Saturday 8 December 2018

Healthier gingerbread cookies


Throughout this first week of December, I couldn't resist doing some more Christmas baking, and so I attempted a healthier version of gingerbread cookies. I was hoping to make these into gingerbread men, but couldn't find a gingerbread man cutter at the shops (and I'm sure my knife cutting skills wouldn't produce anything that resembled the shape of a gingerbread man). So instead, I just used a standard cookie cutter that I already had lying around at home to make these gingerbread cookies.

The recipe is based on one from Niomi Smart's blog, however I've substituted a few ingredients based on what I had in the pantry. Instead of using white flour, white sugar or butter, this recipe includes spelt flour, coconut sugar, maple syrup and coconut oil to add a bit more healthiness to the festive season.

You'll need:

  • 2 cups of spelt flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup of coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup of maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup of milk of your choice
  • 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
  • 1/2 cup of icing sugar
  • 1 egg white

1. Mix the spelt flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and coconut sugar together in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, milk and golden syrup until smooth.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until you get a ball of dough, then wrap in the fridge (in cling film or reusable wrap) and leave for an hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius, then roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1cm thick.

5. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough and place each piece on a tray lined with baking paper.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then allow to cool completely.

7.  Beat the egg white in a bowl (with electric beaters) until whipped, then slowly add in the icing sugar until smooth and glossy.

8. Place the icing into a piping bag (or sandwich bag with the end snipped off) and decorate the cookies as you like.

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