I never really had gingerbread cookies growing up–I mostly stuck to chocolate chip cookies and stuck my nose up at the more “grown up” flavors. As a result, I really have no idea what gingerbread is actually supposed to taste like. I always see a list of ingredients and just imagine what that would be like .. because of this, I feel a bit nervous making anything gingerbread-ey (except for these guys, which were amazing).
So what did I do? I went to the master queen, herself, and scoped out a traditional gingerbread cookie, according to Martha Stewart. I subbed in raw ingredients for the cookie, rolled it up into a neat little ball and then rolled them in sucanat. The sucanat was the perfect final touch and provided a delicious balance to the blackstrap molasses.
I am so pleased with these little bites. They came out so much more delicious than I expected. I think this is because I love the taste of molasses and there is a good amount of it here. If you don’t like molasses, or don’t have any, then either scale back or omit altogether.
Almond Gingerbread Holiday Bites
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 2 T flax meal
- 2 t ground ginger
- 1 t ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t ground nutmeg
- 1/4 t ground cloves
- 1/4 t sea salt
- 2 T coconut oil
- 1/3 cup packed medjool dates, soaked
- 2-4 T unsulfured blackstrap molasses (adjust according to taste)
- 1 cup sucanat, for rolling the final product in
- Process your almonds in a food processor until a powder forms. Dump into a large bowl.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
- Pit and peel your soaked dates and process them in the food processor until a paste forms. You may have to scrape down the sides.
- Combine the date paste, the coconut oil, and the molasses in a bowl until incorporated. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms.
- Wet your hands and roll the dough into bite-sized balls.
- Roll them in coconut sugar or sucanat, if desired.
- Place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
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