Fudgy Chocolate Cookies with Candied Ginger. Flourless Dark Chocolate Ginger Cookies. Vegan Gluten-free Grain-free Refined oil-free Cookie Recipe. Refined sugar-free without the candied ginger.
These cookies are so fudgy, they are pretty much a brownie in cookie form. There is no added oil, no added sugar in these treats. Just some smooth almond butter, maple syrup. cocoa powder, almond flour and a big slice of candied ginger. The cookies are refined sugar free if you omit the candied ginger.
Add holiday spices of choice to the cookie dough. Use other toppings like a candied orange peel, dollop of nut butter, a square of vegan chocolate, or candy cane. Make a double or triple batch of these. I usually make small batches to control my portions, which is needed with the holiday season, blogging and so on. The recipe is easily doubled, tripled. Add a bit less cocoa powder instead of full double, compensate with almond flour as needed.
This time of the year brings with it shorter days, sinus issues and time to reminisce and visit the year that has been. This year I am thankful for acceptance. Life has changed forever in many ways, for more than a decade now. Many times it is still hard to accept, that this is the new normal. esp harder for family and friends. This year, we worked on accepting this new normal, accepting that this is how things will be, and finding solutions and options within these limitations. The acceptance has helped me in many ways to be able to do more. I am thankful for being able to do whatever I can do.
I am thankful to you all, for your constant support, messages, love, for liking the food that I put out here, and so much more. Thank you, and wish you and yours a loved and happy holiday season.
I am thankful always for hubbs, for his resilience, optimism and practical perspective. I am thankful for chewie, the lovable puffball for his endless cuddles, thankful for being able to foster (dogs). I am thankful for family. The Indian cultural family expectations, which do not have the word inconvenience in their dictionary, actually works wonders as a support system. You family? You do this, period. When Mom was here, she gave us all a tight hug every single morning. That is the brightest start to any day. In all the busyness of everyday life, those 5 seconds ground you with love and strength to tackle anything that comes your way. To Hugs and Acceptance.
More cookies for the holiday season
- Oatmeal Walnut chocolate Chunk Cookies GF option
- Chickpea flour Chocolate chip cookies GF
- Peanut/Almond butter Pecan Cookies
- Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies. GF oil-free
- Giant chocolate chip and chunk cookies
- Ginger Molasses crinkle cookies. GF
- Double Chocolate chip cookies.
Shape the cookie dough into lose balls. Place a slice of candied ginger in the middle and flatten on the baking sheet.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Cool and serve. Inspiration to use Almond Butter + maple from VeggieInspiredJourney’s Snickerdoodles.
Fudgy Chocolate Cookies with Candied Ginger Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (80.5 g) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) smooth drippy almond butter or other smooth and drippy nut butter
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp starch arrowroot or corn starch
- 1/4 cup (23 g) + 1 tbsp cocoa powder use 1/2 tbsp less for less bitter/dark chocolate flavor
- 1/4 cup (30 g) + 1 tbsp almond flour
- 2 tbsp Candied Ginger sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180ºc.
- Add maple and almond butter to a bowl. Warm in the microwave (a few seconds) or in the oven (a few minutes in an oven proof bowl) and mix until smooth. *
- Add the salt, baking soda, vanilla extract and starch and mix in.
- Add the cocoa powder and almond flour and mix in. The mixture will be a sticky stiff batter. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Oil or flour your hands and shape into small flat round discs and place on parchment lined baking sheet.(If the mixture is still too sticky, fold in a few tsps of almond flour).
- Place a sliced candied ginger in the center and press to stick to and flatten the cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F / 180ºc for 9 to 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet . Cool completely and store in a container on the counter for upto 2 days. (The cookies can soften a bit depending on the nut butter, bake time etc. Bake a minute longer for crunchier. They are best the day of baking.)
dawn says
November 27, 2016 at 5:48 pmSounds wonderful, gonna’ give ’em a try. However, to make sure I’ve got them right, will you please clarify “drippy” almond butter?
Thx, looking forward to biting into one of my favorite flavor combinations!
Richa says
November 27, 2016 at 5:56 pmMore like a liquid (batter) than solid nut butter. If the almond butter is more solid, warm it to use.
April says
November 28, 2016 at 10:32 amI have an almond allergy. Can I substitute coconut flour?
Richa says
November 28, 2016 at 8:42 pmjust coconut flour will not work. Try a combination on another nut flour + some coconut flour. to make nut flour, blend the raw nuts with 1 tbsp starch until its a fine meal and use.
Rose says
November 28, 2016 at 10:40 amHI, I just made these and I had 2 problems with them: 1. I couldn’t stop eating the batter before they were baked and 2. I couldn’t stop eating the cookies after they were baked! I pressed a dried cranberry on top of half and a cashew in the other half. They were AMAZING! I plan to email the recipe to friends to include them on their must make list for Christmas cookies. Thank you soooooo much!!
