These paleo gingerbread cookies are chewy and crisp with traditional flavor from molasses and spices. The dough is easy to work with and cut making them perfect for holiday baking and decorating!
I couldn’t be more excited to share these absolutely perfect gingerbread cookies with you today!
They’re everything you’d expect in a traditional gingerbread cookie, but better for you, though you’d seriously never know it.
*These cookies were originally tested with a paleo baking flour mix that is no longer in stock, so I retested using almond flour with great results!!
What You Need to Make Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Simple ingredients make the cookie dough a breeze to throw together! Here’s what you’ll need for both the cookies, and icing.
- Ghee or grass-fed butter
- Coconut Sugar or maple sugar
- Molasses
- Vanilla Extract
- Egg
- Blanched almond flour
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Maple sugar or organic powdered sugar
- Dairy-free milk
How to Make Paleo Cookie Icing for Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
To make strictly paleo icing, you’ll need to make powdered sugar from maple sugar or coconut sugar (coconut will be dark.). Simply blend your sugar in a high speed blender or food processor until it reaches a powdery consistency. Then, measure and use it as you would use powdered sugar in the icing recipe.
Maple sugar will make a very light brown icing that contrasts great with the dark gingerbread cookies!
For a bright white icing, you can always use organic powdered sugar. It’s gluten and grain free, just not strictly paleo due to the cane sugar.
I hope you’re ready for some out of this world delicious, fun, and festive Cutout Paleo Gingerbread Cookies! Grab your ingredients and let’s get started!
Cutout Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Cutout Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 7 tablespoons grass fed butter or ghee, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice or cloves
Icing:
- 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar or powdered maple sugar*
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 - 2.5 Tbsp almond milk or water
- pinch salt - optional
Instructions
For the Cookie Dough:
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In a large bowl using an electric mixer, (you can use a stand mixer as well if you prefer) cream together the ghee or butter with the sugar and molasses until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
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In a separate mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat the dry mixture into the wet slowly until well combined. Gather the cookie dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, flattening it into a disc for chilling. Chill for 2-3 hours or up to 2 days in advance of baking.
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Once ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350° F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Allow the dough to sit out for 10-15 minutes before rolling. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out gently to between 1/4-1/2” thickness. Thinner cookies will turn out crispier, thicker ones a bit softer.
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Use cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes, then carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheets with at least 1” of space around each cookie. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes or until just set. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
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Repeat the rolling, cutting, and baking process with the leftover dough until all the dough is used up.
For the Icing:
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While the cookies cool, prepare the icing. In a small bowl. whisk all the icing ingredients together and drizzle over the cooled cookies, or use a squeeze bottle or piping bag to decorate as desired.
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Place back on parchment paper for the icing to set - it will harden after 20 minutes or so.
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Store loosely covered at room temperature for the first day, or place in a sealed container in the refrigerator to keep fresh longer.
Recipe Notes
*Making powdered sugar from maple sugar is surprisingly easy. Simply blend your maple sugar in a NutriBullet (what I use), high-speed blender or food processor until it has a powdery consistency. You’ll want to measure the sugar after blending to make sure you’re adding the right amount.
**Nutrition is calculated without the icing
Nutrition
Although I’m sure this recipe is amazing, as most of your recipes are, I decided to give it 1 star because of the “designer” ingredient that I would have to purchase. This flour is $12.95 a lb and can only be purchased online. I wish you had given us an alternative with ingredients most of us already have on hand. 🙁
She said that “you can sub this in using the same amount, by volume, for conventional all purpose flour,” so you don’t need to buy the “designer” ingredient.
Linda, I seriously hope you reconsider your post. Michele frequently works with sponsors as it’s a great partnership opportunity for her and her blog. To give a recipe one star simply due to the fact that a “specialty” item needs be purchased seems very unfair, especially since you didn’t even make the cookies. Please remember she posts recipes so that people like you can enjoy them.
WOW, Linda. You didn’t even make the recipe and gave it one star? You think the flour is too expensive? Don’t you think living a healthy lifestyle and purchasing all the other flours to create the Paleo flour is expensive as well? Saves time and probably money in the long run. I live in a town that doesn’t carry most of these items. I drive 4 hours for a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Costco. Ordering online is easy peasy.
I’m pretty dang excited about this flour, this recipe, and Michele’s time and effort. I can’t wait to try these cookies!
Could coconut oil or Earth Balances vegan butter be used in place of the butter/ghee?
