Soft Gingerbread Cookies

These soft gingerbread cookies use almond butter to replace most of the butter, wheat flour for a few extra nutrients, and applesauce to keep them soft.

Here it is: a recipe that’s been years in the making. Each holiday season, Alex and I try to create “healthier” takes on our favorite cookies, and gingerbread men have been on our list for at least four years, mainly because of nostalgia.

Growing up outside of Minneapolis, my family used to take my sister and me to a Dayton’s holiday display at Christmas, a life-sized department store window display filled with animated characters from stories like Pinocchio or the Velveteen Rabbit. We would wait for hours to walk through, my sister and I waiting in expectation for the end so we could have huge, soft gingerbread cookies.

How to make soft gingerbread cookies

Ever since then I’ve been on a quest for perfect soft gingerbread cookies: spicy, soft, and gooey. And I think (*hope*) we’ve finally got it! Since our recipes focus on healthy eating, we’ve also tried to keep these cookies a bit healthier than the standard: we’ve used almond butter to replace most of the butter, and thrown in some wheat flour a few extra nutrients. A bit of apple sauce helps keep them soft. And this gingerbread cookie recipe is finished with turbinado sugar instead of icing, which is a more “natural” sugar (plus it’s much easier than icing!).

We’ve found throughout the years that healthy cookies are, well, just not that good. Healthy cookies taste weird and leave you wanting someting more. But “healthier” cookies—like these soft gingerbread cookie recipe—while they’re not quite as healthy, they’re completely delicious and satisfying.

Tips for making “healthier” Christmas cookies

• Cookies do need fat, typically butter, to create that cookie-like texture. Omitting or replacing all the fat (with a substitute like apple sauce) usually lends for a cake-like texture, which is not altogether satisfying for a cookie. A good alternative is almond butter, which we’ve used in these gingerbread men: it’s a natural fat with plenty of nutrients and protein. We combined it with a small amount of butter, as well as a bit of applesauce to keep the cookies soft and moist, but not too much to become cake-y.
• Cookies do need sugar, either refined or natural. We love cooking with natural sugars like honey or maple syrup, but have found they change the taste of a cookie more than sugar. For this cookie, we used a combination of brown sugar and molasses, with turbinado sugar (a less processed sugar) as the garnish. Medjool dates can also be used to add natural sweetness (like in our healthy buckeyes), but we find dates work best in no-bake cookies, not baked goods.
• Baked cookies generally need a flour-like substance. Fat, sugar, and flour are generally frowned upon in the health food world, but if you want to make cookies, you’ve generally got to incorporate these ingredients. Alternatives include flourless cookies and using substitutes like oat flour. For these gingerbread cookies, we’ve used all-purpose flour with a bit of wheat flour for flavor and a small amount of health benefits. We’ve found that replacing white flour with up to 1/4 wheat flour in baked goods works well, but adding more than 1/4 wheat flour results in a dense, tough texture.
• Make smaller portion sizes. We love to make mini-desserts; they’re not only cute, but give you less of everything while still feeling satisfied.

Looking for healthy cookie recipes?

Now, for some healthy cookie ideas! We’ve also teamed up with our friend Ashley over at Edible Perspective, who is a healthier cookie aficionado like ourselves. Here are a few of our combined ideas from our blogs:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeyes – A Couple Cooks (gf / vegan)
• Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Clusters – A Couple Cooks (gf / vegan)
• Mint Chocolate Brownie Bites – A Couple Cooks (gf / vegan)
• Gingerbread Dough Truffles – A Couple Cooks (gf / vegan)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios – Edible Perspective (gf)
• Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies – Edible Perspective (gf)
• 1-Bowl Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Edible Perspective (gf/vegan)
• 1-Bowl Soft-Batch Pumpkin Spice Cookies – Edible Perspective (gf/vegan)
• Chocolate Dipped Buckeyes – Edible Perspective (gf/vegan)
• 1-Bowl Lemon Cornbread Cookies – Edible Perspective (gf/vegan)
• Soft Gingerbread Cookies
• Peppermint Meringues
• Chai Spiced Snowball Cookies
• Cherry Quinoa Chocolate Bark
• Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies
• Cranberry Pistachio Chocolate Clusters
• Easy Peppermint Bark

This recipe is…

This soft gingerbread cookies are vegetarian.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: a Couple Cooks
• Prep Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
• Yield: 25 to 35 1x

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Description

These soft gingerbread cookies use almond butter to replace most of the butter, wheat flour for a few extra nutrients, and applesauce to keep them soft.

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Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ cup almond butter
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup wheat flour
• Turbinado sugar (for garnish)

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, add 1 egg, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup almond butter, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 2 tablespoons applesauce; vigorously whisk to thoroughly combine.
2. To the wet ingredients, stir in 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons allspice, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, and ½ cup wheat flour until well combined. Turn out onto plastic wrap and form into a rough ball; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Flour a flat surface and a rolling pin, then roll out the dough ¼-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread men, about 25-35 total. Place gingerbread men on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake about 8 minutes, until puffed and slightly firmed. Let rest on the pan for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store covered at room temperature for several days or freeze for several months.

• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: soft gingerbread cookies

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About the Authors

Sonja Overhiser

Cookbook Author and writer

Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.

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Alex Overhiser

Cookbook Author and photographer

Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.

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