These paleo, vegan and AIP gingerbread cut out cookies are deliciously crispy. With traditional flavor from molasses and spices, these cookies are the perfect treat for the holidays.
This grain free, refined sugar free gingerbread cut out cookie recipe is easy to make. Perfect for holiday baking with kids!
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Spicy treats like Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf and Paleo Pumpkin Muffins are perfect for the holidays. But these adorable gingerbread cut out cookies made with tigernut flour are another favorite.
Personally, I like to make cut out cookies of any kind of shape (stars, moons, clouds, snowmen, Christmas trees...). Not just gingerbread men. But that's a personal choice. You can do whatever you want! The icing is also totally optional.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- Those incredibly easy to make gingerbread cookies are great to bake with kids.
- These gingerbread cookies are crispy.
- They make a delicious Christmas treat or homemade gift.
- These cookies are so tasty and crispy that nobody will notice they are paleo, vegan, AIP compliant, coconut free and cassava free.
📖 Ingredient notes
For the cookies
- Tigernut flour. There are no possible substitutions for this particular recipe. If you don't know what is tigernut flour and want to learn all about it, you can read The complete guide to tigernut flour.
- Arrowroot. Arrowroot is a starch. See below for substitutions.
For quantities and a complete list of ingredients for these crispy gingerbread cut out cookies, please see the recipe below.
For the icing (optional)
If you want to decorate your cookies you can :
- use coconut butter
- or, if you are coconut free, you can use a vanilla frosting
💭 Substitutions
- Arrowroot substitutions. If you are not cassava intolerant, you can substitute it with tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). If you are not on AIP nor Paleo diets: you can use potato starch or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
- Spices. This recipe has been created to be suitable for people on the autoimmune paleo diet which doesn't allow all spices. Although I am not an AIPer myself I love this recipe the way it is. But if you are not on an AIP diet feel free to use a gingerbread spice blend of your choice. Also, feel free to adjust the spice quantities to your own taste and omit one of them if you are intolerant.
🥣Step by step instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (tigernut flour, arrowroot, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt)
- In a separate bowl combine all the liquid ingredients (blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, olive oil, water, lemon juice and vanilla extract).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon to form a ball of dough.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and transfer the ball of dough on it. Flatten it slightly with your hands and put a second parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll out the dough to 3/16 inches (5 mm) between the 2 parchment papers, using a rolling pin.
- Cutout your cookies into any shape you like.
- Use a cake server or spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once the baking sheet is full (I got about 20 small cookies per pan), bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
- While your first batch is cooking, re-roll the dough and start over until there isn't any dough left.
- Once all the cookies are cooked, allow them to cool down completely before eating or decorating.
👩🏻🍳Top tips
- Baking time is 10-15 minutes. Most of the time I bake them for 12 minutes but I always start checking a little earlier just to be sure they are not burning. From one oven to another baking time will vary. So make sure to keep an eye on your gingerbread cookies once they hit 10 minutes in the oven.
- If you don't have a cookie cutter, you can use a knife to cut your cookies in any shape you like. You can cut the shapes in a parchment paper and then use them as a pattern.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
I have a nut allergy, can I make these gingerbread cut out cookies?
Tigernut is not a nut. So if you have a nut allergy, you're good to go!
How to store these gingerbread cookies?
Those gingerbread cookies will last 2-3 days stored in a cookie container at room temperature. They are a great option for make-ahead cookies for parties!
🍪Other recipes you might like
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📋 Recipe / Recette
Crispy Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies (paleo, vegan, AIP)
No need for you to miss out on holiday treats with this easy recipe.
Ingredients
For the cookies :
- 180 grams (1.5 cups + 1 Tablespoon) tigernut flour (no substitutions)
- 140 grams (½ cup + ⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon) arrowroot (see notes below for substitutions)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 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
For the optional icing :
- coconut butter barely warm
For an optional coconut free icing :
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360°F (180°C)
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (tigernut flour, arrowroot, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt)
- In a separate bowl combine all the liquid ingredients (blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, olive oil, water, lemon juice and vanilla extract).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon to form a ball of dough.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and transfer the ball of dough on it. Flatten it slightly with your hands and put a second parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll out the dough to 3/16 inches (5 mm) between the 2 parchment papers, using a rolling pin.
- Cut out your cookies into any shape you like.
- Use a cake server or spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once the baking sheet is full (I got 20 small cookies per pan), bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. (I usually bake it for 12 minutes but I always start checking a little earlier just to be sure).
- While your first batch is cooking, re-roll the dough and start over until there isn't any dough left.
- Once all the cookies are cooked, allow them to cool down completely before eating or decorating.
Optional:
- If you want, you can decorate the cookies. For that, you can either spread the icing on using a knife or pipe it on with a piping bag. Chill until frosting is set. Voilà! Bon appétit!
Notes
Although I spend quite a lot of time converting all my recipes to cups (yes, manually, in my kitchen!) I highly recommend using a scale and measuring for weight rather than using cups. The reason for this is, apart from the whole debate on accuracy, the density of certain gluten free flours and starches differ a lot from one brand to another. Also keep in mind that all cups are not the same size all around the world which makes another good reason to use a scale so you won’t get this issue.
If you are not cassava intolerant, you can use tapioca flour instead of arrowroot. Both are AIP compliant. If you are not on the AIP diet you can use potato or corn starch instead of arrowroot.
You can of course adapt spice quantities according to your own taste.
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is calculated using a nutrition facts calculator. It is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used. Please note that the nutrition facts don't take into account the optional icing.
Nutrition facts per serving
Calories: 57kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 28mgPotassium: 13mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
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Katie S.
This is one of the best Paleo cookie recipes I have tried. The dough is easy to work with, and the finished cookies aren't too delicate. The flavor was great, and the texture was just right. Very impressed, thank you!
Bea C.
Bonjour Katie. Wow! Thank you so much for your amazing comment!! What a perfect Christmas gift for me to hear that you love this recipe! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Karina
Can you do only vanilla cookies omitting cinnamon and clove .
Bea C.
Bonjour Karina. I haven't tried that but technically speaking, yes you could omit cinnamon and clove. Maybe add a little more vanilla extract in order to really taste it.
Graciela
Hola Bea!!! melaza negra no tengo porque en mi país Argentina solo se consigue para uso de jardinería y no hay una apta para consumo humano ¿podré reemplazarla con néctar de coco? Gracias. 😘
Bea C.
Hola Graciela. Pues, el problema es que la melaza es pegajoso, asi permite obtener la textura final de los cookies. Si use otra cosa, va a perder eso y la masa de cookies no va a mantenerse de la misma manera. Por eso, lo siento pero no le aconsejo utilisar otra cosa. Pero dime si lo hace a pesar de todo.😘
Graciela
Hola Bea!!! Las hice con néctar de coco y quedaron muy bien;ya que es pegajoso.
Básicamente es como una especie de miel,es la "miel" de los veganos,gracias por responder y por tus recetas que nos salvan🤗
Bea C.
Hola Graciela. Muchas gracias por tu mensaje que me alegra!!❤️ Tambien gracias por la informacion que esta receta funciona tambien con nectar de coco. Un abrazo!