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These nut-free and Paleo Gingersnap Cookies are made with tapioca flour and coconut flour. They’re crispy on the outside and have a chewy, toffee-like center. You won’t believe they are grain-free and gluten-free!
I have had a lot of positive feedback on my Grain Free Double Chocolate Cookies…
…but it was so quiet over at my Grain Free Ginger Cookies Post, that I could hear the crickets chirping. While they were pretty good for grain free, I wanted to make some Paleo cookies that were just plain good, period! As my Southern Granny would say, “Boy Howdy!” these Paleo Gingersnap Cookies hit the mark!
I don’t do a lot of Paleo baking because the term “Paleo baking” is kind of an oxymoron. That said I know I would never stick to a lifestyle that did not allow for occasional treats. Knowing that sometimes I’m going to have desserts, I figure that making them with unprocessed ingredients is a much better option that grabbing a bag or Oreos.
I’m allergic to nuts so that really limits my grain-free flour options. I would be far better off eating Oreos than eating a Paleo cookie made with nut flour. I’ve tried a number of coconut flour-based cookie recipes and have been disappointed to find their texture to be more like cake than like cookies.
The secret to getting the crispy and chewy texture in these cookies is tapioca flour and a ton of baking soda. The issue with tapioca flour is that it can have a starchy aftertaste, the issue with using a lot of baking soda is that it can make the cookies taste salty. I compensate for this in my Grain Free Double Chocolate Cookies by using a ton of chocolate. For this recipe, the starchy and salty flavors are masked by a ton of ginger! Do you think I can say ton one more time? I think I could say it tons more times 😉
A note about coconut flour, its absorbency can really vary from brand to brand. I used “Let's do…Organic” Coconut flour, it is really good, the best I have found so far! If you are using a different brand, start with 2/3 of what is called for, let it rest a few minutes, and then check your consistency before adding the full amount. You should have sticky dough, not batter.
If you have trouble finding ingredients for these cookies at your local market, don’t worry, I have included Amazon links for the supplies. I will earn a small commission if you purchase through these links. Your purchase helps support this site, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I actually use and like.
I did include instruction for rolling these cookies in some organic cane sugar (365-brand from Whole Foods). Gasp! I know cane sugar is not Paleo, and this ingredient is COMPLETELY optional. The cookies are delicious without the extra sugar, but I wanted this batch to have a little sparkle for the photographs. Sometimes a girl’s just gotta have a little sparkle in her life!
This Paleo Gingersnap Recipe makes forty-five 2 & 1/2” cookies. They really taste best the day they are baked and will turn stale more quickly than wheat cookies. While you may be tempted to eat the entire batch in one day, you can always freeze them. They are actually delicious frozen, right out of the freezer! Speaking of the freezer, if you eat dairy, try these with my Spiced Maple Caramel Ice Cream! Yum!
You can also use part of the batch to make a ginger cookie crumb pie crust for recipes like my Grain Free Lemon Tartlets.
Check out my other Unprocessed Sweets recipes:
For instructions with cooking process photos, scroll down past the recipe.
Instructions with cooking process photos:
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat together the melted palm shortening and coconut/palm sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
Add the egg, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla extract, and fresh grated ginger. Mix until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the: tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice. Slowly sift the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing on a low speed. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
Turn up the speed to medium and mix until well incorporated.
Transfer the dough to the refrigerator to set up for 30 minutes. I use this time to preheat my oven and clean up my kitchen.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Scoop 1 rounded teaspoon of chilled dough, per cookie.
Roll the dough into a ball 1" ball.
If you want to add a little sparkle, you can roll the balls in a plate of organic cane sugar. This step is optional.
Place dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Leave room for the cookies to spread, they will be approximately 2 & 1/2” wide.
I suggest no more than nine cookies per sheet.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes in a 325-degree oven.
Oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye on them. They should be golden brown and look crispy.
Allow cookies to cool before serving.
Store extra cookies wrapped tightly in the freezer.
I love adding a whole, unprocessed and healthy twist to classic recipes. My food is often grain-free, usually gluten-free, and always unprocessed.
I love how these cookies are grain free! I've been experimenting a lot with coconut flour lately and I've been really happy with the results. I've never tried palm shortening before--- I'll definitely have to look into that. These look so delish!!
