Not only are these healthy ginger snaps made with whole grain flour, they're also perfectly spiced and lower in sugar than the average recipe.
I've been making these since circa 2011.
Over the years, I've tweaked this recipe numerous times, trying less sugar, a different fat, and various flours.
While these have a bit more sugar than I'm accustomed to, I've been making them this way for years and wanted to stay as close to our original beloved recipe as possible.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - Whole wheat and whole spelt both work great.
- Baking soda
- Ginger, cinnamon, cloves
- Sea salt
- Grapeseed oil - Melted coconut oil can substitute.
- Coconut sugar - Any granulated sugar will work.
- Blackstrap molasses
- Egg - I've used water and applesauce as replacements, but both substitutes make the cookie softer and cakier. If you have an egg allergy, you might try a flax egg.
Recipe steps
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Separately, mix the oil, sugar, molasses, and egg. You can use a beater for this, but I just whisk it by hand.
Add the wet mix into the flour bowl, and stir everything until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax or parchment paper and roll to create a two-inch wide cylinder. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into 1/4-inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Once they're out, let them cool completely, as the cookies will firm up and develop their texture even more.
Lower sugar notes
In my testing, I was happy with these at 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. However, the cookies were softer at this amount and didn't get the characteristic crispy/chewy texture that ginger snaps are known for.
Our original recipe had 3/4 cup of sugar, which is best for crisp edges and chewy centers.
I found that everyone in my house was happy at ten tablespoons. I lowered it a bit from the above amount, and I got the crispy outside and chewy centers I was after.
At ten tablespoons of sugar for the entire recipe, you're getting about one teaspoon of coconut sugar per cookie and less than 1/2 teaspoon of molasses (if you make 30 cookies).
Recipe notes
To up the ginger factor, you might add some crystallized ginger to the tops of the cookies before baking.
If you like ginger, you might like my Gingerbread Snack Cake!
Not into ginger? Try my Cut Out Christmas Cookies. They're made with very little sugar, making way for a nice schmear of icing and holiday-themed sprinkles!
Healthy Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
WET INGREDIENTS:
- ¾ cup grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil
- 10 Tablespoons coconut sugar
- ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices) in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, briskly whisk together the oil, sugar, molasses, and egg for about one minute.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour and stir until the flour is incorporated and a dough forms. The dough is thick.
- Transfer the dough to a piece of wax or parchment paper, and roll it to form a two-inch wide cylinder.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. I've refrigerated it overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds, and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. You should get about 30 cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Cool completely (they will set and harden more during this time, yielding crisp edges and chewy centers).
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
Leave a Reply