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Grain Free Chewy Ginger Cookies
Grain free baking requires a good dose of creativity and courage. But trying to make grain free baked goods without allergens? That is a whole different ball game. The challenge has led me to some pretty unusual (and delicious) results like Butternut Squash Pizza Crust and Coconut Milk Cottage Cheese.
This recipe is no exception, and uses two unorthodox additions –gelatin and ground sunflower seeds–for a successful grain free, allergen free cookie!
Gelatin as an egg substitute
Odd ingredient #1: gelatin. Here, gelatin (preferably grassfed)acts as an egg replacer to bind and thicken the cookies. It also provides a delightfully chewy texture–an elusive feature in grain free baked goods. When used for baking, gelatin requires a unique treatment including letting the batter sit before baking and letting the end product rest after baking to set the cookies.
Want an alternative to almond flour?
Those of you following a grain free diet (be it the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, GAPS Dietor Paleo/Primal diet) know that grain free baked goods often rely on almond flour. Unfortunately, almond flour won’t work for those with nut allergies or sensitivities. Additionally, this ingredient costs a pretty penny and adds up when a pancake recipe calls for two cups of almond flour per batch.
My solution? At first, I relied on coconut flour to make grain free baked goods. Recently, I discovered that ground sunflower seeds make an excellent–and affordable–alternative to nut flours. I now use Sun-Flour (soaked sunflower seed flour) in many recipes. See a step-by-step picture tutorial for Sun-Flour.
In this recipe, I give the measurement of whole sunflower seeds to be ground for flour. I also give the weight of the measurement in ounces in case you would like to substitute another nut/seed flour or already have ground Sun-Flour.
I recommend using all nut/seed flour such as almond flour and sunflower seed flour in moderation, because of the anti-nutrient properties.
Grain Free Chewy Ginger Cookies
Serves:About 15 small cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs. grassfed gelatin
- 2 Tbs. coconut oil, melted
- 2 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Tbs. honey
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds, preferably soaked and dehydrated (or .9 oz. by weight nut flour or Sun-Flour)
- 2 Tbs. coconut flour
- Scant ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Mix together the gelatin, coconut oil, applesauce and honey.
- Finely grind the sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder for 10-15 seconds, until you have a find powder. Don't over-grind or you will get sunbutter. Stir the ground sunflower seeds, coconut flour and ginger into the gelatin mixture and let sit for 10 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Before baking, stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Drop by generous teaspoons onto the baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake until golden, about 12-14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for a full 20 minutes (do not remove cookies from baking sheet until they have set). The cookies will be "gooey-er" while warm and chewier at room temperature. For best texture, enjoy within a few hours of baking.
Notes
Makes about 15 cookies and they are best enjoyed the day they are made (you can halve the recipe if you and your family can't eat 15 cookies in one day... but mine can!)
Are you challenged with making meals grain-free and allergen-free? Do you have any odd ingredients you rely on to make this work?
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Reader Interactions
57 Comments
Brilliant! I will be starting GAPS as soon as I get my book in the mail! Thanks fire sharing!
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KatieHi Lauren,
I wish I could just give you a warm hug:)
I just made these Chewy Ginger Cookies and they are fantastic!!! I used 2 tblsp coconut butter in place of the sun flour, and they turned out so well! I was so excited to have something yummy to eat!
I am currently dealing with hashimotos and very worn out adrenals. I’m learning to eat lots of good fats and to listen to my body. I just want to say I appreciate you so much! You are my favorite site to visit! I know I can count on thorough research when i come to empowered sustenance. Its so nice to have someone speaking truth in regards to diet and autoimmune diseases! I have hope when I read your articles and recipes;-there is food out there that I can eat!!! I do have a question, could you consider doing an article on your vegetables, how you prepare them (fermented?) etc.? I’m struggling with not being able to digest vegetables (especially raw), I’m interested in learning more about how others with autoimmune diseases prepare their vegetables. It feels so wrong not to eat tons of raw veggies! -Yes, another way I am learning to listen to my body:) Perhaps you have already done an article(s) on this and I have missed it?
Wow, I just really love and appreciate your site! God bless you richly as you bless so many others!reply to this comment
- Lauren G (Empowered Sustenance)
Katie, I deeply appreciate your comment and kind words! I’m so glad you liked this recipe and the other posts here.
As for the veggies, that is a good idea for a post. I don’t eat any raw veggies (because I can’t tolerate them) besides some sauerkraut, beet kvass and a raw carrot per day (it’s super healthy for hormones, I’ll discuss that soon!). If you can’t tolerate the raw veggies, don’t eat them. Simple as that. It’s not wrong if that’s what your body needs for the time being 🙂
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- Amanda
These were incredible. I think I ate half the batch immediately (whoops). I made a few modifications since I didn’t have sunflower seeds and I’m low FODMAPS, so I thought I’d share in case anybody else has problems with apples and honey. I used greek yogurt (plain, 0%) instead of applesauce, maple syrup instead of honey, and ground almonds instead of sunflower seeds. I love ginger so I added a bit more than you suggested, and also added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of vanilla extract. I’m also cool with eggs, so I added 2 TBS egg whites. They were so, so, ridiculously, phenomenally good. Mine were probably not as chewy/crispy as yours because of the egg whites and maple syrup, but for people with IBS who want to also add a bit more protein whatever I whipped up also definitely worked! Thank you so much for all your recipes, I’ve made quite a few and they’re always fantastic. You also introduced me to gelatin (!!!) and I’ve been making kombucha jello, and throwing it into lots of other recipes. Also seems to help with digestive problems… amazing.
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- liz
Thank you I have been trying to find an alternative to coconut flour, I love it but it is produced using sulfites so I can’t eat it, its a challenge to avoid sulfites but my intolerance is getting less so hopefully one day I can reintroduce some things. I think raw milk has been the biggest help for me.
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- liz
Should also say I have to use fresh ginger, I boil it up and squeeze the liquid into a jar, or grate pieces from frozen as ground ginger, like most ground spices, is produced using sulfites. Tea bags, fruit teas etc. Are all out unless I dry the ingredients myself.
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- Gabriella Schneider
I just made these and they were SO GOOD! The chew is awesome
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- Kara
These are fantastic!!! Definitely will at least triple next time. I subbed molasses for the honey and doubled the ginger. Great recipe!!
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- Heather
Is the weight for the sunflour .9 oz or 9 oz? .9 is not very much! Thank you.
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- Regan
My daughter is allergic to coconut so I substituted arrowroot in place of the coconut flour and tallow in place of the coconut oil. I used the same amounts the recipe called for and it worked out great. I smelled burning after about 10 minutes so I checked them and they were slightly browned so I would only cook mine for 10 minutes next time and then check. I also substituted mashed sweet potatoes for the apple sauce since I didn’t have that. Threw in a pinch of salt and some cinnamon along with the ginger. Amazing and my 3 year old love them too! They held together so nicely!
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