The very last day of #AKCookieWeek is here and while I’m sad for it to end, I’m so excited to end it with a bang. Meet my grain free GINGERDOODLE cookies. That’s right, they’re a fusion between a gingerbread cookie and a snickerdoodle — what more could you want in a holiday cookie?!
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To be honest, I had a really hard time naming these. At first, I thought about calling them gingerbread swirl cinnamon roll cookies, which was cute, but not as amazing as your suggestion of gingerdoodle.
So thank you, AK community!
These cookies were inspired by two of my other very favorite Christmas cookies: my almond flour sugar cookies and my paleo ginger molasses cookies. I basically infused both doughs together, rolled them up and glazed them with a light vanilla icing.
I originally made these right before Thanksgiving and then brought them over to my mother in law’s. We both couldn’t stop eating them! They get softer as the days go on and I couldn’t resist having one with my cup of afternoon almond milk latte.
Pretty sure I’m going to be dreaming about these cookies for the rest of my life.
Please know that these cookies are both gluten free and grain free, plus they can easily be made dairy free too! I’ve included options in the notes section of the recipe.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I haven’t tested these cookies with any other flours. I know I’m going to get the question about flour replacement, but these cookies are meant to be gluten free/grain free.
If you’re interested in making a ‘regular’ version of these gingerdoodles, I suggest combining my molasses cookie dough and my brown butter snickerdoodle dough, you should get delicious results.
More cookie recipes you’ll love:
Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Salted Brown Butter Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Grain Free Santa Hat Brownie Cookie Cups
The Cutest Paleo Gingerbread Cookies
I hope you love these grain free gingerdoodle cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Grain Free Gingerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- For the cinnamon sugar cookie layer:
- Wet
- 1/4 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry
- 1 1/2 cups packed fine almond flour
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour (not packed)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- For the gingerbread cookie layer:
- Wet
- 1/4 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses (I like using blackstrap molasses)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry
- 1 cup packed fine almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour (not packed)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Organic sugar for rolling, if desired
- For the icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk, plus more to thin as necessary
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add in melted and cooled coconut oil, sugar, honey, egg and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Next add in almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until dough is well combined. Allow dough to sit for 5 minutes.
- Roll out dough into a 10×10-inch square between two sheets of wax paper. Without removing the wax paper, place on a baking sheet and refrigerate while you make the gingerbread cookie dough.
- Make the gingerbread cookie dough: In a large bowl, mix together melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, molasses, egg and vanilla extract.
- Next add in almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and salt; mix well to combine and form a dough. Let the dough rest for just a few minutes.
- Roll out dough into a 10×10-inch square between two sheets of wax paper. Place in fridge and refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes while you clean up a bit.
- Remove both doughs from the fridge, and peel off the top of the wax paper from each. Invert the gingerbread dough on top of the snickerdoodle dough (or it can be the opposite if you want to mix it up!). Use your rolling pin and gently roll over the dough over the top wax paper to seal the layers together. Peel off the top layer of the wax paper. The bottom layer will stay as you roll it up.
- Starting with the edge of the dough closest to you, carefully curl the edge of the dough up and roll with your fingertips, just like you would with a cinnamon roll. You’ll want to roll these pretty tightly. After a log is formed, roll it back and forth on the counter to compact the dough.
- Transfer the log to plastic wrap, roll it tightly, twisting the ends of the plastic to firmly seal it. With your hands on the ends of the log, push firmly toward the center to slightly compact the dough a little more. The log should be roughly 10-11 inches long and about 2 inches thick, give or take.
- Refrigerate the log for 15-30 minutes, or place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice dough into about ⅓ inch thick rounds. Set rounds 1 inch apart and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Once cookies are done baking, allow them to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining dough.
- To make the glaze: In a small bowl: add in powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract and almond milk. Mix until smooth. Drizzle a teaspoon or two over each cookie. Makes 20-22 cookies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen Photography by: Yoga of Cooking
11 comments
I love your recipes so much. I just wish more of them were nut-allergy friendly, or at least addressed the alternatives to make them nut-allergy friendly. Thanks so much.
I’m glad you’re finding recipes you love here! I do my best to post alternatives where I can, but it’s usually not possible for me to test a recipe using every type of alternative flour. There are plenty of delicious nut-allergy friendly recipes here, too, using regular flours 🙂
Hey, this recipe was delicious and met all the allergy needs of my group. Thank you! However, after I sealed it in a tupperware they immediately got pretty soft. They lost that delicious crisp finish. I find this to happen with most almond flour based cookies but I am always hoping the next recipe won’t do that. Any tips to keep them tasting more fresh?
Hi! Unfortunately this is usually what happens with grain free baking using almond flour. you can try baking them longer but you are likely to get the same results. Personally i love the softness!
Hi Kathy! I find that if you pop the cookie in the toaster oven for 30 seconds before eating it gets that nice crisp back! (and tastes like it’s freshly baked) 😉
These sound great- planning to bake some today!
Do you have a recipe for the almond milk latte.? Sounds delish!
Love it! I don’t have one on the blog, but this latte would be delicious as well.
Hi! I have a question. Do you think I could make the dough a day ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until it’s ready to bake? Thanks!
Yes that should work! You might just want to let the dough come close to room temp before baking.
I have made these every year for the past 4 years and they consistently come out amazing. The instructions are very clear and I always get beautiful spiral cookies that have been showstoppers at parties (well…pre-2020 parties) and in cookie baskets. I never use the icing and think the cookies are perfectly sweet and flavorful without it. I personally enjoy how soft they are the next day and even the day after Thanks for creating one of my tried and true holiday recipes!
Thank you so much, Hali! I’m SO happy you love these and that the instructions are easy to follow 🙂 Glad they’re a holiday tradition for you!