Happy NEW YEAR!!!

Truth be told, I made these last week.  I’m not going to lie.  I almost said &*^% it to the cookies for Santa this year (BAD MOMMY!!!), but…someone kept me honest.  AND…I’m always on the hunt for a healthier version of a cookie that I love.  Honestly, I set out to make Gingerbread men…decorated and all.  AND THEN…life happened.  So, honestly, we are lucky these cookies happened at all!  Our entire family is a sucker for gingersnaps, so I thought this might be the perfect thing to try.

The biggest dilemma (in my opinion!) is underbaking vs overbaking vs just right baking.  WHO KNOWS??!!  I’m usually a fan of underbaking.  The ooey gooey goodness is spot on as far as I’m concerned.  BUT…when you are talking Ginger SNAP…well, snap leads you towards the more crunchy aspect, no?

I cooked the two batches a little differently.  One for a little longer, and one for a little less.  I’m still on the fence about which one I liked better ha! What you need…(makes 2 dozen cookies)

• 1 cup Sun Butter (you could use any nut butter if you have no dietary restrictions)
• 3 Tablespoons Pure Molasses
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pumpkin spice (originally called for all spice)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• A pinch of freshly ground pepper (sounded weird to me, but I went with it ha!)

What to do…

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  I wouldn’t skip this as they really are pretty gooey and sticky.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or by hand, beat together the sun butter, molasses, eggs and freshly grated ginger until smooth.  It’s STICKY, as an fyi, so hand mixers won’t work as well because they just get really stuck in all the blades…I actually tried, and then switched over.  Not a deal breaker, just a warning 🙂
  
• Into a medium bowl, sift together coconut sugar, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, salt and pepper.
• Slowly add the sugar and spice mixture to the almond butter mixture while mixing on low until just combined.
• Drop the dough by the rounded Tablespoons about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes of you want a softer cookie go on the 10 side, crisper on the 12 side.
• Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets out of the oven then transfer the parchment paper with the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.Maya deciding exactly which one she wanted 😉

Adapted from Gourmand In The Kitchen- Thank you!