Paleo/Primal Gingerbread Cookies

 

It's Christmas cookie time! Who doesn't love Gingerbread Men? I mean, come on, Gingy was your favorite Shrek character, right? Of Course!
Well, Gingerbread Men have been sadly lacking from my diet for the last couple of years. So I set about making a gingerbread recipe that fits the Paleo Lifestyle and still tastes like what you want a gingerbread man to taste like. As an added bonus, this recipe is nut-free and fairly allergen friendly; so you will feel ok putting one of these little gems in your child's lunch box or even bringing some for the whole class.
(Alternatively, if you're looking for a moister cookie and can tolerate nuts, substitute the Coconut flour and Coconut oil with 3 1/2 C Almond flour plus 1/4 C coconut oil.)

Coconut Flour Gingerbread Men
1 1/4 C+ Coconut Flour
1 C Coconut Oil
3 Eggs
1/2 C molasses
1/4 C maple syrup
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a bowl combine 1 1/4 C coconut flour with 1 C melted coconut oil. Let this sit for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in another bowl mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add coconut flour/oil mixture to other ingredient mixture and mix to combine. Dough should be getting somewhat stiff at this point.

Put parchment paper (about as big as a cookie sheet) on a flat surface, sprinkle with coconut flour then turn out dough onto parchment. Sprinkle top of dough with coconut flour then place another piece of parchment on top of dough. Using a rolling pin or your hand flatten dough between parchment. Roll out until dough is about 1/4 inch thick. Place dough into freezer or fridge on a cookie sheet until it has hardened up a bit.

Once dough is more solid, remove top parchment and press cookie cutters into dough. Using a scraper, remove dough from around cut out shapes. Re-roll extra dough to keep making more cookies.

Leave cut-outs on parchment on cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until cookies are mostly firm. Let cool then decorate as desired. Cookies are a little fragile when they are warm. So let them cool down before handling.

My kids added jelly beans to theirs, I added frosting decorations. Give the Food Lover's Primal Palate Cinnamon Frosting a try for your decorator frosting!