Grain Free Gingerbread Biscuits
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January 2, 2016
When my kids were little, their favourite Christmas tradition was eating gingerbread ‘star biscuits’ and drinking ‘pearl tea’ (hot water, almond milk and honey), while dancing around to Christmas music under the Christmas lights on the back deck. Every year they’d get so excited when we made star biscuits, and every night was a party under the lights with pearl tea and biscuits, until they were all gone!
Nowadays the kids are a bit older, and I haven’t noticed any of them dancing to Christmas carols… but they still love star biscuits, and have been asking me for weeks to make a grain free version they could have, since we’re on GAPS!
So here’s what I came up with… The recipe is based on my original gluten free gingerbread biscuit recipe, but instead of gluten free flour I’ve used almond meal and coconut flour. I’ve also changed the sweeteners to dates and honey (to suit GAPS), but feel free to play with the recipe and use whatever sweetener you like, to taste. They’re not quite as crispy as the original version, but my kids say they actually prefer the slightly-chewy version, so YAY!!
These will obviously be great for making gingerbread men too, but wouldn’t work so well for a gingerbread house, I think… unless it’s a very small house! (I could be wrong… if you try it let me know!)
This recipe is grain free and gluten free, GAPS & Paleo friendly, and has egg free and dairy free options. It makes about 4 dozen biscuits (depending on size of cutters). Dough can be frozen for later use – roll into a cylinder shape, wrap in parchment paper, and freeze; cut slices off end for round biscuits to cook as wanted.
If you’d like to make marshmallow icing to decorate, use the recipe in this post. It won’t harden like royal icing, so ice just before eating.
Happy Christmas cooking!
- 2 Tbspns chia seeds
- 1 whole nutmeg
- 3 whole cloves
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1 vanilla bean, halved
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds
- zest of 1 orange (preferably organic)
- 2cm fresh ginger (peeled and cut in quarters)
- 600g blanched almond meal
- 60g coconut flour
- 6 tsp ground ginger powder
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- 150g dry dates (not raw)
- 230g unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 100g honey
- 1 large egg
- Place chia seeds, nutmeg, cloves, peppercorns, vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom seeds into bowl and mill 1 min/speed 9.
- Add orange zest and fresh ginger to bowl and blend 30 sec/speed 9, scraping down as needed, until everything is finely ground.
- Add almond meal, coconut flour, ginger powder, sea salt and bicarb soda and mix 20 sec/speed 6, using spatula to help combine. Place mixture into a large bowl and set aside.
- Place dates into bowl and chop 20 sec/speed 9. Scrape down sides with spatula.
- Add butter or coconut oil, honey, and egg to bowl and mix 15 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides.
- Place reserved dry mixture back into bowl, and mix 30 sec/speed 5, using spatula to assist mixing. Give a good stir with spatula to loosen mixture, and mix again 30 sec/speed 5, or until mixture is well combined. (If using a TM31, bowl will be too full, so mix dry and wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, by hand.)
- Divide dough into four balls, wrap each one in a piece of baking paper and flatten to a disc shape. Place in fridge to chill for a few hours, or up to three days - this makes the flavours stronger, and the dough easier to handle.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 160C.
- Roll out one disk of dough at a time, on a silicon mat or piece of baking paper, with another piece of baking paper on top of the dough so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin. Roll to about 5mm thick.
- Cut out biscuits with cookie cutters and carefully transfer to trays lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake in preheated oven for approx. 12-15 mins, turning trays around halfway through cooking time. Keep a close eye on the biscuits that they don’t burn, but at the same time, don't remove from oven when they're too soft - they should be browned on the edges and slightly golden.
- Cool on trays so that biscuits are crisp.
- For an egg-free option, omit the egg, and add another Tbspn chia seeds at the start (3 Tbspns), then when the recipe says to add egg, add 3 Tbspns water instead.
- Store cooled biscuits in the freezer in containers. If kept at room temp they will soften.
- To make them a bit more special, dip half of each biscuit in melted (homemade) chocolate, place on paper lined trays, and freeze to set. (You can use my Raw Chocolate recipe for this, but let it cool and thicken before dipping biscuits. Will work best if biscuits are frozen first.)
- If you'd like to ice them, you could make a marshmallow frosting to ice just before serving. Marshmallow frosting won't harden like royal icing. (If you're not on GAPS and can have xylitol, make a royal icing with xylitol.)
22 Comments
Jo could you use another nut flour? We can’t have almonds or hazelnuts at the moment. Would cashew be a good substitute? Thx.
Yes, no worries!
what are dry dates? wouldn’t they have preservatives? I usually use medjool dates…….
Dry ones are the harder ones – they just help the biscuits turn out a bit crunchier. Medjool will work, may be a little softer though.
Hi Jo
Just wondering if this would work without blanching the almonds?
Yes, although just adjust amount of almond meal if needed.
SOOOO GOOOOOOOOD! Great tip on storing the baked cookies in the freezer – I’m loving them cold and crisp straight from the freezer. They taste great regardless of the freezer though. I modified this as I don’t have a thermomix or scales (making do whilst away on holidays) and made half a batch and they turned out wonderful, so there was be a bit of give in the recipe, which is fantastic for me and the way I throw things together even when I have a recipe to follow. So chuffed to have really nice gingerbread for christmas. Thanks Jo x Merry Christmas to you and your family xx
[…] Grain free ginger bread biscuits by Jo Whitton at Quirky Cooking […]
Can I use ghee in place of palm shortening?
I would much prefer ghee!
Hi Jo, wishing you and your beautiful family the best of health in 2016! If I want to make these without dates so only honey (I like dates but they don’t like me), will it work and how much would you use? Or should I find another substitute for the dates?
Many thanks
Lisa
Thanks Lisa, and to your family as well! I think you could probably manage without the dates, and maybe add a little more honey or if you eat coconut sugar add some of that. (Up to the same weight as the dates.)
Jo 🙂
Could I use rice flour instead of almond meal? Not sure if biscuit would fall apart too easily then
Hi Jo, I used gluten free flour instead and put in fridge and the dough has turned rock hard! ? Will it soften again at room temp?
Hi Jo
I am unable to eat chia seeds, What can I use in place of them?
Jo i recall seeing on facebook, you making this into a slice with chocolate topping? However I’m on a facebook fast and wanted to make it, my question is did you halve this recipe or not? I know the raw choc topping you used half, but am not sure about the slice component?
I think I actually used half the dough, but a full batch of chocolate. 🙂
I remember hearing about this being made into a slice? (I think on facebook?) Topped with your raw choc i believe? Can you tell me was this recipe halved to make the slice?
Yes, sorry! It was halved, pressed into a slice dish and baked. Cool then top with chocolate. 🙂
I’d love to make these – any instructions available for those of us without a thermomix? Many Thanks
Hi, nice recipe. I’m cutting sugar. How much natvia or other sugar sub would you recommend for the 100g honey. Also, could I leave out the dates?
Hi, Wondering what you mean by ‘Mill’? Does that require a special appliance? Is there another method to do this?