‘Tis the season of ginger, butter, and molasses. With all the ginger snap cookie recipes cropping up, I couldn’t resist posting my own version. No brown sugar or molasses here, but lots of ginger and other fine sea salt and spices.
This recipe is based on my cinnamon cookie recipe, with some additional spices added and a bit more sea salt. Like the cinnamon cookies, these snaps do require a bit of extra oven time to make them snappy. In fact, they’re more chewy than snappy, but if you leave them in the oven for a bit longer and/or add them to a dehydrator you will obtain some snap. If you can’t wait, you’re looking at a baking time of about 15 minutes. Or try both, and decide for yourself.
If you want to make cut-out style gingerbread cookies, try this recipe I posted last year. These definitely have snap, in part because they’re thinner. If you want the ginger snap cookie to be crunchier, try making them flatter or thinner. You can even roll them out once they’re in a ball.
Instead of sprinkling with sugar or candied ginger, I added a very slight amount of Himalayan salt to the top of each cookie to give it an extra zing. If you don’t have Himalayan salt, any kind of coarse salt will work as well, such as kosher or coarse sea salt.
Ginger Snap Cookies (using almond flour)
Update: You may want to cool the dough at room temperature or place it in the freezer for a few minutes to keep them from spreading when they bake. As for the honey, using a dark honey such as honey from bees pollinating buckwheat will add a deeper, molasses-like flavor.Ingredients (makes about 22 small cookies)
- 2 cups of blanched almond flour
- 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, ghee, vegetable shortening, or coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom (optional)
- a pinch of Himalayan salt or coarse sea salt on top of each cookie (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F convection setting, or 300 degrees F at a regular setting.
- Blend all the dry ingredients together and then add the honey and butter, and blend well.
- With a spoon or your fingers, create small, balls of dough, about an inch in diameter, and place them on a greased baking sheet (or a baking mat on a baking sheet). They don’t spread when baking, so place each cookie about an inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Press each cookie to flatten it using either the palm of your hand, or the back of a fork. To get the hatch pattern, criss-cross the top of the cookie down with the back of a fork. Optionally, sprinkle some sea salt on top of each cookie.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Turn the cookies over and lower the temperature of the oven to 175 degrees F convection (or 200 degrees F regular setting), and bake for another 15 minutes.
- For an even crunchier cookie, leave them in the oven for another 10 minutes or so, or just leave them in the oven until it’s cool. To get the snap back at any time, pop this in an oven for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees F.
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they sound fabulous can’t wait to try them!
Perfect timing! Love your recipes! Was thinking of trying a new recipe and here it is! Bake cookies and breads 3x/wk.
Thanks. Evelyne, you bake more often than I do.
Just made some! The dough tastes amazing!! But they’re still pretty soft, like the middle is hot but it has an uncooked texture to it. I guess I’ll keep them in until they reach the texture I like? At least in my oven, which might be innaccurate, I probably should have left them in on the higher temp for longer…
Yes, keep them in longer. And then let them cool for about 10 minutes. You can also put them back in the oven at any time.
Also, I use the convection setting, so you could probably go to 300 degrees F. Sorry – I always forget to mention that.
Ohh, that must have been it. Already made a new batch. Much better texture and just as tasty. Thanks!
I also made a new batch: used almond extract and no spices. Then put a dab of homemade jam in the center of each one. Turned out just perfectly. This is a great starter recipe that I can turn into so many different things! Thank you!
Made a batch tonight…wonderful!
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Those look amazing! I could 10 in one sitting! Yum
I’m allergic to tree nuts, so no almond flour for me. Suggestions for alternatives? Is there such a thing as peanut flour?
Actually, yes, I’ve seen peanut flour at Trader Joe’s.
Try using coconut flour.
I’m thinking this maybe needs an egg or two? Just working on it now. Saw that there’s one egg in the crisper gingerman version….
I think the sugar makes it’s crispy, but you can certainly try an egg. I haven’t.
I ended up putting one egg in the recipe and they came out very crispy. It did however make the batter/dough much looser so i couldn’t really flatten them. I froze the batter for about 15 mins before putting on the cookie sheet. The cookies also spread when baking with the addition of the egg. But, tasty, crunchy cookies overall! Thanks Erica!!
ooh. Thanks for letting us know. Interesting. I’ll have to try that. This recipe dates back to when I my son was not eating eggs for a bit.
