, soft sweet cookies. I’m pretty happy about it if you couldn’t tell, since baking cookies is far easier than baking pies!
To be totally honest I only break out the molasses this time of year – no matter how much I’m reminded that I LOVE it once I use it – it just doesn’t feel right after the holidays are over. Big, soft and chewy ginger cookies have always been my favorite – way better than crunchy ginger snaps or plain sugar cookies in my opinion!
Prior to Paleo, my favorite ginger cookie recipe came from Allrecipes. I remember years ago when my girls were 3 and 22 months, we made these cookies on the floor of our kitchen because they wanted to help me roll the cookie dough in sugar. Even back then, Emily was a total sugar monster and had that job completely owned at not-even-2-years-old. We’ve graduated to sitting on chairs now, and, of course a healthier, grain free and Paleo version that’s seriously tasty and very addicting!
Last year, I made similar Paleo ginger molasses cookies, but, I wanted to see if I could get these cookies to be even bigger and chewier, because who doesn’t love a challenge like that? I’m constantly trying to improve my cookie recipes by tweaking little things – and not complaining at all about getting to eat all my experiments.
The combination of an egg + egg yolk instead of 2 eggs, no stir almond butter (which I find lends to chewier Paleo cookies in general) and the right combo of molasses/coconut sugar makes these cookies extra special in my opinion. You also get enough dough to make a dozen BIG cookies, which obviously is essential if you want to put BIG in your title. Which I do. Big cookies are better cookies, always.
Lastly, since we use only coconut flour, you’ll need to be careful to measure precisely and then allow the dough to sit and chill after mixing, since coconut flour is dense, expands a whole lot and needs some time to “set”.
Also, you can definitely adjust the spices a bit to suit your preference – I added a whole tsp of ground ginger which added a decent amount of “spice” so feel free to experiment to suit your taste. Other than that? I KNOW you’re going to love these cookies! Let’s start baking!
Big & Chewy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Big & Chewy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 egg PLUS
- 1 egg-yolk
- 2/3 cup smooth almond butter stirred prior to adding
- 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil solid but softened
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup organic coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- Extra coconut sugar for sprinkling - optional
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
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In a large bowl, whisk (or use an electric mixer to combine) the egg, egg yolk, almond butter and coconut oil until smooth. Add the molasses, coconut sugar, and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth.
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In a separate bowl, combine the coconut flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until fully combined - the dough will be sticky. Chill dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes until it thickens and can be easily scooped.
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Use a cookie scoop or rounded spoon to scoop the dough in heaping tbsps on the parchment paper, then gently flatten and sprinkle with coconut sugar if desired.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until tops crack, don't overbake - cookies will become firmer and chewier as they cool. Cool completely on wire racks and enjoy!
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Chewy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Want more Paleo cookie recipes? Try one of these!
Big Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies
Paleo Gingerbread Cookies on the Web:
Soft and Chewy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Paleo Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Tell Me!
What’s your all time favorite holiday cookie?
Were you ever an Allrecipes junkie like me?
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i think I will always answer any favorite cookie question with chocolate chip even though they have nothing to do with the holidays!
Haha yeah they really are good anytime!
BIG and chewy? That all sounds like a really good idea. It is true that I don’t really use molasses except for the month of Christmas. <3
It’s perfect this time of year and just feels right!
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to be attending a healthy collie exchange party soon and this recipe sounds great to try out. A couple of questions…Can I use regular molasses instead of Blackstrap molasses?
What is the difference between the two?
Thank you
To sum up, blackstrap is more concentrated, has a richer but less sweet flavor and is healthier generally. I’m linking to a general article outlining the differences if you want more info: http://www.livestrong.com/article/507716-what-is-the-difference-between-blackstrap-molasses-unsulphured-molasses/ – I would recommend blackstrap but if you can’t get it, go for unsulphured and perhaps keep in mind the same measurement will be sweeter, so reducing the coconut sugar might be necessary. Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Thank you for the reply! So glad I found your website. I look forward to trying to new recipes! Happy holidays!
Silly auto correct. …it should say ” Cookie exchange” Lol
I’m still finalising my baking list for Christmas but these look so good! I’ve never tried making gingerbread cookies before. Fingers crossed it won’t be a disaster!
– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com
I’m sure it won’t be – let me know how it goes!
Can salted almond butter be used, or would the cookies be too salty? I buy salted almond butter for eating but will buy some unsalted for this recipe if you think the salted would negatively affect the taste.
I don’t think I’ve used salted almond butter for baking but I imagine it would change the taste at least a bit depending on the amount needed for the recipe. If you plan to bake with it on a semi regular basis, I’d say get some unsalted for that purpose.
Definitely going to be making these! Chewy, molasses rich, spicy ginger cookies have always been a favorite, but I love this healthier and less guilty version!
I think you’ll love them!
I would never complain about cookie experiments either, not when you get to eat the attempts.
My Hubby loves ginger in cookies so these are right up his alley.
These cookies sound fantastic! Is there anything you can suggest as a substitute for the coconut sugard?
Thanks
Brown sugar would work although it’s refined. I haven’t tried these with a liquid sweetener so I’m not sure how it would turn out, if I were to try I’d use honey.
would the usual oily almond butter work if you mix it well?
Yup, as long as it’s creamy after you mix it it should work well 🙂
Wow! The big and chewy gingerbread cookies are absolutely perfect! I inhaled three of them before I even took a breath. Am sharing with my GF DF friends so they, too, can enjoy gingerbread for the holidays. Thank you for your great recipes!
Haha that’s awesome! I’m so thrilled you liked them and hopefully your friends do too!
How do you think this recipe would work with gingerbread men cookie cutters? It seems like a sticky dough, so I can’t tell if it would roll out.
