Why Make Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies?
If you’re gluten free, dairy free, or grain free, you already know how difficult it is can be to enjoy your holiday favorites. We want to make it a bit easier for you! We’ve turned a winter staple of gingerbread cookies into something that anybody avoiding gluten, dairy, OR grains can partake in! And they’re so delicious that you won’t feel like you’re missing out!
We use almond flour in this recipe instead of wheat flour. It’s a great source of protein, unsaturated fats, and fiber, meaning these cookies even have a little health boost. The almond flour is combined with ginger, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt, butter, an egg, water, and honey, rounding out the ingredients with a fairly classic list. To make these dairy free, you will need dairy free butter, but you can use regular butter if you aren’t dairy free!
Similar to traditional cookies, the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are first combined in separate bowls. Then, the dry is poured into the wet ingredients bowl and they are combined. The dough is shaped into balls, rolled in sugar, and baked at 350°F for ten minutes before they’re cooled.
Like most cookies, these should be cooled completely and then stored in an airtight container.
Other recipes you’ll love:
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies (grain free, dairy free)
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups almond flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup sugar of choice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 7 tbsp butter softened; vegan/plant based if dairy free
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 1/2 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp sugar of choice
Instructions
- Mix together almond flour, ginger, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix butter, egg, water, and honey.
- Stir the dry mixture into the bowl containing the wet mixture. Don't over mix.
- Shape the dough into balls and roll them in sugar.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Benefits of Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
One of our favorite Christmas memories is making gingerbread cookies with the family. Unfortunately, some of our health conditions can no longer allow us to eat some of our favorite foods and that takes a way so much more than just food – it takes away memories. Reunite with your favorite Christmas cookie with this gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipe.
We learned above that almond flour is a great substitute for wheat flour, and a big benefit is it’s actually higher in protein as well as monounsaturated fats. Almond flour is a great source of fiber as well, which normalizes bowel movements and helps maintain gut health. High fiber diets have been shown to increase fullness and help you stay full longer which long term can help lower cholesterol levels, control blood sugar, and aid in weight loss goals. Vitamin E, found in high amounts in almond flour, is an antioxidant which can reduce the aging process of cells and repair the years of damage done to cells in the body. These health benefits may result in preventing heart disease, immune function, improve eye health, and lower the risk of cancers. Almond flour is also a great source of manganese which has shown to improve bone health, reduce disease risk and inflammation, as well as aid in blood sugar control.
Do I need to make gluten free desserts?
Gluten-free and grain-free desserts no longer reserved for people with celiac disease or leaky gut. This recipe is packed full of nutrients that are great for everyone, not just in the treatment of conditions or prevention of diseases progression, but also in health maintenance.
It’s also important to note that gluten free is a very popular diet right now, and not necessarily for good reasons. Many people believe they need to go gluten free in the name of “health.” Or that gluten free foods are naturally healthier. This is not the case. If you don’t have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, there really isn’t a medical need to go gluten free.
However, we love trying new foods and experimenting with variety, so even if you do not need to be gluten free, it can be fun to try a different recipe. Or maybe you are working on blood sugar control and baking with almond flour helps with your blood sugar. We hope you enjoy the recipe, but don’t feel like you need to make these because they are “healthier.” Healthy looks different for everyone!
Want to learn more about baking with almond flour? Join our nutrition intern, Amaris Galik, as she walks you through the recipe!
Please note:
Nutrition info is an estimate and may contain errors.
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Kathleen Tabb is a registered dietitian based in Maryland. She specializes in digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and has extensive training through her master’s degree in integrative and functional nutrition. She is passionate about looking at her clients holistically to illuminate the root cause of their concerns in order to improve health and quality of life
