These are the absolute BEST paleo gingerbread cookies. They are healthy, nut free, grain free, egg free, dairy free and made with tigernut flour. Better yet, the dough doesn't need any chilling and it's easy to roll out.
My very favorite part of the holidays is making paleo cut-out cookies.
It's an activity I've loved since childhood, and now I get to partake in cookie baking and decorating with my children. (They love it too!)
The newest addition to my collection are these healthy paleo gingerbread cookies - or gingerbread men if you prefer to call them that 😉
This nut free gingerbread cookie recipe has many great qualities:
Why You'll Love these Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
- paleo and vegan friendly
- nut free (made with tigernut flour)
- egg free and dairy free (yes, no egg no butter)
- allergy friendly (these gingerbread cookies are perfect for anyone with common allergens)
- lightly sweetened (with coconut sugar and molasses)
- easy to make (no-chill dough)
This is the perfect paleo ginger cookie recipe; one that you can enjoy year after year.
And if you have kids, be sure to let them help. I've made these eggless gingerbread cookies with my kids multiple times and they have a blast cutting out shapes, frosting, decorating and eating them.
Ingredients
These paleo gingerbread men are healthy, flavorful and perfectly spiced. Here's what you need to make them:
- tigernut flour
- tapioca flour
- ground flax
- coconut sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- ground ginger
- nutmeg
- clove
- non-hydrogenated shortening
- molasses
- vanilla extract
I know this seems like a long, intimidating list of ingredients but that's all due to the spices that make up the gingerbread flavor. You can eliminate any you don't have or want to use, or use a spice blend like Primal Palate's gingersnap.
Ingredient Substitutions
Grain Free Flours
This recipe uses a combination of tigernut flour, tapioca flour and ground flax. Almond flour may work as a substitution (measured by weight) for the tigernut flour, but I have not tested this myself.
Not into tigernut flour? I also have a recipe for cassava flour sugar cookies on my blog. This is another nut free Paleo cookie recipe that my family loves. It uses cassava flour and can easily be altered to include gingerbread flavors.
Shortening
I use Nutiva's non-hydrogenated shortening in quite a few of my recipes. It is an excellent Paleo and Vegan butter alternative - dairy free, soy free and unsweetened. This butter alternative contains: organic palm fruit oil, organic unrefined virgin coconut oil and organic unrefined red palm oil.
The best alternatives would be grass fed butter (not Vegan) or a different plant based butter (possibly not Paleo). Coconut oil can work, but from my experience makes the dough harder to work with (roll out and cut) and the cookies are often more crumbly.
Sweeteners
This recipe is sweetened with coconut sugar and molasses. For a lower sugar option, monk fruit sweetener would be a great pick. Also, the molasses may be subbed with any other liquid sweetener (maple syrup or honey would be my top picks).
Spices
Gingerbread recipes typically contain a whole lot of spices or a single spice blend to get that classic gingerbread flavor. My recipe uses cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove (plus molasses and vanilla extract). However, these spices may be substituted with a blend like Gingersnap or Apple Pie Spice.
How to Make Paleo Gingerbread Men
These cookies are super easy and fun to make - a no chill dough that rolls easily and bakes in under 10 minutes. Here's what you need to do:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the Cookie Dough
Next, make the dough.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This includes the tigernut flour, tapioca flour, ground flax, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove.
Then, add in the wet ingredients: shortening, molasses and vanilla. Mix first with a fork or spatula, then use your hands to combine the dough. The dough will appear too dry at first, keep working it with your hands until it comes together. Add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary to moisten the dough.
Cut Out the Cookies
Next, roll the dough into a ball and flatten between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the parchment until it is about ⅛" - ¼" thick.
Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut out the cookie shapes. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake the Cookies
Bake the ginger cookies at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
Cool the Cookies
Lastly, remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Frost the Cookies
In a small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Mix until well combined.
Then, scoop the frosting into a plastic baggie. Make a small hole in the bag by cutting off the corner.
Pipe frosting onto completely cooled tigernut gingerbread cookies.
