Soft and chewy cardamom spiced ginger cookies. Made in one bowl and ready in under an hour, these spiced cookies are grain, dairy, and nut free.
If I had a life motto, it would probably be something as simple as: bake cookies.
Bored? Bake cookies.
Sad? Bake cookies.
Celebrating? Bake cookies.
Last minute gift? Bake cookies.
When I lived at home with my parents, I used to always bake cookies with my little brothers whenever it came time to babysitting. It got to the point where my little brother, Matthew who was about 5 0r 6 at the cookie baking peak, would ask my parents to go run errands just so that we would bake cookies.
I’d divide up the tasks and eggs (because cracking the eggs is the most fun part) between both my younger brothers, Matthew and Michael, and put them to work. Despite their constant brotherly bickering, it was a time when both little boys put aside their differences to work together for the greater good: cookies.
The great thing about baking cookies, is that there are always ways to make it new with different flavors, add ins, toppings, whatever. I’ve already shared a grain free ginger cookie on my site, but these ginger cookies are a whole new kind of delicious. I based this recipe off of Caroline’s Paleo Gingersnap cookies making a few slight changes here and there until I ended up with these cardamom spiced ginger cookies.
I won’t be offended if you are after a more traditional ginger snap and jump on over to try Caroline’s recipe because they are really amazing. They aren’t just good grain free cookies – they are just good plain and simple. However, if you’re open to trying something new please do stick around because these cardamom spiced ginger cookies really are something special. If chai spiced cookies and traditional gingerbread got together and had delicious cookie babies, these are the cookies that would result from it. Because I reduced the amount of coconut sugar and cut out the maple syrup completely these don’t have that traditional snap that gingersnap cookies usually have. Instead they have more of that melt-in-your-mouth kind of cookie characteristic which is always welcome.
Only a few weeks left now until I get to fly to Arizona and spend Thanksgiving with my family. I’m looking forward to getting to bake again with my younger brothers – I don’t think I can still call Michael my little brother seeing as how he’s way taller than me. If he’s not already 6 ft he will be soon – and by the way he’s only 13. At least I’m still taller than Matthew. He’s been thinking up recipes and planning baking itinerary’s for the past several months. I should probably go make more of that spicy sweet potato and kale salad now and save room for all upcoming cookies.
What’s your favorite Christmas cookie? Any recommendations for me to pass along to Matthew?
Cardamom Spiced Ginger Cookies
Cardamon, ginger and cinnamon blend together to create a unique and delicious aromatic spice blend taking crinkle cookie to a whole new level!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup | 108 grams coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup | 135 grams coconut sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup | 170 grams tapioca flour
- 3 tablespoon | 21 grams coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom*
- 3 tablespoon raw cane sugar for rolling the cookies, (optional)
Instructions
- In medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil and coconut sugar until combined. Mix in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract.
- Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and mix until mostly combined. Repeat this process until the dry ingredients are fully combined with the wet ingredients. In the end you should have a thick, soft dough that's slightly sticky.
- Scoop out the dough about 2 tablespoons worth at a time (about 40 grams) and roll into little cookie dough balls. Place the balls back into the mixing bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F/160°C. Line or grease a couple of baking sheets with baking paper.
- Optional: Add the cane sugar to a small bowl or plate then roll the cookie dough ball in the sugar.
- Place the dough on the prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 2 inches on all sides so that the cookies have room for spreading. Press the dough down gently then bake for 8-10 minutes. Less time in the oven will result in a chewier cookie, more time will make for a crispier cookie. They should be a golden brown color when you take them out of the oven.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pre ground cardamom is best, but you can use cardamom pods in needed. You'll need about 5 pods. Gently bash the pods to open up, remove the seeds and grind them up as best you can in a mortar and pestle.
- Chilling the dough before baking helps keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Katie says
My cookies turned out awful! I measured with a scale and everything.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Katie! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them! Was there anything in particular that went wrong – if there was a problem I might be able to help you figure out what went wrong.
Christine says
I am going to try your recipe as is but I have a daughter who is allergic to coconut anything.
What would you suggest I exchange the coconut for?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Christine! It’s hard to say for sure without testing this out myself – coconut flour is quite a tricky flour to substitute 1:1 because it’s extremely absorbent (meaning you usually need less coconut flour than you would other flours). That being said, since it’s such a small amount here you could probably get away with using oat flour instead as that it also a pretty absorbent flour. As for the other coconut based ingredients you can swap out the coconut oil for butter/vegan butter and regular white sugar for coconut sugar.
Hope that helps!
Katrina says
Would it work to substitute applesauce for the coconut oil in this recipe? I often see it suggested instead of oils or butter in other recipes
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Katrina! I think applesauce would work to an extent, but it would end up changing the texture quite a bit (much more moist, I imagine). If you’d like to cut back on the oil I think you might have better results if you were to use half the oil required (1/4 cup instead) and then replace the other half with applesauce (1/4 cup).
Geoff says
Hi, I am halfway through the process, the dough tastes great, but after 45 min in fridge, it is still too stick to roll into a ball. I am going to leave the dough in the fridge overnight and hope for the best. Any ideas on what to do?
Thanks
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Geoff! If the dough is too sticky even after chilling you might need to add a bit more flour. I recommend adding an extra 2-3 teaspoons of coconut flour and that should be more than enough here. Hope that helps!
Tiffany Burns says
Have you tried substituting Cassava for Tapioca Flour in these?
Sarah Nevins says
I haven’t! I’ve got limited experience with cassava unfortunately so I’m not too sure how it would end up Sorry I can’t be more help here!
AJ says
I absolutely love cardamom, and these cookies look amazing! What would you recommend using in place of the coconut flour for someone who is allergic to coconut?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi AJ! Coconut flour can be a tricky ingredient to replace in baked goods because it’s an extremely absorbent flour – you often need only a fraction of what you might need compared to most other flours.
I’m not totally sure without trying this out myself, but I think you might have some success using oat flour in place of the coconut flour. Almond flour could work but I’m almost certain you’ll need to double the amount to make it work.
I hope one of those suggestions might help!
Teri Parkhurst says
Can you use almond flour instead of tapioca flour?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Teri! I haven’t tried this myself yet, but I do think almond flour would work here. The only main problem is that you might need to use more almond flour.
That being said, I think you might have better luck using this sugar cookie recipe as a base as it’s actually quite similar: https://www.asaucykitchen.com/almond-flour-sugar-cookies/#mv-create-recipe This recipe is made with almond flour and tapioca flour. You could add the spices and molasses from the cardamon cookies and use 1 teaspoon baking soda in addition to the 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. You can use butter or oil – both will work. I think that recipe would work better a starting point because it’s already got the right flour amounts. Hope that helps!
Brie Martin says
The taste was delicious, but my cookies spread out into more of a cookie sheet. How do I fix that for my next go around?
Thank you!!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Brie! You probably need a little bit more coconut flour – coconut flour can be a tricky flour to measure out correctly without using weights. If you were to try making these again I recommend adding 1-2 extra tablespoons of coconut flour and that should make a huge difference. Hope that helps!
cecilia says
I love ginger cookies and these have a real kick. Mine worked out. The texture is a bit different (melt in your mouth) but they hold together well like a regular cookie. I didn’t melt the coconut oil although it’s 35 degrees here today (sweltering) so it was half melted anyway. Spicy good.
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Cecilia!