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Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies (Paleo)

Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies that are grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and paleo. A healthier holiday cookie recipe, these gluten free gingerbread cookies are warmly-spiced and chewy.

Gingerbread cookies on a white plate with a teal napkin.

I made these almond flour gingerbread cookies for the first time way back in 2013. I have enjoyed them so much throughout the years that this is one of the cookie recipes I return to every holiday season.

Easy to prepare with basic, healthy ingredients, this simple cookie recipe couldn’t be any easier. 

Because the recipe is flourless, dairy-free, and doesn’t contain a lot of excess sugar, it doesn’t taste just like classic gingerbread cookies, but it has its own benefits.

Let’s talk about texture.

These paleo gingerbread cookies have a nice little crunch on the outside and are soft on the inside. The warming spices and molasses infuse them with gingerbread flavor.

This recipe makes a small batch of cookies, so double the recipe if you want leftovers.

If you do oats and you love oatmeal cookies, also try my Chewy Oatmeal Ginger Molasses Cookies

Paleo Gingerbread Cookies on a white plate with a teal napkin and a glass of almond milk to the side

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for these chewy gluten free gingerbread cookies.

Ingredients for Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies:

Almond Flour: The key ingredient. Taking the place of regular all-purpose flour, we’re using almond flour to make these delicious paleo gingerbread cookies.

I use Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour, not to be confused with almond meal. I recommend sticking with a fine grind for the best results. Note that varying brands of almond flour have slightly different absorbencies so you may need to adjust the amount of flour.

Tapioca Flour: A little tapioca flour adds some softness to the cookies so that they have a less grainy texture. 

Baking Powder: Used as the leavening agent, baking powder prevents the cookies from spreading too much during the baking process.

Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, Fresh Ginger: The gingerbread spices that indicate to our tastebuds we’re enjoying a gingerbread cookie. I like using fresh ginger but ground ginger works just as well here. 

Unsulphered Molasses and Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the cookies, we use unsulphered blackstrap molasses which brings that iconic gingerbread man flavor. Because molasses isn’t very sweet on its own and can sometimes taste overpowering, we also use pure maple syrup.

Coconut Oil: Melted coconut oil brings all of the ingredients together and adds richness (fat) to the cookies. You can use melted butter instead if you’d like. I don’t recommend using another oil like olive oil or avocado oil.

Recipe Adaptations:

  • Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of coconut sugar for sweeter cookies.
  • If you would rather use ground ginger instead of fresh ginger, use 2 teaspoons.
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you have it on hand.

Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients for grain-free gingerbread cookies, let’s make them.

How to Make Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies:

Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and cloves to a large large bowl and stir until the dry ingredients are combined. If you’d like, you can use a hand mixer to mix the cookie dough, but I use a fork. 

Add the remaining wet ingredients (fresh grated ginger, molasses and melted coconut oil) and mix very well until a thick and sticky dough comes together.

If the dough seems overly oily, add a little more almond flour.

If the dough seems too dry, add more melted coconut oil or some pure maple syrup until the dough presses together easily.

You want it to be easy to mold but not overly greasy and not crumbly.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Form the dough into discs or cookie shapes out of the chilled dough. These almond flour cookies will remain the same shape and size throughout the baking process.

Bake for 9 to 14 minutes or until browned around the edges. Bake 9 minutes for chewy soft cookies and 12-14 minutes for snappy cookies. Smaller cookies will require less baking time.

Allow cookies to cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet and enjoying.

White plate of gluten free gingerbread cookies made with almond flour. Fresh out of the oven and ready to eat.

Do note that if you try moving the cookies before they have cooled completely, they may crumble. The cookies are delicate while they are warm and as they cool they become sturdier. For this reason, avoid the temptation to move them or eat them before they have finished cooling. 

Store cookies in an airtight container or a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze gingerbread cookies for up to 3 months.

White plate of paleo gingerbread cookies, ready to eat.

Grain free paleo gingerbread cookies are so easy to make and are even healthy for you! 

Only a handful of ingredients are needed for these refined sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free holiday treats!

