These zippy ginger molasses crinkle cookies are gluten-free, paleo friendly and filled with holiday spice.
I love the smell of the holidays. We’ve got a few weeks yet to go before the season really gets under way, but I couldn’t resist getting a head start on the festivities with a batch of spicy ginger molasses cookies.
Nothing speaks of holiday cheer like fresh homemade cookies and the sweet, inviting smell that envelopes your home as they come out of the oven. The act of baking is so intimately tied to moments of celebration and joy; the scent of spice, warm and rich, soothes the senses and instantly puts everyone in a cheerful mood. Cookies are certainly the perfume of the holiday season.
With their crackly tops and spicy complex flavor these paleo ginger cookies are high on my list of cold weather favorites.
Soft and chewy thanks to the hint of molasses, they invigorate your palate with a zippy combination of both fresh and dried ginger for a well-rounded, deep spiciness. Pleasantly spicy without being hot, the two layers of ginger create a deeper dimension of heat each building upon the other, quietly supported by the gentle warmth of cinnamon and allspice.
Thankfully they come together in a matter of minutes and are as easy as can be. Just a few minutes of measuring, grating and whisking results in a soft dark dough that’s then scooped by the spoonful onto awaiting baking sheets; puffing up and out as they bake, creating the hallmark cracks of a traditional crinkle cookie but without any gluten or grains.
Time to get baking, the season is nearly here!
More gluten-free holiday cookies:
Chewy Paleo Ginger Cookies
Made with spicy ginger, cinnamon and molasses, these chewy paleo ginger molasses cookies will be a cookie jar favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 cup/256g almond butter (roasted unsalted)
- 3 Tablespoons/45g unsulphured molasses
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root
- ¾ cup/144g coconut sugar
- ¼ cup/30g coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- A pinch of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper . Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or by hand, beat together the almond butter, molasses, eggs and freshly grated ginger until smooth.
- Into a medium bowl, sift together coconut sugar, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper.
- Slowly add the sugar and spice mixture to the almond butter mixture while mixing on low until just combined.
- Drop the dough by the rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until firm around the edges and starting to crack in the center (the cookies will looked slightly puffed but will flatten and crackle more as they cool), about 8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets out of the oven then transfer the parchment paper with the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo Friendly
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 94Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 85mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Katie says
My boyfriend is allergic to almonds so I substituted the almond butter for peanut butter however, it ruined the taste and made them taste like peanut butter cookies. Are there any suggestions to keep the flavour similar?
Sylvie says
I would try something with a milder flavor like cashew butter if he can have cashews. I would say you could also try sunflower seed butter if he can't do that either but it tends to have a strong flavor as well and may change the flavor of the cookies a bit although not as much as peanut butter. Hope that helps!
C.W. says
I'm new to paleo baking and just tried this recipe. I love the flavor and they were so soft, but I was hoping for a little more chewiness. Is there something I may have done wrong (mixed too much or too little?). Would adding coconut oil for some more fat help? Not much, but maybe 2 tbsp? Or increasing the amount of molasses? Or would dropping the temp down to 325 help?
Sylvie says
Adding coconut oil would make them greasy and more likely to spread out so I wouldn't recommend that. I would trying increasing the molasses just a bit instead if yours aren't coming out chewy or maybe trying another brand of almond butter. Hope that helps!
Judy N Green says
I tried these last night,but used Garam Masala instead of allspice.
I just moved and haven't found everything yet. 😮
I made the almond butter fresh in my Vitamix.
The cookies are amazing! So fluffy and chewy.
Even my Carnivore husband loves them.
They will be a staple in our home from now on.
Thanks for sharing.
Sylvie says
Excellent! I'm glad you both enjoyed them.
Lori says
Can't wait to make these today! Any suggestions for high altitude? We are at about 7,000 feet.
Sylvie says
Hi Lori, unfortunately no. I'm not familiar with high altitude baking so I can't offer any advice there.
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home says
Yum! These are in my meal plan this week at The Better Mom. I can't wait to make these. Your photos are breath-taking! Thank you for sharing. I hope my meal plan sends some new friends your way! Blessings, Kelly
Sylvie says
Thanks Kelly!
Brianna says
These cookies are fantastically delicious and chewy! However, I had a hard time getting them off the parchment paper - they REALLY wanted to stick to whatever they were cooked on (tried foil, as well). Any tips for preventing stick? I know I could grease it with butter, but I feel like that defeats the purpose of such relatively healthy cookies...
Sylvie says
Hi Brianna,
I'm glad you liked the cookies! If you let them cool completely on the sheet after they come out of the oven and use a flat spatula to slide under them they should come up pretty easily. They tend to stick if they aren't cooled before you try to move them off the parchment. Hope that helps!
Marla says
These cookies are great! As I was eating them though they reminded me of little debbie oatmeal cream pies. So I made some quick icing and put it between 2 cookies...Oh My Gosh! Yum! For the icing I used 2 T spectrum shortening, 1 T honey, a tiny vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt.
Sylvie says
What a great idea, thanks for sharing it!
Carmen says
I tried these using ENER G Egg Replacers.... they did not turn out, they were very flat. It's so difficult to find vegan gluten free baking recipes. Thank you for the GF option 🙂 I will continue to try
Sylvie says
Yes unfortunately eggs can be hard to replace in baking recipes, I'd maybe try substituting a "chia seed egg" but I haven't tried it myself so I can't guarantee that it will work either.
Sara says
These are AMAZING! I made them with pumpkin seed butter and Stevia in the Raw instead of coconut sugar! HOLY! DELICIOUS!! Thank you! They are a hit with everyone who tries them!
heather says
my mom and i made these over the weekend for the holidays and they were so delicious! we used sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter and they came out great - thanks so much for the recipe!