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These gingersnap sandwich cookies are filled with almond butter and maple cream! With their small serving size, they’re a deliciously healthy dessert.
When I started reading food blogs (circa 2008), I had no idea there were real people behind them. The idea that everyday people made recipes, took magazine-like photographs of the food and posted these photos online on a regular basis was too much for my brain to handle. Who were these people, and how did they have so much time on their hands? Did they have real jobs? Were they actually robots who were trying to sell you something or steal your soul?
Quite a bit has changed since the early days of food blogs and I think the idea that real people write food blogs is accepted. In truth, there are so many blogs out there that recipes and food images are a dime a dozen. These images have become so commonplace that I think we lose a bit of the story behind each one. Keep reading for the story behind these gingersnap sandwich cookies!
The story behind this sandwich cookies recipe
Because food shots don’t just happen out of nowhere. The story of these gingersnap sandwich cookies goes like this: a family business who makes maple syrup in the Catskills in New York came to Alex and me to create a recipe using their maple cream. Maple cream is maple syrup heated and stirred to produce a pure maple spread. The cream has an intensely concentrated maple flavor, and the jar quickly became a prized possession in our refrigerator.
How do we create recipes here at A Couple Cooks? A little bit of trial and error. Alex and I each brainstormed recipes: Alex said gingersnap sandwich cookie, I said gingerbread pancakes. So we decided to try them both! Alex’s cookies were good, but the amount of maple cream required for a true sandwich was an instant sugar overload. I countered with gingerbread pancakes, slathered in maple cream. Alex felt they were too sugary for breakfast (and I agreed), so we went back to the sandwich cookies idea. This time we paired almond butter with the maple cream for a substantial, salty + sweet bite of natural, nutty goodness. And what followed was magic.
How to make sandwich cookies
These gingersnap sandwich cookies have a wholesome filling of almond butter and pure maple cream. It’s a bite of heaven and the small serving size makes it a relatively healthy dessert. They’re perfect for fall and winter, even as a Christmas cookie! The cookie dough is a standard dough with flour and sugar, made even more gingery with freshly grated ginger. The dough chills for 3 hours, so make sure to factor that into your timing! After chilling, you’ll roll out the dough and need cookie cutters like these, or any small object to cut a 1 1/2″ inch diameter circle. You could also make larger cookies with larger cutters, but keep in mind you may need to increase the baking time a few minutes since the cookies are larger.
For the filling of these sandwich cookies: almond butter and maple cream! For the almond butter, we used our homemade almond butter recipe, which we made without the spices and maple syrup. You can also use purchased almond butter. For the maple cream, the easiest way is to buy some maple cream, or you can make your own.
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes?
Aside from these sandwich cookies, here are a few of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes:
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Peppermint Meringues
- Chai Spiced Snowball Cookies
- Ginger Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- The Best Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
- Cherry Quinoa Chocolate Bark
- Narwhal Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls
- Cranberry Pistachio Chocolate Clusters
- Easy Peppermint Bark
This recipe is…
This sandwich cookies recipe is vegetarian.
Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies
These gingersnap sandwich cookies are filled with almond butter and maple cream! With their small serving size, they’re a deliciously healthy dessert.
- Prep Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 48 sandwiches (96 cookies) 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the mini gingersnap cookies
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
For the sandwich cookies
- ¼ cup maple cream (we used purchased; you also can make it at home)
- ½ cup almond butter, homemade almond butter (without spices and syrup) or purchased
- Special equipment: cookie cutters like these, or any small object to cut a 1 1/2″ inch diameter circle
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups flour, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, and ½ teaspoon baking powder.
- Peel and grate 1 teaspoon fresh ginger.
- With a mixer, beat ½ cup unsalted butter and ½ cup brown sugar until smooth. Add ¼ cup molasses, 1 large egg, and fresh grated ginger and beat until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture, beating until fully mixed.
- Remove the dough and shape into a large ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 3 hours.
- When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. On a floured surface, roll out the dough ⅛” thick. (Flip the dough a few times to keep from sticking.) Cut out 96 1 ½” diameter circles.
- Place the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets (divide between several sheets). Bake each batch for about 8-10 minutes until slightly crisp. Cool on a wire rack.
- When ready to eat, sandwich ½ teaspoon almond butter and ¼ tablespoon maple cream between two cookies. Repeat for 48 sandwiches. Cookies taste best fresh, so if making in advance, bake cookies first then assemble directly prior to serving. If desired, sandwiches keep for a few days in a sealed container.
These look delicious!
I’m from England though and I always have the same two issues trying to bake American recipes: does ‘all-purpose’ mean self-raising or plain flour? I’ve googled it but every website says something different…
And number two, how on earth do you go about measuring butter in cups?
Thanks :)