These soft and chewy gluten free gingerbread cookies are easy to make, healthy, and absolutely delicious. They only take 5 minutes to prepare and are completely gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. These cookies are wonderful for the holidays and all year long, too!
Why are these gluten free gingerbread cookies amazing?
What do you have to look forward to with this cookie recipe?
Well, the gingerbread cookies are soft and chewy on the inside, while remaining crunchy on the outside! 🙂
The raw cashew flour base makes for the most warm and buttery flavors to shine through so beautifully.
In addition, these cookies are:
- Gluten free
- Grain free
- Refined sugar free
- Dairy free
- Full of warm spices and goodness
- Taste delicious straight from the freezer
- Perfect for year round baking but in particular, during the holidays!
Do gluten free cookies take longer to bake?
I would be bold and say quite the contrary.
These cookies finish up in the oven in just 12 minutes!
I discovered the magic of using raw cashews as the base for everything from loaves & muffins to brownie & bars. They are so versatile and their powers lie far beyond the vegan cheesecake realm.
This time of the year is just the best. It doesn’t really drop below 60 degrees here in Southern California until the late hours of the evening and wee early hours of the morning.
Since we live in the desert, it hits 30-40 degrees then, but it is so damn warm during the day. I have no problem spending every single day baking during the months of November, December and January.
This year, this especially rings true. I’ve been running on a creative streak, and I cannot wait to share more holiday baking recipes with you (raw cashew flour based, especially!)
That being said, I was super excited to jump into the kitchen to make these gluten free gingerbread cookies.
What ingredients will you need to make gluten free gingerbread cookies?
I love all of the warm spices I've incorporated into the recipe.
I don't recommend skipping any of them as it's really the combination of the four (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg) that make for the most insane flavor.
The warm, sweet, and somewhat smoky flavor coming from the molasses is a perfect mashup for those buttery raw cashews.
Are gingerbread cookies supposed to be hard?
Traditional gingerbread cookies and gingerbread men are generally very hard and crunchy.
However, I decided to make my own rendition. I prefer all of my cookies to be a combination of both hard/crunchy and soft/chewy.
If you'd like a bit harder of a bite, I recommend storing them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You can alternatively store them in the freezer in an airtight container for a few months.
You'll be able to eat them straight out of the freezer, but they will definitely be more hard.
How to make gluten free gingerbread cookies
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, make the cashew flour. Pulse raw cashews, a few seconds at a time, until they resemble a coarse flour. You don’t want any visible chunks of cashews. This should take about 1 minute.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix cashew flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, spices and salt together. In another mixing bowl, mix together palm shortening, maple syrup, cashew butter, molasses, egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until smooth. The dough will be very sticky and that's okay!
Using a greased cookie scoop, place cookie balls on prepared baking sheets. Space cookie dough balls about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 12 minutes.
They will be soft once you take them out of the oven. However, they will firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking tray for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
How do you make gluten free cookies moist?
The moisture in these cookies is made possible thanks to the lovely palm shortening, cashew butter, and raw cashews.
I absolutely love using creamy nut butter in cookie recipes, and I do it often.
I'd recommend finding the creamiest one you can. Not all nut butters are created equal, I'll tell you that! 😉
However, you can absolutely use a creamy almond butter or peanut butter in place of cashew butter if you cannot find one.
More gluten free cookie recipes you'll love:
Soft and Gooey Chocolate Tahini Cookies
Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 3 1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons organic palm shortening
- 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, make the cashew flour. Pulse raw cashews, a few seconds at a time, until they resemble a coarse flour. You don’t want any visible chunks of cashews. This should take about 1 minute.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix cashew flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, spices and salt together. In another mixing bowl, mix together palm shortening, maple syrup, cashew butter, molasses, egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until smooth. The dough will be very sticky and that's okay!
- Using a greased cookie scoop, place cookie balls on prepared baking sheets. Space cookie dough balls about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 12 minutes.
- They will be soft once you take them out of the oven. However, they will firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking tray for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! I’m Monica – recipe developer, matcha addict and lover of all things chocolate, kombucha and any & all puns. I am also the blogger, real food lover, & bonafide hustler behind the blog ‘The Movement Menu.’ I’m so excited to welcome you to my happy space, where my appreciation of creative recipes and healthy & mindful eats come together to inspire you to live a healthy, balanced life.
just made... delish trish!!! TYTYTYTYTY
Aw- thank you. The raw cashew base is the bomb, no? I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
These look wonderful, perfect for the holiday season!
Thank you so much... they really are great. It's the raw cashew base!
These look delicious!
Why, thank you. They certainly are! 🙂
How delicious do these cookies look! Great recipe
Wonderful recipe Monica!Loved the addition of molasses and palm shortening in these cookies!Thank you!
Mirella and Panos
Yep- they are delicious. Thanks so much for your kind words!
Love that you used cashew flour, these look awesome!
Thanks Matt. I'm all about making homemade cashew flour and using it in a variety of baked goods... I don't really consume almonds, and it's a great substitute- for the most part. The cashews make everything taste so much warmer... and more delicious- I swear. I hope to finally get together with you and Naomi soon!!!