‘Tis the season to eat Christmas cookies, fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la!!!
My favorite kind of cookies? Gingerbread. Specifically, these gingerbread cookies. They are so good, my brother came into my room about fifty times after I made them, to ask me if he could have one more!
Guys, these gingerbread men are the real deal. I mean, reeeeeally real-deal. And though the icing is “not-healthy”-tasting, it’s actually healthy! And these cookies. Oh my goodness. They are crispy around the edges, and soft and chewy on the inside; just like a gingerbread man should be! The nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger spices give these cookies a warm and cozy flavor.
If you aren’t convinced to make them yet, listen to this: the cookies are so fun to decorate! The icing is really easy to work with, so the decorating options are endless! It is a really fun holiday activity for the whole family to do together. I hope you enjoy these delightful treats! Have a great day, everybody 😉
Gingerbread Men Cookies
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
Description
Dairy-free, paleo
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 Tbs coconut sugar
- ¼ cup sustainable organic palm shortening*
- 1 large egg, at room temp
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot flour
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
For the icing
- ¼ cup melted coconut butter/manna
- ¼ cup hot (almost boiling!) water
- 5 Tbs organic powdered sugar**
- 1 Tbs coconut flour
Instructions
For the cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350° F large chopping block with parchment paper. Have a cookie sheet on hand, too.
- Using a food processor, pulse together the molasses, coconut sugar and shortening. Blend in the egg and pulse until smooth. Blend in all the other ingredients. Pulse until a big dough ball forms.
- Place the dough ball on a piece of plastic wrap, and cover it. Form the dough into a disk, and place in freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Unwrap the dough and place it on the parchment-lined chopping block. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until the dough is ¼-inch thick.
- Using your favorite cookie cutter(s), cut out shapes from the dough. Gently peel away the excess dough from around the shapes and form it into its own ball, to be used momentarily.
- Transfer the sheet of parchment (with the cut-out shapes on it) onto the cookie sheet. Make sure they’re all at least 1/2 inch apart. Place in the oven, and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Once the cookies have cooled for a few minutes on the sheet, slide the parchment onto a cooling rack.
- Repeat steps 4-7 with the rest of the dough, until it is all used up! Make sure to cool the cookies before frosting.
For the icing
- Place all the icing ingredients in a small bowl, and stir until very smooth. You can add a dash more water if you wish to, depending on the consistency you’re going for. Make sure to let the icing cool before frosting the cookies.
- Spoon the icing into a plastic baggie, and snip the very corner off the bag. Have fun frosting the cookies!
- To create the faces with chocolate, simply melt some dark chocolate and using a toothpick, add little dollops to the men for eyes. To make the mouth, spread a little chocolate in a mouth shape.
- Enjoy with friends and family!
Notes
- *If you are not dairy-free, you can sub butter here!
- **I know powdered sugar is not paleo-friendly, because it has refined sugar. For a paleo option, use this fantastic recipe from my friends over at Primal Palate. Link below this! Just keep in mind it will make your icing a bit darker in color.
Grain-free powdered sugar recipe