Richa says
November 28, 2016 at 8:42 pmyay!
Rose says
November 30, 2016 at 3:40 amSeems these cookies have a best before date of the same day they are baked. As I mentioned above, they are absolutely delicious the day of, but I found that after putting them in a tin on the kitchen table, the next day all their beautiful crispness on the outside and brownie like chewiness/fudginess on the inside disappeared and they turned into a very plain cake cookie, having a cake-like texture top, bottom and throughout. Damn I’m disappointed.
Richa says
November 30, 2016 at 11:02 amHmm, mine were still quite crispy the next day. They do soften a little bit because of the the nut butter. But the texture is still cookie like. Maybe bake a minute or so longer? i also make them into small cookies, which is probably why they maintain the crisp.
Kathrin says
November 28, 2016 at 12:12 pmIt says ‘serves 2’, but how many cookies (approx.) does one batch make?
Thank you!
Richa says
November 28, 2016 at 12:20 pmmakes 8 to 9 cookies. its mentioned in the recipe description box
Amy says
November 28, 2016 at 7:58 pmHello! Any chance these might work with coconut flour? Almond flour is tricky to come by where I am – almond meal is easy enough but not fine flour. I want to make these for my son’s birthday in a few months and one of his little friends has a nut allergy.
Richa says
November 28, 2016 at 8:44 pmalmond meal will work too. just coconut flour will not work in the recipe. maybe sunflower seed butter + 1 tbsp oil, and some pumpkin seed meal + regular flour.
Hannah says
November 30, 2016 at 12:49 amHi, these look scrumptious! Trying to get ahead with my Xmas cooking – will these freeze well? Thanks
Richa says
November 30, 2016 at 11:03 amyou might want to freeze them unbaked. shape the cookies and freeze on the sheet. once fully frozen you can put them in a box. Then bake the day of. Try both unbaked and baked frozen with 1-2 cookies to see which texture you prefer.
Emily says
November 30, 2016 at 11:27 amOMG. these are the best cookies ever! and they serve only 1!! 😉
Cathy says
November 30, 2016 at 3:02 pmHi Richa! The dough for these is in my fridge right now! I’m sharing these for a cookie swap in my moms’ group tomorrow.
I’m so sorry to hear about what you’ve been going through and I hope you find some light and happiness this holiday season.
I love your recipes (I’ve made a ton from your blog and also some from your Indian cookbook) and as I scrolled through Pinterest and found this one I thought how thankful I am for bloggers like you. The world can be so mean sometimes, and here is a complete stranger sharing magical, cruelty-free and yummy recipes with other strangers all around the world. Thanks for being a bright spot. I look forward to sharing my cookies with the other mommies tomorrow!
Richa says
December 5, 2016 at 10:24 pmThank you for the wonderful note Cathy! Hope everyone enjoyed these!
Carol says
December 5, 2016 at 9:59 pmI made these and they were beyond awesome! I did them as a drop cookie. they were so good, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I also left out the ginger but added chocolate chips to the batter. I will definitely make these again
Thanks so much for all your hard work and sharing all your great ideas with us!
Richa says
December 5, 2016 at 10:20 pmGood idea with the drop cookies as the mix is sticky.
Sue says
December 16, 2016 at 7:38 amI think these are great! They are very good basic cookies. I put the ginger throughout and they had a lovely cocoa-ginger flavor. Thanks for another winner!☺
Radzilla says
December 20, 2016 at 4:15 pmI first subbed in coconut flour, then read the comments about into not working, so I doubled the recipe and made the second portion with gf flour. The cookies were tasty but super dry. I also put a Hershey’s candy cane kiss in the middle instead of the ginger.
Maybe my almond butter wasn’t drippy (oily) enough? Or was it the gf flour addition?
Richa says
December 20, 2016 at 4:22 pmits the flour. Gf flours tend to dry out during baking. Add lesser gf flour to make a somewhat stiff batter, and let the mixture chill before adding more flour. gf flours will absorb more moisture during chilling. Also bake a minute less.
Carol says
April 16, 2019 at 7:37 amIt’s been 2 1/2 years since you posted this recipe but I just had to tell you how much this cookie is loved by everyone! It’s my favorite holiday or go to recipe anytime a special cookie is needed. I make it just as you posted and it turns out perfect every time. I usually double the recipe when I’m taking to an event. They disappear fast and I’m always asked for the recipe. 5 Stars!
Thank you again for all your recipes and care in developing them!
Carol
Richa says
April 16, 2019 at 10:44 amThats awesome!!! Thank you Carol!
Deepa says
May 25, 2020 at 2:09 amAnother great recipe, family loved it.