These Low Carb Gingerbread Cookies are the perfect festive cookie to make this holiday season. Put on some Christmas music, and make a batch of these perfectly spiced cookies with your friends and family. At only 3 net carbs per cookie, you'll be enjoying all the flavors of the season without the extra sugar!
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Disclosure: This post is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Bob's Red Mill. We love using Bob's Red Mill almond flour to craft the most delicious keto-friendly eats and treats. Thank you for supporting the brands that help to bring fresh new content to A Full Living!
There's something so cozy about making delicious Christmas cookies during the holiday season, and there's no reason to stop if you're on a low-carb or keto diet.
You may also enjoy this keto eggnog, this keto hot buttered rum, or this delicious keto caramel slice.
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Classic cookie - Santa would love to see these yummy cookies on his plate this holiday season. The classic flavor of this cookie is adored by all.
- Perfectly spiced and chewy - These cookies have that distinct gingerbread flavor, wrapped up in a nice and chewy bite. If you prefer crispy gingerbread cookies, you can always roll the dough a little thinner as well.
- Naturally gluten-free - Thanks to Bob's Red Mill almond and coconut flour, these cookies are naturally gluten-free!
- Low in carbs & sugar - Made with a brown sugar and powdered sugar replacement, these cookies have that classic gingerbread flavor, without all the carbs and sugar!
🎄Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Bob's Red Mill super-fine almond flour & coconut flour - Bob's makes the finest almond flour! It's ground super-fine, so it makes for a great texture. The coconut flour is crucial to balance out the moisture in the cookie dough, and we don't recommend swapping one for the other. You will need both.
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Spices - Ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and optional cardamom.
- Xanthan gum - To help the texture of the cookies and thicken the royal icing. If you decide to omit the xanthan gum, just be aware that your cookies may end up a bit crumbly.
- Brown sugar and powdered sugar replacement
- Unsalted butter - Allow butter to sit out at room temperature so the butter can become softened.
- Vanilla extract
- Blackstrap molasses - Or regular molasses, but blackstrap has a more potent flavor and is slightly lower in carbs than other types. Just a small amount is used, as it is the main ingredient in a gingerbread cookie recipe of any kind. The impact on your blood sugar is pretty minimal considering we only use 2 tablespoons in the entire recipe.
- Egg & egg white - 1 large egg for the cookies, and an egg white for the icing.
- Heavy cream
- Cream of tartar - For the royal icing.
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Less spiced - We love a spiced cookie, but if you're less enthusiastic about warming spices, you can add less, and omit the cardamom. The only truly necessary spices needed are cinnamon and ground ginger.
- More spiced, or alternative spices - You can also add in things like ground anise, or allspice to the mix if you like. You can also swap in pumpkin pie spice if you like.
- Dairy free - Use dairy-free butter, and swap heavy cream for your favorite nut milk.
- Thin and crispy cookies - If you prefer a more crispy cookie, roll the dough ¼ - ⅛ inch thick. Keep a close eye on them in the oven, as they will bake quickly.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide suggestions to make these cookies vegan at this time. No other substitutions have been listed.
🔪Prep work
- Allow butter and eggs to sit out at room temperature to soften for an hour or so.
- Measure out all remaining ingredients.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Separate the egg white from the yolk, and store the egg yolk in the fridge to save for omelettes or other recipes!
📋Instructions
In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and the brown sugar replacement with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and molasses, (Image 1) then mix cream together again until smooth, then add in the egg and mix until completely combined. (Image 2)
Sift in the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum. (Image 3)
Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together until completely combined and no streaks remain. (Image 4)
Separate the dough ball into two roughly equal pieces, then place them between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll them to about ¼-inch thick with a rolling pin, then transfer to the fridge on a baking sheet to chill for at least 1 hour before making the shapes. (Image 5)
Pro tip: Rolling the cookie dough to your desired thickness before chilling makes cutting the shapes a breeze. You can simply pat the dough into disks and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, but you will need to work the dough more when it comes out of the fridge, causing it to heat up more, and resulting in more chill time later on.
After the dough has chilled for at least 1 hour (up to 2 days), remove the plastic wrap and use cookie cutters to make your favorite festive shapes. (Image 6)
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer, leaving space between the cookies, and freeze the raw cookie dough shapes for 15 minutes to prevent spreading in the oven. (Image 7) While the cookies are freezing, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Repeat steps 5-7 until you have used up all of your cookie dough. You can re-roll the dough as many times as you want, but you may need to chill the dough again for 10-15 minutes to firm up if it begins to become hard to work with.
After the cookies have chilled in the freezer, place them in the preheated oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes for larger cookies, or 7-10 minutes for smaller cookies. Watch the cookies very closely to prevent burning.
Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes (Image 8) before transferring to a cooling rack to let them cool completely before frosting. (Image 9)
After the cookies have cooled, mix together the cream of tartar, heavy cream, and an egg white, then sift in the powdered sweetener. We like the icing to be a bit thicker for easier frosting, so if needed, add a tiny pinch of xanthan gum to thicken the icing. (Image 10)
Using a piping bag and a small decorating tip, decorate your cookies. Have fun with it! We are definitely not expert decorators, but these still turned out very cute. Allow the icing to harden before stacking in a cookie box. (Image 11)
Enjoy the cookies with your family and friends!
✨Tips & tricks
- Don't overbake! These cookies bake up quickly and you don't want them to burn. Depending on the thickness of the cookies and the size, they won't need to be in the oven long. You only need between 12 - 15 minutes for a standard size, and between 7-10 minutes for thinner cookies or smaller-sized cookies.
- Don't skip chilling the cookie dough. Almond flour dough is very sticky, so you will need to work quickly to get the shapes cut out, and chilling the dough helps make the dough sturdy enough to cut out shapes.
- Chill the shaped cookies in the freezer before baking. This is absolutely crucial for success, or the cookies will spread too much in the oven.
- Chill the dough before re-rolling if necessary. If you are having a hard time with the dough falling apart after re-rolling the scraps, simply chill the dough again. We recommend re-rolling it between parchment paper or plastic wrap in your desired thickness before placing it in the freezer again for 10-15 minutes. When it comes out of the freezer, you can take off the top layer of parchment and press your cookie cutters into the chilled dough.
- Sift in dry ingredients and sweetener. To help prevent any clumps in the cookie dough, or a lumpy icing.
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh. To check if your baking soda is fresh, combine 1 teaspoon of baking soda and about 1 tablespoon of vinegar. If it bubbles vigorously, you're good to go! If not, toss it, you need some fresh stuff.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This helps everything cream together nicely, and prevents the dough from seizing when new ingredients are added.
- If you forget to let your eggs sit out at room temperature, simply place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, then transfer to the fridge for another 3 days or so. To freeze, allow cookies to cool completely, then add the cookies to a freezer safe container where they will keep for up to 1 year.
Yes, this dough freezes very well. Wrap the unbaked cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap and place inside of freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.
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📖 Recipe
Keto Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- handmixer (or stand mixer with a paddle attachment)
- cookie cutters
- parchment paper or plastic wrap
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups almond flour (224 grams)
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom (optional)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1.5 sticks)
- ¾ cup brown sugar replacement (144 grams)
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Icing
- ½ teaspoon heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup powdered erythritol
- 1 large egg white
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and the brown sugar replacement with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and molasses, then mix cream together again until smooth, then add in the egg and mix until completely combined.
- Sift in the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, gingerbread spices, baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of the xanthan gum. Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together until completely combined and no streaks remain
- Separate the dough ball into two roughly equal pieces, then place them between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll them to about ¼-inch thick, with a rolling pin, then transfer them to the fridge on a baking sheet to chill for at least 1 hour before making the shapes.
- After the dough has chilled for at least 1 hour (up to 2 days), remove the plastic wrap and use cookie cutters to make your favorite festive shapes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer, leaving space between the cookies, and freeze the raw cookie dough shapes for 15 minutes to prevent spreading in the oven. While the cookies are freezing, preheat the oven to 350°F. Repeat steps 5-7 until you have used up all of your cookie dough. You can re-roll the dough as many times as you want, but you may need to chill the dough again for 10-15 minutes to firm up if it begins to become hard to work with.
- After the cookies have chilled in the freezer, place them in the preheated oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes for larger cookies, or 7-10 minutes for smaller cookies. Watch the cookies very closely to prevent burning. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely before frosting.
- After the cookies have cooled, mix together the cream of tartar, heavy cream, and an egg white, then sift in the powdered sweetener. We like the icing to be a bit thicker for easier frosting, so if needed, add a tiny pinch of xanthan gum to thicken the icing. sing a piping bag and a small decorating tip, decorate your cookies. Have fun with it! We are definitely not expert decorators, but these still turned out very cute. Allow the icing to harden before stacking in a cookie box.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, then transfer to the fridge for another 3 days or so. To freeze, allow cookies to cool completely, then add the cookies to a freezer-safe container where they will keep for up to 1 year.
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Notes
- This recipe makes roughly 24 full-size gingerbread men, but can be rolled thinner to make crispier cookies, or can be made smaller to make up to 32 cookies.
- For best results, don't overcrowd the baking sheet.
- Don't overbake.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes on a baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack, or they will crumble.
- Make sure to let the cookies chill, or they will not be easy to roll out and cut into shapes.
- You can re-roll the dough as many times as you need to since this recipe is gluten-free, but you will likely need to chill the dough between rolling so that the shapes roll out properly.
- Freeze before baking, or the cookies will spread.
- Make sure to sift in dry ingredients to ensure there are no clumps of dough.
- Also sift in your powdered sweetener so there are no clumps in the icing.
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