*These Old-fashioned Gingerbread Cookies are dairy free, refined sugar free, gluten free, paleo, raw-friendly, and vegan.
No Christmas season is complete without a batch of gingerbread cookies. A clean diet is no barrier to these classic spice-packed cookies. I found a recipe for them that is not perfectly delicious, crispy, and chewy, but is also packed with nutrients and can even be made as a raw cookie, if you so desire.
This recipe comes from a recently released book written by two of the most amazing women I know (Annie Miller and Amy Choate), called ‘Naked Nutrition’. I received the book just before the Holiday season hit and the first recipe I tried was for these gingerbread cookies.
I absolutely fell in love with them. They use the very best of ingredients and have a perfectly crispy exterior while the inside of the cookies remain soft and chewy. You can make them crispy all the way through, if you like, but I like them baked for about 9 minutes. That, for me, is perfection.
I’ve made these both baked and raw and I have to say that both methods are equally good. As are all the recipes in the book that I have tried so far. There is even a recipe for a dairy and refined sugar free frosting to frost these babies with in the book as well.
This book is filled with loads of great recipes for plant-based, whole food dishes, snacks, drinks, and treats. For those of you who have been curious about steering your diet in a cleaner, more health-conscious direction, this book makes an excellent starting point. It can be overwhelming to realize that the way you eat needs a major overhaul. This book is filled with so many tips and ideas, it will make it all seem so much more simple.
In fact, the reason that I love this book so much is that it’s not just recipes. It has pages full of instruction for ingredient switch-outs (think: honey & maple syrup instead of sugar, substitutions for flours, eggs, dyes, etc.) . It gives pantry suggestions for a nutritious kitchen, and it contains pages of information regarding health and nutrition, in general. This book really is just the place to start if you are wanting to learn more about nutrition-based cooking.
Since this is something that I believe in wholeheartedly, I wanted to share a few copies with you as a thank you this Christmas season for following along with my journey and recipes! Without all of you, there would be no purpose for this blog in the first place. Thanks to every one of you for making this a place that I can post the things that I am passionate about! I am so grateful for you!
I am giving away 5 copies of this inspired book to all who enter this giveaway. If you are interested in purchasing the book (hello, perfect Christmas gifts!), you can find Naked Nutrition on Amazon:
Annie and Amy have a blog on the way that you can visit at nakednutrion.life which is sure to be packed with information and more recipes to come.
To enter, follow the instructions:
- ⅓ cup Dates, pits removed
- ½ cup Raisins (or dates, if you don't have raisins)
- 1½ cups raw almonds (or use almond flour if you like, to save a step)
- 1½ cups Shredded Coconut (unsweetened and finely shredded)
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger (I used one teaspoon as I like them on the mild side)
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon Lucuma Powder (I did not have this and they turned out fine)
- 2 teaspoons Blackstrap Molasses (un-sulfured)
- ¼ cup Honey or Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- With "s" blade, process the almonds with the coconut. Process until mixture is a rough flour consistency. This can also be done in a blender.
- If you use almond flour, add the almond flour and shredded coconut to the food processor. Drain dates and raisins, if soaked, and add them to the food processor along with the coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, lucuma powder, molasses, sweetener of choice, and vanilla.
- Process until all ingredients are well incorporated and a relatively smooth dough forms.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to a thickness of ¼". Freeze dough for 10 minutes or until firm (this will make the dough easy to cut shapes out of).
- Remove dough from the freezer and cut out shapes.
- For raw cookies, dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12-16 hours, or until desired crispness is achieved.
- To bake cookies, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes for softer cookies and 12-15 minutes for hard cookies.
