Gingerbread Cookies – A Holiday Favorite (& sugar free!)

sugar free gingerbread cookies

Gingerbread is a favorite and common Christmas recipe in most households during the holiday season. It’s fun to make, fun to decorate and of course delicious!

When we went sugar free I was unsure how to make sugar free gingerbread cookies, as it seemed silly to make and decorate them, then not eat them. I had found a website with sugar free recipes that offered an alternative but when I tried it though it was edible, it was not the same and I decided that I would not make it again. Matthew though really liked them, which I thought was interesting.

This past summer, I started using barley malt and coconut sugar more. Barley malt is a great substitute for molasses and coconut sugar for brown sugar. I made a delicious baked bean recipe when we went camping using the barley malt in place of the molasses, oh it was yummy!

Once I discovered these substitutions and that they worked well, I took a look at my original gingerbread recipe and realized that I now had the appropriate substitutions to adjust this recipe. I was very excited!

So I tried it out last week for the first time. I got out all my Christmas cookie cutters, which I have many, big and small and all different shapes. The kids love to use the cookie cutters and enjoy making the shapes. We made Santas, reindeer, angels and bells. Hollies and wreaths, snowmen and tin soldiers. Luke and Chloe were very excited and once we had them in the oven, asked to have the oven light on so they could see the cookies.

They did not eat much for lunch that day as they were waiting for cookies! (but I also used it an incentive to finish their lunch 🙂 They gobbled them up and of course wanted more, but after a few I said we would wait until later, as I actually had to bake the rest.

In adjusting the recipe I found that I would increase the spices a little, so though I have posted the recipe with the spice amounts as is, I would recommend increasing the ginger and maybe the cinnamon by 1/4 tsp. each, but it depends on your personal preference. I like my gingerbread cookies to be a bit more gingery than they turned out, though they were still very good.

We did not ice them this time around as we enjoyed them straight from the oven, but you could ice them with the recipe that I have included below. It is a basic sugar free icing recipe, which you can color using food coloring if you like. (Though food coloring is not good for us due to all the processing and effects it has on our body. You can buy natural food coloring in the store, I have seen it at Community Natural Foods here in Calgary, but you can also make your own. My sister has been experimenting with beets, spinach and other foods to color her icing for her cookies. More on that coming…)

Sugar Free Gingerbread Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour

sugar free gingerbread cookies1/2 c. shortening

1/2 c. coconut sugar

1/2 c. barley malt

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. ginger or 1-2 drops Ginger essential oil

1/4 tsp. cinnamon or 1 drop Cinnamon Bark essential oil

1/8 tsp. cloves or 1-2 drops Clove Bud essential oil

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. hot water

1 tsp. vinegar

Sift flour, measure, resift. Cream shortening, blend in coconut sugar and add barley malt and beaten egg. Beat well. Mix spices with baking soda and blend until smooth with hot water and vinegar. Stir into creamed mixture. Add flour and mix.

Roll out dough on a well floured surface to 1/4″ thick. Dough may be quite sticky. Use cookie cutters to make desired shapes. Put on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes.

Cookies may be iced after fully cooled.

Simple Buttercream Icing 

1 c. Powdered Sugar Replacement (see recipe below)

1/2 c. Earth Balance Vegan Spread

1/2 c. Rice Milk or Almond Milk

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until smooth. Proportions can be adjusted to make icing thicker or thinner as desired. Add food coloring if desired, ice cookies.

Sugar Free Powdered Sugar (replacement for regular icing sugar)

1 cup nonfat dry milk (for dairy free use powdered coconut milk)

1 cup cornstarch

2/3 cup Krisda Stevia for baking

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and whip until blended and powdered. Store in an airtight container.

This replacement can be used in any recipe calling for icing sugar.


Summer Treats -Grasshopper Popsicles

Sharing their first popsicle

Summer time is a great time of year when the days are long and lazy, the kids are off and you are often out playing and enjoying the summer sunshine. With summer comes all the summer treats that we enjoy like ice cream and popsicles.

Luke and Chloe had their first popsicle the other day and loved it! They shared it. It was so cute to watch them licking and biting it, getting it all over their faces and clothes, even though I did have the forethought to put bibs on them.

Anticipating her next bite

I have always made my own popsicles but now with our need to be sugar and dairy free it is even more important for us to do so. I have found the challenge with this change has been to still provide the ‘treats’ that kids are used to and enjoy without the sugar in them. Many store bought brands are full of sugar, artificial colors and flavorings, so in order to enjoy popsicles we have to make them ourselves. Traditionally I have made popsicles using apple or orange juice, or even sometimes juice from the juicer; but I have recently discovered some new, healthy and really yummy recipes for popsicles. The favorite, and the one that Luke and Chloe thoroughly enjoyed the other day, is Grasshopper popsicles. They have banana, blackberries and spinach in them. Yes spinach! What a great way to get those greens in.

I discovered this recipe when I bought my Vitamix this winter. The Vitamix came with a recipe book full of all kinds of sauces, beverages, dips, etc. that I could make with raw organic and sugar free ingredients.

Making your own popsicles is very easy. You can buy popsicle molds at most stores and they are fairly inexpensive. Choosing whatever ‘flavour’ you want you just fill them up, put in the stick and put them in the freezer. Voila! Cool yummy treat!

All done!

So as we enjoy our warm sunny days, where popsicles will become more in demand, I would suggest giving this recipe a whirl. It’s fast and easy -and if you don’t tell your kids what is in it, they probably won’t ask or know the difference. Even when they do find out what is in it, it doesn’t matter to them because they ate it and enjoyed it!

Grasshopper Popsicles – Vitamix

1 c. watergrasshopper popsicles

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 pitted medjool dates

2 c. spinach

2 c. fresh or frozen blackberries

2 bananas, peeled

Place all ingredients in the Vitamix in the order listed. Select variable 1. Turn the machine on slowly increasing the speed to 10 and then to High. Blend for 30-45 seconds using the tamper if needed to press ingredients into the blades. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.