Storage
These gluten free, vegan gingerbread cookies are best stored in an airtight container or plastic baggie. They can be kept at room temperature, in the fridge or the freezer. Here are my recommended storage times:
- room temperature: 3-4 days
- fridge: 2 weeks
- freezer: 2 months
More Paleo Gingerbread Recipes
- Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles
- Allergy Free Gingerbread Waffles
- Collagen Gingerbread Bites
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
FAQ
Tigernut flour comes from finely ground, peeled tigernuts. Tigernuts are not actually nuts, but small root vegetables. They are naturally sweet and nutty in flavor - perfect for paleo baking!
Additionally, tigernuts contain a lot of fiber, a decent amount of potassium, Vitamin E and iron, as well as resistant starch. This resistant starch has prebiotic properties that helps promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Almond flour will most likely work as a substitute for tigernut flour in this recipe. Just note, I have not tested the swap myself.
I use a non-hydrogenated palm shortening to keep these gingerbread cookies paleo and vegan. I think it works best, however butter can be used if you aren't concerned about the recipe being dairy free.
Healthy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies (with Tigernut Flour)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 dozen mini gingerbread men
Description
Healthy Paleo Gingerbread Cookies made with tigernut flour and perfect for the holidays. Nut free, dairy free, egg free, grain free, Vegan and a no-chill dough.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 cup tigernut flour (105g) spooned & leveled
- ½ cup tapioca flour (66g)
- ¼ cup ground flax (22g)*
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground clove
- ⅓ cup non-hydrogenated shortening**
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- water***
Vanilla Frosting
- ⅓ cup non-hydrogenated shortening
- 3 Tbsp powdered monk fruit sweetener
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: tigernut flour, tapioca flour, ground flax, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove.
- Add in wet ingredients: shortening, molasses and vanilla. Mix first with a fork or spatula, then use your hands to combine the dough. The dough will appear too dry at first, keep working it with your hands until it comes together. Add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary.
- Roll the dough into a ball and flatten between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the parchment until it is about ⅛" - ¼" thick.
- Remove the top layer of parchment paper and cut out cookie shapes. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
For the Frosting
- In a small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Scoop the frosting into a plastic baggie. Make a small hole in the bag by cutting off the corner.
- Pipe frosting onto completely cooled cookies.
Notes
*I use a coffee grinder to grind whole flax seed
**Non hydrogenated shortening (I use Nutiva's) is a great Paleo and Vegan butter alternative. Grass fed butter or a different brand of Vegan butter will work as a replacement. If dough is too dry, add more shortening, one tablespoon at a time.
***Depending on the brand of tigernut flour you use, you may need to add a little water to the dough. If the dough is too dry, add just 1 tablespoon of water and mix. Still too dry, add one more tablespoon. You shouldn't need more than 2.
Erika
I made these in December and am just now posting a comment...but you know...the holidays are busy! These are great. They are easy to make. I was too lazy to make the icing, so I put marmalade on them. This may sound bizarre, but it was so good that I am going to use orange extract in this recipe next year.
Katie
That sounds like a great addition! Thank you for the review - means so much to me 🙂
Reams
hiya, this recipe looks great, but I am sensitive to flax. What could I replace it with? 🙂
Katie
Hi! I've only tested these cookies with flax. Ground chia seed or another egg replacement may work, but I can't be 100% sure.
Kerstin
I just made these gingerbread men cookies for the first time and they turned out perfect !! I used almond flour as a substitute for tigernut. I will definitely be making them again. My kids were excited to help me make them and I love the fact that they are healthy for them 🙂
Katie
How funny - I just made these with my kids today too 🙂 So glad swapping with almond flour worked for you 🙂
Yvonne
Love the recipes but no quantities listed? Just pop up ads. Very frustrating.
Katie
The quantities for each ingredient are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. I'm sorry you don't like the ads, but this is the only way I earn income for all of the work that I do! I try and keep the ads to a minimum, but I want to get paid for all the hard work I do.