Soft Peppercorn Chai Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten-free)

This is a delicious holiday-spiced cookie, courtesy of my talented intern and RD-to-be, Carrie, that also happen to be gluten-free and  composed of real-food ingredients. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m no baker. I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of cook and that usually doesn’t work so well with baking. BUT, this cookie is quite simple, even for the non-baker, and it was a big hit even with they naysayers in my family when it comes to gluten free. It includes a fun spice pack from RawSpiceBar -a monthly subscription service providing interesting, flavorful spice blends by mail. The blends come with recipe suggestions, but it is also fun to let the flavors inspire you to play around like we did here. If you don’t have this spice pack, not to worry, Carrie offered alternative spice options in the recipe 🙂 Enjoy and Happy Holidays! -Ayla

The holidays are a great time for baking, and for some who have dietary restrictions that can seem impossible – or worse, flavorless. When we set out to make the perfect holiday cookie, we wanted the finished product to be flavorful and sweet without all the added junk.

We started off with organic almond and coconut flours, added our favorite spices for a festive punch, and finished off the recipe with whole ingredients like egg, real butter (or coconut oil) and molasses.

First we made a syrup that would act as the sweetener and part of the binding power in our cookies. Real sugar doesn’t lose its shape when baking, so it incorporates much better in liquid form. We mixed  molasses, sugar, and water in a small pot and brought it to a boil. It will start out looking like the photo above.

After the sugar mixture has boiled for a minute or two, the sugar will be melted and it will look like the photo above. Don’t worry if it is still a little grainy, this won’t effect your finished cookies. Be careful if little ones are helping, the sugar will be hot and can burn little hands (and big hands too). Set the pot aside and let the sugar cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Next, we made our “dry” mix. In a separate bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda and all the spices.

After we allowed the sugar to cool for about 5 minutes or so, we added the liquid sugar and all the remaining ingredients to the dry mix. The batter will be sticky and loose, but have no fear… 10 minutes in the freezer will firm it up. The finished batter will look something like our photo above.

Next we scooped our cookies out onto a lined cookie sheet, and we baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cookies were slightly puffed up, set, and the bottoms were brown. This takes about 12-15 minutes. Enjoy them right out of the oven, store them in an airtight container for later, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Soft Peppercorn Chai Gultin Free Gingerbread Cookies

• 2 cups almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour or favorite gluten free flour
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• ¼ teaspoon gluten free baking power
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons RawSpiceBar Peppercorn Chai spice blend
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ cup raw sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (or melted coconut oil)
• 1 whole egg

1. Mix sugar, water, and molasses in small pot, heat until bubbly and sugar is mostly dissolved. Let sugar mixture cool as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a medium bowl, mix both flours, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, spice blend, and ginger.
3. Add sugar mix, butter, and egg and blend. Batter will be sticky, store in freezer until semi-set.
4. Scoop onto lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until cookies are set and bottoms are browned. Enjoy!

These cookies are a spicy and sweet option for those who want to treat themselves without all the junk. For a less spicy treat, cut the spice amounts in half. If you don’t have the RawSpiceBar spice mix, add a pinch of Chai tea and ground black pepper for a similar taste.