Ginger Cookies
In a break from all inauguration news all the time, I present you with these chewy, yet crispy ginger cookies!
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground ginger
½ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup yacon syrup
½ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and ginger
- In a medium bowl, combine grapeseed oil, yacon, agave and lemon zest
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes, until tops start to crack
- Cool and serve
This recipe is based on Heidi's "Triple Ginger Cookies" from 101Cookbooks. I've made them gluten-free, dairy-free and turned them into "single ginger cookies" as well. Basically, I'm just too impatient to use three types of ginger. Though I bet Heidi's cookies are every bit as amazing as they look in her photograph and well worth the effort.
Update: In response to many of the comments I've received thus far, I haven't tried making these without yacon, though feel free to experiment; just be sure to stop back here and let us know how your version turns out :-) I use the yacon in place of molasses (it's a pre-biotic that aids in digestion). Yacon gives these cookies their dark, rich flavor.
Per the questions regarding the type of ginger called for in this recipe, I use dried ground ginger, the kind you can purchase in a bottle at the supermarket in the spice section.
Posted on January 20, 2009 in desserts by Elana
other entries you may like: Many Hands Make Gingerbread
or Chocolate Chip Cookies with Yacon
or Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies
subscribe to my site feed get recipes by email
print this post
email to a friend
33 comments
33 comments 
leave a comment
Before you leave a comment...
"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
mmmmm!!! Yay for ginger cookies! And egg-free too! My almond flour came just in time :-)
Thank you for not talking about the inauguration- I've had enough for today.
Nothing against eggs by the way, I would actually love to eat them, but they're on my list. Thank you Elana for this delicious recipe! I'm sure your cookies are usually gobbled up within a day or so, but generally, how long do almond flour cookies keep? Should they be stored in the fridge?
Have a wonderful day! I am looking forward to later this week when I will have some time to devote several hours in my kitchen to almond flour experimentation!
Chewy cookies are always a winner with me!! Yum!!
These look pretty tempting...I love ginger!
I'm not familiar with yacon syrup though I heard about it.
If I were to use maple syrup instead of agave and yacon, do you think I should keep the same amount of sweetener?
Thanks ;).
mmm, these look so good! did you use fresh ground or spice cabinet ginger? i might just have to make them. i love ginger!
These look delicious. I love a chewy cookie, and dairy-free...even better!
Can i use maple or some other sweetener in place of the yacon? Do you think preschoolers might like these or do they have that gingery bite?
Hi Elana,
I have never used yacon syrup before, but it looks very interesting. I am a big fan of agave but I will have to order some yacon the next time I want to make some cookies.
Thanks so much for your yummy recipes. I made your orange chocolate truffles, which I ended up making orange-free because I am not a big fan of orange and was in the middle of a big chocolate craving. They hit the spot, thanks so much.
sarah
I have a great great love for ginger and these look amazing! After seeing the picture, I had my fingers crossed that they were vegan as well as gluten free and they are! Is yacon syrup sold in any stores that you know of or is there an adequate replacement for it? I just cannot wait to make these guys!
I love ginger!!
Thanks Elana, I will make these very soon!
We have been watching the inauguration here as well. Obama said some very good things when it comes to foreign politics. With a divided Europe, the American president has a lot of responsibility in the world. To me it seems he is very aware of that and will do his best to unite and bring peace. I was touched by his words and said to my friend that it feels like he is our president too... Congratulations!
Beautiful cookies! I am a huge fan of any good ginger cookie. I had never heard of yacons or yacon syrup before, but I see it's another "pomme de terre" per the description ... and a lower glycemic one at that. Neat.
Do you use the Silpat liners, Elena?
Thanks,
Shirley
Just wondering if you could use all agave nectar? I haven't used yacon (hadn't even heard of it till I googled it!) I imagine the flavor won't be as rich, but is the consistency the same for baking?
Saw these on Tastespotting. These look perfect. Mr. Cakespy just adores ginger cookies, so I think I've got to try these out!
I made these ginger cookies last night with molasses instead of the yacon syrup and thought they turned out fantastic.
I made them to be triple ginger cookies and they were amazing! Chewy for sure! :) Thank You!!
Emily -You're welcome! That's so great that you received your almond flour. My cookies usually last for up to a week uncovered on a plate on the counter (if my husband doesn't eat them first). I don't store them in the fridge.
VeggieGirl -Oh, these are very chewy (yet crispy). Thanks!
Alchemille -I'm not sure what the result would be if you tried maple syrup. Feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it turns out.
Stephanie -I use dried ground ginger. I updated the post in response to your comment.
Hayley -Thank you!
beth -Per your comment (and others), I have updated the post to answer your questions. Don't think they are too gingery. So I would say, yes they are a good treat for preschoolers.
Sarah -I'm glad you enjoyed the
OrangeChocolate Truffles. Thanks for your comment :-)Lizzie -Thanks! I buy my yacon online; feel free to experiment with replacements for it. I haven't tried a substitution, if you find one that works, please let us know.
