{"id":18425,"date":"2015-11-30T09:58:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T15:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookieandkate.com\/?p=18425"},"modified":"2025-12-09T15:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:54:59","slug":"healthy-gingerbread-cookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookieandkate.com\/healthy-gingerbread-cookies\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthier Gingerbread Cookies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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These gingerbread cookies will make your home smell like Christmas!<\/strong> I made a few simple substitutions to turn classic gingerbread cookies into healthier gingerbread cookies, without sacrificing flavor. They’ve been one of my favorite Christmas cookies since I developed this recipe ten years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This cookie recipe is fun to make, especially with good company. Last weekend, my four-year-old daughter and I turned this dough into homemade gingerbread houses with this cookie cutter set<\/a> (affiliate link), and we’ll soon make more batches of gingerbread cookies to share with friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m excited to introduce you to this recipe, too. The dough is remarkably easy to make (no mixer required) and manage (it might as well be Play-Doh!), with no chilling necessary. Turn on your favorite Christmas music and let’s start baking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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How to Make Healthier Gingerbread Cookies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My substitutions include swapping coconut oil for butter, coconut sugar for brown sugar, and whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose. All of those ingredients have become more mainstream over the past decade as their health benefits have become more apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whole wheat pastry flour<\/a> is one of my favorite subtle nutrition upgrades. It’s made with soft white wheat berries instead of the usual hard red, yielding a lighter taste and marvelously tender whole-grain goodies. Especially given the bold flavor of molasses, no one will know these cookies are made with whole wheat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recipe does not work with regular whole wheat flour, but you can use all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch How to Make This Recipe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Molasses & Spice Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can control the level of spice and flavor intensity by carefully choosing your molasses. I tried a lighter molasses and blackstrap molasses. The light molasses produces cookies with lighter color and flavor, naturally. If you’re making these cookies for kids with sensitive palates, you might want to choose light molasses and maybe even use half of the spices specified below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want intensely flavored cookies with an almost dark chocolate-level of richness, use blackstrap molasses and the full amount of spices. Blackstrap molasses offers greater nutritional value, as its flavors and minerals are more concentrated. Who would have guessed that molasses, which is a by-product in sugar production, could be so high in potassium, iron, Vitamin B6, calcium and magnesium?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to Decorate Your Cookies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These cookies are not overtly sweet, and they look more festive when decorated. Options include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n