This easy recipe for vegan gingerbread cookies is designed for drop cookies but it can also be used to make gingerbread men or gingerbread houses. Simply freeze the dough for 30 minutes, then roll it out using a rolling pin and use a gingerbread cookie cutter or other cookie shapes to cur the gingerbread cookie dough.

If you’re taking the cookie cutout approach, I recommend doubling the gingerbread cookies recipe.

If you’re looking for more holiday treats, I recommend my vegan eggnog, and eggnog bread with boozy maple glaze .

On the prowl for more Christmas cookies? Here are some of my favorite cookie recipes.

More Christmas Cookies:

Healthy gingerbread cookies, here we come!

White plate of gluten free gingerbread cookies made with almond flour. Fresh out of the oven and ready to eat.

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

Grain-Free Gingerbread Cookies are a fun and festive healthier holiday treat! Dairy-free, paleo, and delicious!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
12 Cookies

Equipment

  • baking sheet

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add the almond flour, spices, baking powder and sea salt to a large mixing bowl and mix well to combine the dry ingredients.
  • Pour in the pure maple syrup, molasses and melted coconut oil and mix well until a thick, sticky dough forms. Note: if you have a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, feel free to use it here.
  • Use a spoon to scoop out mounds of cookie dough. Form the dough into cookie shapes (they will bake to the same size and shape you form them into) and place them on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for 9 to 14 minutes or until browned around the edges (bake 9 for chewier soft cookies and 12-14 for snappy cookies).
  • Allow cookies to cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet and enjoying.

Notes

If you don’t have nutmeg and cloves on hand, you can omit them and use 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
To make cutout gingerbread men, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the freezer. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and use gingerbread men cookie cutters or other cookie shapes to make cutouts. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 10Calories: 163kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 3gFat: 13gFiber: 1gSugar: 5g
Course: Desserts & Treats
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dairy free, gingerbread cookies, gluten free, grain free
Servings: 12 Cookies
Calories: 163kcal
Author: Julia

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

I originally shared this recipe on December 23, 2013. I updated the information and made a couple miner changes to the recipe to make it even better.

Recipe Rating




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Patricia Rubanoff

Monday 25th of April 2022

For the ginger cookies, could you use millet flour?

Julia

Monday 25th of April 2022

Hi Patricia! I'm not sure, as I don't have any experience with millet flour. It may be worth googling a recipe for gingerbread cookies using millet flour just to be sure all of the measurements are accurate. :) xoxo

Brandy shannon

Friday 2nd of July 2021

Can powdered ginger be used instead of fresh and if so how much?

Julia

Tuesday 6th of July 2021

Hi Brandy! I've never tried the recipe with ground ginger, but I would start with a little less than 1 teaspoon (about 3/4 teaspoon) and go from there. When I google it, I'm getting mixed results of fresh to ground replacement amounts - I've seen anywhere between 1/8 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons for replacing 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger. I'm sorry this isn't more helpful! The next time I make the cookies, I'll use ground ginger so I can leave a note in the recipe card for that replacement. xoxoxo

Aubs

Sunday 6th of December 2015

Hello, can you use brown rice flour in place of almond flour/meal?

Thanks!

Arabella

Wednesday 21st of October 2015

I just made these cookies this morning. They were very easy to make and delicious! The smell coming out of the oven was divine.

After mixing them up, the batter was crumbly and didn't stick together, so I added one egg, which did the trick. I also added about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to bring out all the wonderful fall flavors. I pinched off very small balls of dough and rolled them in my hands and then gently pressed the backs of them with my palm to make a bunch of mini cookies instead of 6 large ones. YUM!

Betse

Tuesday 13th of October 2015

Can I swap out the almond flour for coconut flour?

Julia

Wednesday 14th of October 2015

Hi Betse, coconut flour absorbs much more liquid than almond flour, so you'd need to adjust the liquid portions in the recipe as well. Probably the easiest thing to do would be to find a gingersnap/gingerbread cookie that calls for coconut flour :) Hope that helps!

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