Christianne -You're welcome. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Yes, after 8 years of Bush we are all coming together again. Hopefully Obama will undo some of the damage and do some good in the world.
Shirley -That's OK, don't worry about it :-)
Nancy -You could experiment and try agave nectar, though I haven't done so myself. I've updated the post to explain a bit more as to why I used yacon syrup in this recipe.
Cakespy -Thanks! Hope you like them!
Courtney -Thanks for letting us know. It seems a lot of people were curious about that substitution!
Lisa -Awesome! So glad it worked! Thanks for you comment :-)
Thank you Elana for all your inspiration. This recipe is delicious. I was able to make it SCD legal with a couple of substitutions.
In place of the Yacon syrup, I used 3 large Medjoul dates and replaced the agave with the same amount of honey. The rest of the ingredients and amounts remained the same. Just don't over mix the batter or the oil will separate from it.
Merci!!!
Bonnie,
You are very welcome! Glad it was easy to convert to SCD and thanks for the report.
Elana
Thank you for the recipe. These are delicious! But, I did have issues, even though i followed the recipe exactly I my batter was very thin and my cookies ended up thin like pancakes, huge and running into each other. Once I added more almond flour they were just fine.
DON'T double the recipe. Making it for Passover in Jerusalem. No baking soda but I think the real issue was too much oil too nuts - too rich and runny. Scraped the batter up and am redoing it in a pan as a bar with some stabilizing ingredients. Tasted good. Shame for such expensive ingredients to go to waste.
Hi Elena,
I had the too much oil issue too. Perhaps you might want to check that. I posted my experience here:
http://alteredplates.blogspot.com/
Valen -What kind of almond flour are you using? That could be why they turned out runny. It was great that you added more almond flour! Glad they ultimately worked.
Beth -Sorry to hear that they did not turn out; again, I would ask what kind of almond flour you are using and also suggest that you pack the almond flour in a bit when measuring it.
Deb -Thanks so much for posting an altered version of this recipe on your blog. As I mention in my faq's, this recipe does NOT work with unblanched almond flour. Thanks for the attempt though!
Hi...I, too, found them flat and runny. I made it exactly as printed, blanched almond flour, yacon syrup, etc. Found them very oily, as well...too much oil residue.
This recipe looks delicious and I'm going to have to try it, though it isn't exactly what I was looking for. Do you have any ideas about modifying this to make gingerbread cookies? (The kind you decorate, and might build into a house). Thank you for your yummy recipes and your insights.
Elana....I have been gluten free for 4 weeks and your recipes have been inspiring me. I can't wait to get the cookbook. I tried these last night but substituted lemon flavored olive oil for the grape seed oil. I also ran half an organic apple and half organic carrot through my chopper and mixed it in with the wet ingredients. Delicious.
I am allergic to all nuts and I am wondering if there are some other gluten free flours that could be used instead in your recipes.
I made these tonight, though I used the Honeyville brand of blanched almond flour I had to add about a cup and a half extra and they still came out rather flat. Not sure what I might be doing wrong?
However, they tasted wonderful-and as I had made some of the coconut frosting for a carrot cake, I put a little on top of one of the spread out and flat cookies, sprinkled a little chopped candied ginger on top and rolled it up into a tube-it was absolutely delicious!
I am curious if others have been able to make these with the above recipe and not have them spread out so thin?
Thanks so much for your amazing blog! I love each and every recipe I've tried so far!
Just wanted to let you know what alterations I did with this recipe.
I used almond meal for the almond flour, and then added 1/4 c coconut flour. For the oil I used warm coconut oil, then honey for the agave, and molasses for the yacon syrup. Also, fresh ginger, and grated lime.
They turned out awesome!
Thanks again for printing this recipe, as it's my favorite Christmas cookie!
I just made these cookies and they are delicious! I used coconut oil for the grapeseed oil (don't keep it in the house) and unblanched almond flour since that was all I had and they turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
I used olive oil for the oil and orange zest for the lemon zest.
SOOOO good. the orange is amazing!
i ate most of them when they were still warm and not quite firm because they were so good.
The ginger cookies (I used Yacon Syrup and agave ) spread all over the parchment paper on the cookie sheet and made one huge flat cookie. I ended up cutting the huge cookie into squares and eating them that way. They were very good but although I followed the recipe and they spread all over. Does altitude make a difference? We are at 4979 which is lower than Boulder, CO so I figured the recipe was adjusted for altitude. I'm thinking next time I might roll them into a log like for the pecan shortbread, freezing the log, and cutting them just before cooking.
what brand of almond flour did you use? was it blanched?
Hi Elana, I was making these cookies today and left the yacon syrup out. The cookies came out pretty good, but if you are not using the yacon syrup, then you need to let the cookies cool off for like 25 minutes after you bake them. I love this recipe. Thank you so much.
can you use butter instead of grapeseed oil or coconut oil if so how much is the ratio difference? also I love the Butter cookie recipe maybe I will try to combine the two. I'm very excited to try Yacon syrup.