The Wholesome Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
There's something magical about the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven during the festive season! I'm passionate about creating Christmas treats that don't compromise on flavour while still nourishing our bodies. These gingerbread cookies are everything you love about the classic recipe, but made with wholesome ingredients that actually fuel you rather than leave you feeling sluggish.
The best part? They taste just like traditional gingerbread - warm, spicy, and perfectly festive. Your family won't even realise they're enjoying a healthier version, they'll just be reaching for seconds!
A bit of education about the ingredients in these cookies:
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - Unlike processed white flour, this provides more fibre, B vitamins, and minerals while still creating tender, delicious cookies. It's made from soft white wheat for a lighter taste.
Coconut Oil - Provides healthy fats and creates that perfect cookie texture without dairy.
Coconut Sugar - A less refined sugar that contains trace minerals and has a lower glycaemic index than white sugar, helping maintain steadier energy levels.
Molasses - This natural sweetener is surprisingly nutritious! It's rich in potassium, iron, vitamin B6, calcium, and magnesium. Choose light molasses for milder flavour or blackstrap for intense, rich flavour and maximum nutrients.
Warming Spices - Ginger, cinnamon, and cloves aren't just delicious - they have anti-inflammatory properties and support digestion.
No refined white flour or white sugar - These cookies use wholesome alternatives that actually provide nutrients to your body!
You can also make this gluten-free - Several readers have had success using 1:1 gluten-free flour blends. Just be sure to measure carefully!
CLEAN INGREDIENTS (Choose organic when possible)
For the Cookies:
– 345g whole wheat pastry flour (spooned and levelled), plus extra for rolling – 2 teaspoons ground ginger
– 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
– 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
– 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
– 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
– 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
– 125ml melted coconut oil
– 125ml unsulphured molasses (light for milder flavour, blackstrap for intense spice)
– 110g packed coconut sugar
– 1 large free-range egg
– Icing sugar for dusting (optional)
For Lemon Icing (Optional):
– 60g icing sugar
– 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
– 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice
METHOD
Prep your kitchen - Preheat oven to 180°C with racks in the middle and upper third. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Mix your dry ingredients - In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, pepper, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder. Whisk until well blended.
Create the wet mixture - In a small bowl, combine coconut oil and molasses, whisking until smooth. Add coconut sugar and whisk until blended. (If sugar won't incorporate, warm mixture for 20 seconds in microwave or on stove). Add egg and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Bring it together - Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. The dough will come together beautifully! Divide dough in half and shape each into a 2.5cm thick disc.
Roll and cut - Lightly flour your work surface and roll out one disc until 6mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes and place on prepared trays, leaving 1cm space between each. Gather scraps, re-roll, and repeat until all dough is used.
Bake to perfection - Place trays in oven (one middle, one upper rack). Bake for 8-11 minutes: 8 minutes for softer cookies, 11 minutes for crispy ones. They'll firm up as they cool. Let cool on trays.
Decorate - Wait until completely cool before icing or dusting with icing sugar. For icing: whisk icing sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth. Transfer to a small zip-lock bag, snip tiny corner, and pipe designs onto cookies.
PRO TIPS
No chilling needed! This dough is ready to roll immediately
Dough handles like Play-Doh - super easy to work with
Spoon and level flour for accurate measurement
Light molasses = milder flavour (great for kids)
Blackstrap molasses = intense spice and maximum nutrition
Store cookies up to 1 week in an airtight container
Perfect for gingerbread houses too!
DECORATING IDEAS
Lemon icing (recipe above)
Dust with icing sugar for a snow effect
Drizzle with melted dark chocolate
Sprinkle with raw sugar before baking for sparkle
Traditional royal icing for a firm finish
VARIATIONS
Vegan: Use a flax egg (readers report great success!)
Less spicy: Use light molasses and reduce spices by half
Extra festive: Add orange zest to the dough
Gluten-free: Try 1:1 gluten-free flour blend
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per cookie, makes approximately 32)
Energy: 90 kcal
Protein: 1.5 g
Carbs: 13 g
Fat: 3.5 g
Fibre: 1 g
