If you follow the 80:20 lifestyle, you know how challenging that balance can be during the holiday season. Learning to prepare and bake lower-sugar sweet treats is one of the keys to our own 80:20 success. These Ginger Spice Cookies are a great lower-glycemic way to get festive without a huge sugar hangover!
Our 80:20 Plan is centered around the idea that you can live the Conscious Cleanse as a lifestyle – and that includes indulging in pie, cookies, ice cream, and candy from time to time.
When you’re trying to keep sugar in moderation, our Ginger Spice cookies fit the bill! If you’re going to try only one 80:20 recipe this season (and you have a sweet tooth), this should be it.
These cookies are our healthier spin on the classic ginger snap. They have the perfect chewy texture, and they’re super simple to whip up. They’re ideal for anyone with dietary restrictions or following a lower-glycemic lifestyle – we’ve kept it grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, AND vegan with this one.
Speaking of refined sugar-free, this recipe uses a unique natural sweetener called yacon. Yacon is derived from a Central American root, and is beloved for stabilizing blood sugar and being low on the glycemic index. It’s even considered a superfood! If you’ve never used yacon powder, you can find it in most natural foods stores.
The fat in these cookies is sustainably-sourced palm shortening, which has a luxurious outcome in baking. When choosing palm shortening, look for brands that source from sustainable, ethically harvested palm plantations.
Ready to spice things up in the kitchen? Try these yummy cookies and let your family know that they came from “that cleanse” you were doing! Then be sure to leave us a comment below and let us know how you like them.
With holiday baking love,
The Conscious Cleanse Team
Ginger Spice Cookies
Yield: About 15 cookies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup palm shortening
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup yacon root powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cup finely ground almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine shortening, maple syrup, yacon, and vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl combine almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix thoroughly. Scoop 1-inch balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes.
If you liked this recipe, we invite you to join our online community! When you sign up you’ll receive regular healthy lifestyle tips and new recipes. As a welcome-gift, we’ll send you our FREE Healthy Holidays eCookbook, a collection of more of our favorite easy and nutritious holiday recipes.
Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here.
Awesome! Do you think I could substitute Coconut Oil for the palm shortening?
Hi Jenn, Great question! You can use coconut oil or coconut shortening. The shortening will make it more fluffy than coconut oil but both will taste great! XO, J&J
What could be used instead of almond flour. We have nut allergies.vthanks
Hi Sylvanna, Great question! Though we haven’t tried it with this recipe, we like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. You can find it here: http://amzn.to/2Gevf4C. It should work well for this recipe. XO, J&J
These sound delicious! We have a nut allergy in my family…do you think we could use chickpea flour, or coconut flour instead?
Hi Jennifer, You can definitely use those, though they may need other ingredients to help with the right consistency. We haven’t tried it with this recipe, but we like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. You can find it here: http://amzn.to/2Gevf4C. It should work well for this recipe. If you try it, let us know what you think. XO, J&J
Is yaco root powder used as substitute for sugar ?
Hi Silik, Yacon root is used as a sugar substitute. The low glycemic load makes it a great alternative. XO, J&J
What would you suggest in replacement of the Yacon root? I have everything else on hand already.
Hi Tracy, lucuma powder would be a perfect 1:1 substitute for yacon if you have access to it. If not, coconut sugar will work well in a pinch (but it will increase the sugar in this recipe). If you have further questions about substitutions for this recipe, feel free to reach out to us at connect@consciouscleanse.com. XO, The Conscious Cleanse Team