In response to all of the “inquiries” about my post: I am Paleo. I do not eat regular flour. If you read my WHOLE comment I complimented Michele about ALL the recipes that I use from her. My 1-star rating was NOT for the recipe (which I stated in my post) but for my disappointment in the recipe not giving me measures to sub the King Arthur Paleo Flour with other regular Paleo ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour, etc. And YES, I do understand sponsorship, but giving an alternative would not have stepped on any toes. I appreciate everyone who spoke out for Michele but to set the record straight she is one of my FAVORITE Paleo Blogger and I am probably one of her biggest fans!
Hi Linda. I’m happy to hear you’re one of my biggest fans 🙂 In truth I wanted to give other options for flours when I posted this but haven’t yet succeeded in figuring it out the exact proportions and it’s something I plan to revisit! And while you’re free to rate the recipe one star if you wish, I do want to let you know that the one star rating does affect the recipe and my blog’s standing in google. This is not to say you should take it back as I understand your frustration, BUT I want you to understand that the ratings function is to tell new visitors what other people’s experience with the recipe has been. I plan to update over the next month or two with alternative flours to yield the same result.
Hi Michele, I did some experimenting and went with 11/2 cups almond flour, 1cup cassava (manioc) flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour as my replacement. It worked quite well. I needed to flour my board a couple of times and put it back in the fridge once to firm again before getting all my gingerbread cut out.
These were absolutely delicious!
I didn’t have that exact Paleo baking flour, but in my pantry did have the three flours it contained (blanched almond, cassava, coconut), so Are used equal mounts. It was scrumptious indeed!
And for the icing, I had the erythritol powdered sweetener and it worked exactly like powdered sugar! Yay 🙂 My 4 year old son loved them!
I have made many many of your recipes and truly enjoyed each and everyone of them. Thank you thank you!
Thank you, I’m going to give this a whirl using equal amounts of the flours.
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I made these last night and they were pretty darn tasty! Im digging the gingerbread flavor achieved in this recipe. I rolled out to 1/4 inch for my cookies, and baked for 7-8 minutes at 350. The dough is really soft. The finished cookies did not get crunchy at all, and today they are even softer. While they are delicious, is there any way to make this cookie crunchy instead of soft without burning them? Do you recommend leaving the dough in the fridge for 24 hours rather than 2-3?
you could try 1 cup dark muscovado sugar instead of the coconut sugar and molasses! mine turned out perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. my other substitutions were:
coconut oil instead of butter/ghee, Bob’s Red Mill paleo flour instead of King Arthur’s paleo flour, and my egg was not at room temperature.
Hi!
Has anyone figured out the correct ratio of paleo flours to use if you don’t have the king Arthur’s flour? Is it just equal ratio of cassava, coconut and almond? Sorry it just wasn’t made super clear and I would like to know for sure before I bake these!
Thanks 🙂
Hi,
I was wondering what alternative I can use for King Arthur Flour Paleo Baking Flour as I live in Australia and they only ship within the US.
Also, any suggestions on alternatives for molasses or is it essential for consistency.
Thanks
Hi Nessa, I used Bob Red Mill’s 1:1 gluten free flour which can be found in Australia and sub the molasses with golden syrup or honey. I also like Well and Good flour, and in a pinch, Woolies stocks their gf brand too. Cheers!
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What can I use instead of the paleo flour and what amounts. It is not available near me. I have lots of other paleo flours that I can mix myself and I have a scale
Hi there! I use Bob’s 1:1 GF Baking Flour and I’ve had delicious results every time 🙂
I am so grateful for this recipe!!! I’ve got a kid who’s allergic to everything. This recipe has changed our life. We’ve made it numerous times over the past 2 years with flax substituted for egg, and it never fails. Even my husband who doesn’t have a sweet tooth can’t keep his hands off of these. Thank you thank you thank you so much!!!
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Alterative to Coconut Sugar or maple sugar?
Can I leave it out or use maple srup?
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this was so delicious, even though I made a ton of substitutions! I used coconut oil instead of butter/ghee, 1 cup dark muscovado sugar instead of coconut sugar + molasses, Bob’s Red Mill paleo flour instead of King Arthur’s paleo flour, and my egg was not at room temperature. However, they turned out DELICIOUS and the most perfect texture of pillowy soft inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Sooo yummy, whole family loved them! Thank you!
Hello,
I don’t believe King Arthur sells their paleo brand flour anymore. Can you please provide a substitution ratio for the paleo flour? I would love to make this for my son who can’t have any grain for the holidays.
Hi! It looks like the King Arthur company doesn’t make the paleo flour blend anymore. Do you have any suggestions on what flours and measurements to use for this recipe? TIA