Gingerbread Cookies ( Cane Sugar-Free)

Every holiday, I crave for gingerbread cookies even though I was never fond of them. My craving lead me to make these crunchy gingerbread man. I used the same batter to make a simple gingerbread house too! I decided not to decorate it since I want to eat the gingerbread without any artificial food coloring found in decorative candies. This recipe is chosen from Weelicious because it contains less sugar but much flavor compared to other recipes.

Taste & Texture: This gingerbread cookie is sweet with a kick from the ginger. The sweetness is flavorful from maple syrup and molasses. It is super crunchy which made it very addictive to eat for both my husband and myself. Softer and chewier textured cookies can be made with this batch by baking it for a shorter amount of time, but we didn't enjoy them. 

Ingredients:

3½ cup of Whole Wheat Flour (any type)

¾ teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

½ cup Maple Syrup

⅔ cup Molasses

1 Egg

½ teaspoon Vanilla

½ cup Butter (room temperature)

2 teaspoon Ginger

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ teaspoon Clove & Nutmeg

Method: 

1. 1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. 2. In a separate bowl, cream butter with maple syrup until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, molasses and mix until well combined. You can do this by hand or with a padded stand mixture or standard handmixer.
3. 3. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until well combined. 
4. 4. Divide dough in half and form into 2 disks. Refrigerate in plastic wrap or parchment paper for 2 hours or overnight.
5. 5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
6. 6. On a lightly floured surface OR between two pieces of parchment paper, roll out one of the disks until it’s 1/4 thick all around.
7. 7. Cut out cookies with different shapes (gingerbread men, stars, christmas tree, etc). Use a spatula to gently transfer cookies to a baking sheet. 
8. 8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.
9. 9. Remove to a cooling rack. If you wish, decorate cookies after they are cooled.
10. 10. Decorating Ideas: Use raisins, raw sugar as sprinkles, chocolate chips to decorate gingerbread.