These classic gingerbread cookies take a healthier route and are made with whole grains and unrefined sugars. Plus, it is taken to the next level with the addition of orange!
Talk about the holiday feels right now. Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, our weekly family movie nights are now holiday themed, and we are surrounded by Christmas music wherever we go. All we need is snow on the ground and some cookies in the oven.
Although I love baking anytime of the year, baking is especially fun during the holidays. It’s one of the only times where everyone one in our little family spends hours in the kitchen baking and decorating cookies. This is what memories are made of!
Like most families, growing up it was a family holiday tradition to make Santa homemade cookies. When I was a kid we always baked sugar cookies, cut them out using Christmas cookie cutters, and then decorated them with icing and sprinkles. I carried this tradition on with my kiddos. The Hubs is NOT a fan of sugar cookies, so year after year I find myself searching and testing out different cut-out cookie recipes to find the one that would satisfy everyone in our home. One year I decided to try out a gingerbread cookie and to our surprise it was a crowd pleaser.
Traditional gingerbread cookie recipes call for lots of butter and sugar. After a few trial runs I have created a gingerbread cookie that cuts down on the amount of oil/butter and sugar used and it uses whole grains. The added orange zest brings a little brightness to this traditionally very spiced cookie. Just because these are a healthier version of the classic don’t expect bland cookies. No flavor sacrifice here! Enjoy them plain with a cup of coffee or, if you like them a little bit sweeter, ice them! They are the perfect canvas for decorating.
Tips- This recipe will make approximately 28 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. *I used a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter. It is important that you give yourself time to chill the dough, at least 3 hours. I like to prep the dough the day before and chill it overnight. The dough will be very sticky once it is all combined. Chilling the dough will firm it up, making it more manageable to roll it out.
Flour is going to be your best friend when rolling out this dough. The dough can get a bit sticky as you work with it. So… flour everything! Don’t be afraid to flour your hands, rolling pin, and work surface. You may need to add more flour to those surfaces every time you reroll out the dough. Don’t worry about the extra flour on your cookies, it will bake off in the oven.
The spices and orange go so well together. The edges are crispy and the centers are soft and chewy. What’s not to love??!! This will be our go to recipe this year for our Santa cookies.
Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 6 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- zest of one medium orange approximately 1 1/2-2 teaspoons
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat coconut oil and coconut sugar until well combined. Add molasses and honey, beat on medium speed until combined. Next, add egg, vanilla, and orange zest, beat on medium speed until well combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, as needed, to ensure all of the ingredients are being incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combined flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture. Mix until combined. Dough will be very sticky and thick.
- Divide the dough in half and tightly wrap each half in plastic wrap, pressing down on the dough to create disc shape. The disc shape will make it easier to roll out the dough. Chill dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Working with one chilled disc at a time (keep the other dough disc in the refrigerator until ready to roll), on a generously floured surface using a floured rolling pin and floured hands, roll out dough until ¼-inch thick. Cut out cookies using your favorite cookie cutters. Place shapes 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll leftover dough scraps and cut out cookies until all of the dough is used. Repeat step with the other chilled dough disc.
- Bake cookies for 8-11 minutes. If you prefer your cookies to be soft, bake for 8 minutes. If you prefer your cookies to be crisp bake for 11 minutes. We like ours with crispy edges and soft centers, so I bake mine at 10 minutes. The cookies will further crisp as they cool. Allow cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. Allow the cookie to cool completely before decorating.
Notes
Store cookies in a covered container for up to one week at room temperature. Don’t need 28 cookies? You can halve the recipe or make the whole batch and freeze half of the unbaked dough for up to 3 months.