Healthy Gingerbread (and a lovely spice mix to gift)

This healthy gingerbread recipe is a delicious way to bring festive flavours into your home, without the excess sugar and refined ingredients often found in store-bought gingerbread.  As well as healthy gingerbread cookies, it makes fabulous gingerbread men and gingerbread houses too. And even though it’s perfect for Christmas, with its nourishing spice blend, you can also enjoy it all year long.

Whilst I was developing the perfect spice blend, I ended up with quite a lot of it. Because there’s only so many gingerbread biscuits a family can eat, I started experimenting with other ways to enjoy this nourishing, healing blend and came up with quite a few yummy drinks and eats.

As usual, I just don’t know where to stop when it comes to sharing yumminess, so, I thought I’d share it all! I think the spice mix would make a lovely gift – especially as it is very hardy and has a very long shelf life.

How would you use it I hear you ask? Here are a few ideas:

• Add it to hot chocolate (or even your latte)
• Add it to my delicious basic cake mix (think spiced tea cake)
• Sprinkle it over baked sweet potato (with a dollop of butter)
• Add it to your favourite pancake batter (it could replace the spices in this Carrot Cake Pancake recipe)
• Mix it with maple syrup and drizzle it over yoghurt
• Add it to my No-bake Muesli Bar (replace the cinnamon)
• Or add it to your favourite chocolate bliss ball recipe
• Add it to your banana smoothie – a flavour match made in heaven!

Really, the possibilities are endless!

Health benefits

Gingerbread spices like cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric aren’t just tasty, they also offer a range of health benefits. Cinnamon helps stabilise blood sugar, ginger supports digestion, and turmeric provides anti-inflammatory properties. By making your gingerbread at home, you’re avoiding the vegetable oils and high sugar content typically found in commercial versions, giving your body a healthier treat.

Ingredients

The spice mix includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove – ingredients that not only add flavour but also provide nourishment. Combined with wholemeal spelt flour and a natural sweetener like maple syrup, these biscuits are wholesome and delicious without the need for processed ingredients. You can adjust the spice blend to suit your taste, making the gingerbread flavour as ginger-y or mild as you prefer.

How to make healthy gingerbread

Making these spelt gingerbread biscuits is simple. Start by combining your dry ingredients, including the spice mix, flour, and bicarbonate of soda. Then mix the melted butter, milk, and maple syrup before adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients to form a dough. Once the cookie dough has chilled, roll it out and use cookie cutters for festive shapes. After baking, allow the biscuits to cool completely before enjoying – they firm up as they cool, making them the perfect texture.

If you own a Thermomix, we’ve also included Thermomix instructions for this recipe.

Serving suggestions and how to store

Enjoy these gingerbread biscuits with a hot cup of tea or even use them as edible gifts during the festive season. Feel free to frost them to make them extra celebratory. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze them to enjoy later. They also make great treats for lunchboxes if you’re looking for a healthy snack option.

Vary this healthy gingerbread to suit your dietary needs

To make these gingerbread biscuits gluten-free, swap the spelt flour for almond meal and arrowroot, or use your preferred gluten-free flour. For a vegan option, use coconut oil instead of butter and choose a non-dairy milk. If you’re looking to reduce fructose, replace the maple syrup with rice malt syrup for a low-fructose version that’s just as tasty. They are egg-free so perfect for those with egg allergies.

Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit any specific dietary requirements.

For a healthy Gingerbread Loaf recipe, click HERE.

Or for Gingerbread granola, click HERE.

Healthy Gingerbread (and a lovely spice mix to gift)

Prep 20 minutes minutes

Cook 10 minutes minutes

Total 30 minutes minutes

Serves: 20 biscuits

This Gingerbread recipe is versatile and delicious. Make it into biscuits, gingerbread boys or girls, or any shape you like really. 

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Ingredients

Spice mix

• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground clove
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ground black pepper -to taste

Gingerbread biscuit

• 180 g wholemeal spelt flour (1½ cup) gluten-free variation below
• 1-2 tbsp spice mix -how much you add depends on how ginger-y you like your biscuits
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch sea salt
• 50 g butter - melted (¼ cup) 
• 30 ml milk (of choice) (2 tablespoons)
• 85 g maple syrup (¼ cup)

Method

• Preheat your oven to 150°C/300°F (fan forced).
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, spice mix, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
• In a blender or food processor, mix melted butter, milk and maple syrup until well combined.
• Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix together until dough forms. If the mixture seems a little wet, add a little more flour, or dry add more milk (it should be like playdough and not stick to your fingers).
• Roll into a ball, wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
• If you aren't bothered with shapes, roll the dough into a log, chill and then cut the log into slices (to form round biscuits).
• Or to cut shapes, place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll to approximately 2-3 millimetres thick. If your kitchen is warm, work quickly as soft dough is hard to shape.
• Cut shapes with a cookie cutter, place on a lined or greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden (gluten-free may need a bit longer).
• Leave on the tray until completely cooled. They firm as they cool.

Thermomix method

• Melt butter 1 minute, temp 90 speed 3.
• Add the milk and maple syrup and mix 30 sec, speed 4.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix 30 sec, speed 4 until a thick dough forms.
• Continue as above.

Store

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Variations

Gluten and grain-free

Substitute spelt flour with 180g almond meal plus 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder. Or, for a firmer gluten-free cookie use half buckwheat/almond meal. Alternatively replace the spelt with your favourite gluten-free or paleo flour.

Dairy-free and vegan

Choose a non-dairy milk and replace the butter with coconut oil (it will produce a tougher biscuit once cooled).

Low-fructose

Replace the maple syrup with rice malt syrup as your sweetener.

 

I'd love to hear how you like this versatile recipe? Also if you can add to my list of ways to use the spice mix, that would be wonderful. Post a comment below or rate this recipe.

Course: Snack

Author: Georgia Harding

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