I love holiday baking. Nothing feels more cozy to me than to play in the kitchen, get creative, and fill the house with the delicious scent of cinnamon, ginger, orange, and cloves. Gingerbread cookies are a Christmas classic, although they are typically full of white flour and sugar and unless they are super fresh they tend to get all hard and dry. Not to mention that while they aren’t hard to make, they can be quite time consuming to roll and cut out the dough and then decorate. Not everyone has time for that.
That is why I love my raw gingerbread cookies so much. They are ridiculously quick and easy to make, won’t get burned, and of course, in true Nutritionista fashion, they are so much healthier than the original, naturally gluten-free, and just as delicious as the original. I like to drizzle with frosting (below) for a quick and easy finish, or if I have more time I will chill the frosting and pipe more detailed designs onto the cookies with a piping bag.
Image: Pexels
Raw Gingerbread Cookies
1/2 C buckwheat groats
1 C cashews
1 C pitted fresh Medjool dates
1/4 C coconut oil
2 Tb B grade maple syrup (optional, not raw but gives the cookies a lovely depth of flavour)
1/4 tsp orange zest
1 tsp Ground Vanilla Bean Powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
1/2 tsp fine Himalayan salt
In a food processor, pulse the buckwheat groats until they resemble a coarse meal. Add the cashews and continue to pulse until fine. Add the dates, coconut oil, maple syrup, orange zest, vanilla bean powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Process until a smooth and thoroughly combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste.
Roll dough into round balls and place onto Teflex lined dehydrator sheets. Press the cookies flat with your palm or a cookie stamp. Dehydrate at 105°F overnight. In the morning, place a clean dehydrator tray (no Teflex) on top of the cookies, flip over, and remove the Teflex sheet. Dehydrate another 24 hours or until the cookies are crisp on the outside, but still chewy on the inside.
Frost the cookies with Raw Gingerbread Frosting (below) and serve. These cookies last about 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge, or in the freezer for about 3 months. Enjoy!
Raw Gingerbread Frosting
1 C unsoaked cashews
1/4C coconut oil
2 Tb fresh orange juice
1/4 C coconut nectar, raw honey (not vegan), or raw B grade maple syrup (not raw)
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp Ground Vanilla Bean Powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch nutmeg
2-4 Tb of water (start with less and add more as needed)
Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Adjust seasoning to taste, add more water a tablespoon at a time if necessary, scrape down the sides of the blender and blend for another minute more or until smooth. Enjoy!
What are your favorite holiday cookies? How did these raw gingerbread cookies turn out for you? Let me know in the comments below and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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