This week is my birthday week. Yes, I indulge myself all week. Although I have stuck to my gluten free, Plant Paradox/Keto/Paleo/intermittent fasting diet for over a year (and lost ten pounds!), today I had a craving for ginger cookies and came up with this recipe. Gluten free, Paleo and Keto friendly, and while I am writing, I cannot stop eating them!! Recipe follows:
The Recipe:
Step One:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (yes rule breaker!)
Put these into a stand mixer and beat until fluffy.
Step Two:
Mix together:
1.5 cup fine almond flour
2 T. cacao powder ~heaping (I use TJ’s organic, fair trade)
2 t. ground ginger ~ heaping
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
Step Three:
Dissolve 1 t. baking soda in 1.5 t. boiling water (set aside)
Measure out 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
With a fork, beat one large egg in a small bowl
Optional: Add 7 oz. of dark chocolate chips to the batter and/or 1/4 cup chopped crystalized ginger
Assembly:
When butter and sugar are fluffy, add the dry ingredients from Step Two.
With mixer on low, combine.
Add Step Three and mix everything well.
Remember almond flour contains no gluten, so thorough mixing does not toughen the dough.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
While dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 325F. (I don’t use convection for these.)
When dough is chilled, line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
Using a scoop form the dough balls. (I used a large spoon and balls were too large).
I think a 1″ scoop or teaspoon would be perfect.
Drop each ball into a bowl of Turbinado sugar and swirl to coat (optional).
Place each ball on cookie sheet, leaving at least 2.5″ apart. (six balls per sheet)
Pop the sheet into the oven and bake 12-15 minutes. Check them at 12 minutes. They will be very puffed at this point. I baked these the full 16 minutes, but be warned, this dough will not tolerate overbaking! Scorched cacao and molasses are NOT good. So bake accordingly to your oven.
Remove the baked cookies and cool sheet pan 5 minutes on a rack.
At this point, if any cookie edges are bumping, just take a sharp paring knife and cut at the seam.
Continue to cool, then after 5 minutes, place cookies on the rack to cool completely.
Once completely cool, store cookies in an airtight tin container and keep in the fridge.
Confession: I could not resist eating four of these after the 5 minute cooling period. Now I sit writing with a very full cookie belly. Things could be much worse. After all, this is my week to spoil myself.
Next Day: These wafers, when stored in the fridge in a tin, are extra delicious and crispy. Smeared with fresh mascarpone they are extra yummy! Two smaller wafers could sandwich the mascarpone “filling” and would be so pretty at parties!
Warm cookies could be cut with a shaped cutter for “pretty” shapes. And if the sugar is too much of a shock for Keto-ers, hold off on rolling the dough in the crystals before baking. Keep in mind too, that this recipe is my birthday splurge. We cannot be good all the time, yes?
Happy spring to all who live in this hemisphere. Those down under are readying for seasonal change.
I am so happy to report that our Congress is voting to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. Mr. Biden, please sign the bill. Turning clocks back and forth has never been fun, and apparently the time change negatively affects humans. The birds never care.
Stay safe my followers and do let me know if you try this recipe.
PS: Do you know the difference between cacao and cocoa powders?
Copyright 2022 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved.
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