Raw gingerbread people
Have you noticed the growing population of gingerbread people invading the Internet these days? If there was an ideal time for these edible little people to come out, it would be now. Fragrant with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, gingerbread cookies are always on the menu for hungry friends and family to devour after the big family meal. They’re perfect for cookie swaps, cookie platters and baskets, or even wrapped up with festive crinkle paper and tied with a pretty bow.
As much as I love the traditional (vegan) recipes—and I have many!—I’m here to introduce my latest holiday favourite. Inspired by a desire to incorporate healthier ingredients into my holiday baking repertoire, I wanted to give the basic idea a new, raw foodie twist to balance out the other sugary items that are sure to be involved.
Alas, these cute little raw gingerbread people are made with ingredients like almonds, flax and freshly grated ginger. This recipe is based on my flourless almond ginger cookies and is a great option for anyone trying to avoid gluten or sugar this season. These cookies are dense and chewy and have a nice gingery bite to them. Another bonus is that they can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer until your guests arrive.
I highly recommend using a mini cookie cutter to make bite-sized cookies—they turned out to be so cute! And if you want to kick it up a notch, I bet these little guys would be really good dipped in raw chocolate. Oh, I wish I had thought of that before I took these photos. I may just have to dig them out of the freezer and give it a try… Enjoy!
PrintRaw gingerbread people
Yield: 24 mini cookies
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp flax meal
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter
- 3 tbsp raw agave nectar
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger root
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients together until smooth.
- Wrap the dough mixture in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. This helps it firm up for easier rolling.
- Once the dough is cold and no longer sticky, roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4 to 1/8 thickness. Using a mini cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them on a dehyrator tray.
- Dehydrate at 105F for 8 to 12 hours, depending on the size of your cookies and your desired texture. Store cookies in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.
If you don't own a dehydrator, simply place the cut-out cookies on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Store them in the freezer until ready to serve (they will go soft if they sit out too long).