Thanks Liz!
These look delicious and I am now allergic to almonds so it's good to see another option than almond flour. Happy fall!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your kind words. They are really yummy, I hope you'll try them 🙂
Just curious... when you say, "I am now allergic to almonds", did you recently develop an allergy? The reason I ask is that I was using almond flour in baking, I probably made about 5 different recipes, and suddenly nuts started to make me sick.
Ginger snaps are one of my favorites. So warm and comforting...love this paleo version! 😀
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Thanks Tammy!
These look amazing!!! I can't wait to make these for my family. I am a huge fan of crisp + chewy gingerbread cookies but haven't made any in many years. Thanks for the inspiration. Pinned and shared it on my social media + linking to it in my newsletter tomorrow morning. I hope it brings some traffic your way. I'll be hosting a gluten-free linky party tomorrow {Savoring Saturdays, 10/2 at 7 p.m. EST @ Recipes to Nourish} if you'd like to link up, I'm sure this recipe would be a hit.
Thanks Emily!
Can use butter instead of shortening?
Thanks!
Yes, you can use butter, but they will spread a bit more than if you use shortening.
Can use butter instead of shortening?... THANKS..:)
Yes you can use butter but they will spread more and be very flat.
Can use coconut oil instead of shortening? Thanks.. 🙂 🙂
They were still tasty with coconut oil but the texture changed. They really spread, more like crackers so I don't recommend it with this recipe.
Could I swap out tapioca starch for potato starch? Norm, I wouldn't ask- but I have a whole bag & not sure how to use- thought would be similar to tapioca
I haven't tried baking with potato starch, so I couldn't say. If you try it, let me know, how they turn out!
These are amazing I'm so happy! They taste just like ginger biscuits my dad used to make when I was little, texture and all. Thank you x
This recipe is AWESOME. It can get very difficult to find Paleo recipes without ground nuts or nut butters, so I was really happy when I came across this one. The only change I made was to use melted coconut oil instead of butter or shortening and they were still perfect. In a rare event my batch actually came out looking exactly like yours! That never happens, haha! Thanks very much for sharing this. My family and I love these cookies!
You're welcome! If you like these, you should try my Grain Free Double Chocolate Cookies, they have gotten really good feedback.
My cookies looked great - just like the picture- woop woop! But . . . they tasted salty, almost bitter. I can't think of any reason why, other than the large amount of baking soda? The only thing I changed in the recipe was not using any fresh ginger as we don't like the taste, we do like ground ginger so I just used that. The texture etc was good so I'd like to try the recipe again, just not sure what modifications to make? Thanks for any advice.
Alas, the issue with using a lot of baking soda is that it can make the cookies taste salty. I compensate by using TON of ginger, the fresh ginger helps. If you try it again maybe you can cut back on the baking soda and bump up the ginger, LMK how it turns out. Alternately, you may have more luck with these chocolate cookies if you are not a fan of fresh ginger.
These are SO good. Even my family who is not on Paleo loves these. Thank you so much for sharing.
Made these a few times. Favorite way is subbing cassava flour for tapioca flour and omitting coconut flour. Used melted raw butter. I was able to bring baking soda down to 1.25 teaspoons and it kept them from tasting salty as before. Also lessened fresh ginger to 1 tsp which kept them from being too spicy.
THESE. ARE. AMAZING.
And not just because they’re incredibly tasty (though they certainly are that). When I was a kid, my mom and I would always bake molasses cookies together around the holidays. They were so warm and spicy and wonderful, and made our house smell magical.
30 years later - my mom has Alzheimer’s, we no longer live close to my parents, and I so want to recreate some of these lovely memories with my kiddos (who have various health issues and diet restrictions), as a way of honoring my mom / feeling close to her since we’re so far away.
I tried swapping cassava flour into our old family recipe and also tried a few other paleo molasses cookie recipes and they just weren’t as good. But these cookies are so, so close to those cookies of my childhood, and my daughter LOVED mixing them up with me, and we so enjoyed eating them together… I have so much joy right now. Even my husband, who is not totally on board with our paleo lifestyle, loves these cookies.
I'm so happy that you enjoyed them!!