These were wonderful! Thank you for sharing, I really liked them with the salt on top.
I was wondering what you could use to substitute out the honey for something lower in sugar. I am diabetic. Do you think sugar free maple syrup works?
it’s definitely worth a try. I don’t see why not, but I’m not sure what’s in sugar-free maple syrup.
Just made my first batch. Recipe adjustments: 2.5 cups of almond flour, ghee (heaping 1/3 of a cup, probably closer to half cup), no honey or sweets, 2 eggs, 325 degree oven for 18 minutes. Makes 8 big cookies. Instant favorite. Perfect for the holiday season and winter months! Just posted a picture to my Facebook page. Thanks for the inspiration!
These look fantastic! I love the almond flour and that they’re sweetened with honey. I’m going to bookmark this recipe, these are my kind of cookies
These looks amazing:) I also want to let you know that I’ve selected you for the Versatile Blogger Award. You can find out about why I selected you and what you need to do in my link below.
http://www.alternativeeating.wordpress.com
Have a great day:)
I made these yesterday but as bar cookies in a 9×13 inch pan. I baked them for 30 minutes at 300 degrees then turned off the oven and left them in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. They were pretty dry yesterday but today they are super tasty and crispy!
Ah, so you probably would like them before the 30 minute additional stay in the oven. That’s how they taste before drying them.
just made these yesterday – and i LOVE them! perfect crispy ginger snap cookies. what a treat!
I made these just now and they’re delicious. I might add more ginger and maybe some fresh ginger because I like a really spicy cookie. I’m newly pregnant and am trying to stay away from wheat although I don’t have an allergy. I just know that my tummy is happier without it. Does this cookie base transfer well? Like could I make a lemon cookie somehow?
Fantastic! I used molasses instead of honey for an even more traditional ginger snap taste. Love these, thanks!
Good to know it works with molasses!
Ive made these a couple dozen times and I LOVE them but have never had them turn out thick like the picture. Mine are always spread out flat and thin…still taste awesome though…I use convection and have tried all the variables in your directions. Any other hints? Thanks,
I am having the same problem!
I haven’t made this since last winter, but I’m thinking that I must have put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then used the dough (although I never do that). What oil are you using?
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Hello!! Love your site <3
I always make my cookies with almond flour, but I was wondering two things, have you ever made these with fresh ginger? and have you ever worked with coconut nectar instead of honey? thanks!!
I haven’t, but I bet it would taste great with fresh ginger. It might be softer though. I haven’t tried coconut nectar yet but from what i can tell online, you can replace honey with equal amounts of coconut nectar.
I just made these and they spread out into one giant cookie. Not sure what I did wrong. I am just starting to cook with almond meal/flour. Any suggestions?
what oil are you using? I use butter or coconut oil. the oil choice may be the issue.
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I just made these and they were pretty fantastic! I followed the recipe to a t (using coconut oil) but they didn’t turn out like yours. Mine were also flat and thin. Even still, they were absolutely delicious
Next time I’ll see if I can make some changes, try putting them in the freezer first, less oil perhaps? or maybe trying it with an egg. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
interesting. I think I made them with butter last year. I’m going to try coconut oil, but I bet you’re right – letting them cool or putting them in the freezer for a few minutes might be the difference. Thanks for the feedback!
Yummy! Thanks for a great timely recipe! They came out great!
I just made these amazing cookies! I a good dded a little extra almond meal, but followed the recipe exactly as written, and they came out terrific! Hard to stop eating! I have tried many recipes on this site and haven’t found one yet that wasn’t fabulous!
Thanks Gail! Good to hear.
thanks so much for posting! My husband can’t eat eggs, and he loves gingersnaps, so was looking for something special for him. My kitchen smells wonderful with all those spices baking, just love it! thanks again
These were AMAZING! Actually, they were too good b/c I could not stop eating them. They came out perfect! Thank you!
AWESOME COOKIES!!!! These will definitely be a ‘go to’ cookie recipe for any occasion!!! I love how crispy they got. I used half fresh ginger and half ground (only because I was out of ground) and they were perfect!
thanks! always nice to add fresh ginger if you have it.
Can I use almond pulp? I haven’t dried it into a flour, but its drained and dry to the touch.
sorry, I just don’t know. Let me know if you do try it though.