I think the dough would be too sticky…however if it’s chilled longer it might work if you use two pieces of parchment paper, not sure!
Okay, thank you for the reply!
Please let us know how it goes. The kids are requesting to make gingerbread cookies and I’m hoping to use this recipe 🙂
I will! Chances are we won’t get around to making them until the 23rd or the 24th, but I’ll update you regardless!
Sarah – I made the gingerbread men yesterday and they turned out so well! I have a blog of my own and you can see the alterations I made and the tips I have at this address: http://mysweetpotatolife.wixsite.com/blog/single-post/2016/12/23/Christmas-Cookie-Roundup
I hope you have time to make them, or you can enjoy them next year.
Michelle – Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s amazing; these taste just like the ones I remember!
Wow Brynn those looked awesome! Maybe next year for us 🙂
Hi there! I’m planning on making these for a party, but would love to save a few for Christmas too. Do you think these would freeze well?
Sorry just seeing this now! I haven’t tried but I’m not sure they’d hold up. They’re easy enough to make last minute though.
Could I use almond flour instead of almond butter in this? That’s all I have on hand. Thanks!
I’m going through a bunch of your recipes and saw these beauties. Glad to know they worked out as gingerbread men as an option and thought they could also be great as a pie crust for Pumpkin pie! Regardless, I can’t wait to try these out. I just love your blog!
Is there a way to make these with an alternative sweetener other than coconut sugar? Possibly honey or maple syrup?
I haven’t tried it with all liquid sweetener so I think the dry ingredients would need to be tweaked just a bit. if you want to try maple, I’d add 3 Tbsp instead of the full 1/4 cup and increase the coconut flour by 2 tsp. This is a total guess based on how I might test it myself, so I can’t promise the outcome. You also might need to chill for a bit longer before baking since the dough will be stickier.
Delicious! These are great. Definitely adding to my roster of Christmas cookies! My husband likes them a little sweeter, so I may increase the coconut sugar a little bit next time. I love the texture!
SO glad you enjoyed these!
Do you think Sunflower Butter would be an acceptable sub for the Almond Butter? College kid allergic to nuts coming home for Christmas…..
Yes that would be fine! Just a note – sunflower butter can turn baked goods green when it interacts with baking soda in the oven. Not harmful at all, just a quirk, and it might not be as noticeable since these are darker in color 🙂
Thanks Michele!
Made these with sunflower butter, they turned out horrible. I don’t think the oil is right to substitute. I have made many batches of other GF cookies with almond butter that turned out fab, so when I tried the sunflower recipe I was truly Disappointed. I will review when I follow the recipe using almond butter. Oh and yes they were green!
So I am crazy…I like my gingerbread cookies barely sweet and SUPER spicy….so I tried this with only the molasses and left out the coconut sugar (without doubling the molasses or adding honey or something like that). And, I put > a tsp of ground ginger, plus about a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, and a bit of black pepper! So tasty! It may have been leaving out the coconut sugar, but mine came out super fluffy! So delicious! I like this better than my old GF (but not grain free) recipe…but I may try chilling the dough overnight to see if the coconut flour texture is less noticeable (for the skeptics – I don’t care at all!)
So happy you enjoyed it! I’m curious to see how your version tasted 🙂
These are amazing!
Made some for Xmas and hubby begged for more so I shall make another batch ???
That’s amazing! So happy they worked out for you guys 🙂
Excited because I make molasses cookies every year, but we are eating much cleaner this year, plus we have a constant issue with severe food allergies, so it would be great to find a recipe we can ALL eat. That being said, we have peanut, tree nut, and seed allergies in the family. I know it won’t be paleo anymore, but how do you think Wowbutter would do (soy “butter”) in this recipe? I’m going to try!!!
Could I use peanut butter instead of almond butter? It’s all I have available to me at the moment..
Yes, that will work well for texture but will change the flavor.
These were perfect – good flavor, and nice and soft. Perfect for the fall! Will make again.
Hi there!
My start up is already thinking about the holidays (so we can make sure we have a lot of great content in time for December) and I wanted to see if you would be comfortable with us sharing your recipe on a blog post. We provide education for individuals who have chronic conditions and benefit from avoiding inflammatory foods in their diets and I think these cookies are a perfect alternative!
Made these yesterday, they are perfect. So soft and yummy. I think I will increase the ginger, don’t quite have enough ginger taste for my tastebuds. Thanks for all your recipes, I come here often.
Sounds great, I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
These look amazing!!! Do you have a suggestion for an egg replacement? My son is allergic to eggs and I am breastfeeding, so neither of us can have eggs right now, but I really want these cookies!
These cookies are so good! Just the right amount of chewy and taste so good. My kids love them too–other gingerbread cookie recipes I’ve tried have been too strong for them so these are perfect for kids. Really easy to make as well. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made these and they flattened out to fill the tray! Did I overmix? Would leaving the dough in the cold help? I’m in Aus and it is so hot at Christmas that the dough was going gooey as I put it on the tray, so would I need to wait until it’s nearly solid before scooping it?
Is there anyway to swap the coconut flour (allergies) for another paleo flour? Thank you!
I made these cookies for my paleo boyfriend. He LOVES soft gingerbread cookies. They were AMAZING!!!! He asked that I don’t give them away to coworkers because he wants to eat them all. HAHA!! I used Justins Cinnamon Almond Butter and they made the cookies extra delicious.
Nice spicy deliciousness! Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for another keeper.
My egg, egg yolk, almond butter & coconut oil would not mix smooth, no matter how long I whipped it. I wasted almond butter and my time on this.
Amazing!! I made this and I loved it so much!