’Tis the season for holiday cookies! Have you started holiday baking yet? I haven’t. It is hard to believe Christmas is just nine days away! What is your favorite holiday cookie? Do you make more than one variety?
Our favorites are Spritz Cookies, Gingersnaps, and Thumbprint Cookies. Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flour is a great substitute for regular flour. Check out this recipe for an old classic.
Gluten-Free Vegan Quinoa Gingerbread Men
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Ancient Harvest quinoa flour, plus additional for rolling
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup firm coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 2 ½ tablespoons warm water
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- Optional: powdered sugar, icing, or decorations of choice
Instructions:
1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.2. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, molasses, and coconut oil and beat on a low with a mixer to thoroughly blend. Beat in (flax) egg and almond butter.3. Gradually add flour to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Press into a ball, cover, and chill dough for at least one hour or overnight.4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully roll out dough on a floured surface to approximately ¼ inch thickness, generously sprinkling the top of the dough with flour before rolling.6. Carefully cut the dough into desired shapes. Use a spatula to lift shapes and place them on a baking sheet one-inch apart.7. Next, use a lightly floured spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a baking sheet, working quickly. Leave 2 inches for spreading.8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they appear only slightly browned on the edges. Let cool and decorate.
Servings: 15
Ready in: 30 Minutes
I made these today and they turned out so great! Of note, I realized after already starting that I didn’t have almond butter so I used peanut butter. These cookies absolutely had a different flavor than I was expecting — peanut butter gingerbread — but they were so delicious and I’m really pleased with them. I was in a hurry so instead of rolling out the dough and using a cookie cutter I simply rolled the dough into balls, dredged the balls in evaporated cane juice (just sugar), and squished them to about 1 cm thick on the cookie sheet. I brought them to a gathering where a bunch of non-vegan, gluten-tolerant people all thought they were super delish! They loved the texture and flavor. I’ll make them again for sure, and I’m so excited about the texture that I’m thinking I’ll toy with variations on the recipe… perhaps subbing molasses for maple syrup and making a little thumbprint cookie with some jam in the middle?
Thank you for the recipe. I’m really excited about it. Be well.