A few weeks ago, an old college friend flew down to Southern California for a special weekend work event. After their Saturday morning meeting, he and a few coworkers went out to lunch, and with that as his only free time, he invited me to join.
When I arrived at the place in the neighboring city, my friend walked out to greet me and introduce me to his coworkers. But instead of leading me into the restaurant on the left, we turned right…
And walked into the batting cages just across the hall! They were taking turns standing inside the turf batter’s box and testing out different aluminum bats, taking big cuts at each pitch that flew out of the ball machine. My heart felt so happy… I’ve been going through baseball withdrawals and had already started counting down the days until Spring Training!
After meeting each person in the small group (and desperately making mental notes of their names—not my strongest suit!), I handed my friend a bag of baked goodies, which he promptly ripped open to sample and share with his coworkers. Everyone dug in and started reaching for seconds almost as soon as they finished their first!
They all agreed—these Ultimate Healthy Gingersnaps were their favorite! They loved the sweet coating and cozy spice flavors… And my friend purposely waited until after everyone ate them to mention my cookies contained no refined flour or sugar. Nobody believed it!
“Seriously??” one guy asked incredulously. “I never would’ve known! They’re incredible—just like regular cookies!”
That’s the best compliment I could’ve ever asked for… Saying my healthy treats taste just like normal, traditional, indulgent recipes!
To make these healthy gingersnap cookies, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!) and four spices: ginger (always a necessity in gingerbread and gingersnaps!), cinnamon (this kind is my current obsession!), nutmeg, and cloves. I promise it’s worth buying and using all four! They create a deep, rich, well-rounded flavor profile, which makes these cookies so irresistible.
As for the white whole wheat flour… I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but it actually exists! And it’s not a combo of all-purpose (aka “white”) flour and whole wheat flour. White white whole flour earned its name because it comes from a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They’re made the same way and have the exact same health benefits! White whole wheat flour just has a lighter taste and texture, which is perfect for letting the soft and chewy texture of these cookies shine.
To sweeten your cookies, you’ll skip the refined sugar and use two key ingredients instead. The first is molasses (like this!). Molasses provides the other half of the iconic gingerbread and gingersnap flavor. Deep, rich, comforting… The way I imagine a big bear hug or cuddling up in a fuzzy blanket in front of a fire would taste. Don’t skip or substitute for it! Molasses is shelf-stable and keeps for ages. You can typically find it on the baking aisle near the honey, and this is the kind I use!
The second ingredient is vanilla stevia. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I ♡ it! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly). You’ll use just over 2 teaspoons in your cookies… Which is the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar! ? This is the kind I use because I love its warm flavor. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Gingersnaps are famous for their crunchy sugar coating, and we’re not skipping that! But instead of granulated sugar, you’ll use granulated stevia (this kind!). It has the same flavor and texture as regular sugar—but none of the calories!
Just before popping your tray of cookies into the oven, remember to flatten your cookie dough. It doesn’t spread at all while baking! I use the flat bottom of a wide glass. Because of their sweet stevia coating, the cookie dough shouldn’t stick to the glass at all!
How perfect do those look?? I have a feeling my family will be eating them all holiday season! ⛄️? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your gingersnaps and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| The Ultimate Healthy Gingersnaps | | Print |
- 1 ¾ cups (210g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ¾ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 2 ¼ tsp vanilla stevia
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses
- 3 tbsp (45g) granulated-style Swerve (or more, as needed)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, vanilla stevia, and vanilla extract. Stir in the milk and molasses. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 18 equal portions, and roll each into a ball. Working with one sphere at a time, roll in the granulated-style Swerve until coated. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten to the desired width using the flat bottom of a drinking glass. (These cookies don’t spread while baking!)
- Sprinkle the flattened cookie dough with a little more granulated-style Swerve, and gently press it down into the cookie dough with your fingertips. Bake at 325°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
It's incredibly important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That's the one I own and love!) Too much flour will make your cookies dry and cakey or crumbly.
The cornstarch helps keep the cookies soft and chewy. Don’t skip it!
Any type of milk can be substituted for the nonfat milk.
I do not recommend substituting anything for the molasses! Along with the ground ginger, it’s what creates the iconic gingersnap flavor: deep, complex, rich, and cozy. This is the kind that I use, and it’s completely shelf-stable. You can generally find it near the honey on the baking aisle, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found.
If you prefer not to use the vanilla stevia, then substitute 1 cup (192g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar AND omit the milk. If using this substitution, chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour after Step 2. After chilling, if the cookie dough is still too sticky to roll, then using a spoon and spatula (or a cookie scoop), drop one portion of cookie dough into rounded mounds in the bowl of granulated-style Swerve (or sugar). Rotate it until it’s fully coated; then roll it between your palms into a ball. Drop it back in the granulated-style Swerve (or sugar), coat again, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Do not flatten the cookies; they should spread fairly well while baking.
This is the granulated-style Swerve that I use! It measures cup-for-cup like granulated sugar (and basically tastes like it too!). If you prefer not to use the granulated-style Swerve, then substitute coconut or granulated sugar.
These cookies are on the smaller side. If you prefer to make around 12-14 cookies instead so they’re bigger, that’s perfectly fine! They may need to bake for an extra 1-2 minutes. The cookies will be done when the centers still feel slightly underdone. (They’ll continue to cook through on the warm baking sheet at the end of Step 4!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
♡ Healthy Soft-Baked Ginger Cookies
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Gingerbread
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Sugar Cookies
♡ Healthy Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthier Eggnog Snickerdoodles
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread
♡ Healthier Christmas Sugar Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
Hi Amy
Could I reduce the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup instead of 1 cup? Also is it ok if I substitute almond flour?
Hi again Sue! Yes to almond flour, but no to sugar. The sugar actually contributes to the texture of baked goods (not just sweetness!), so for the correct cookie dough consistency and fully baked cookie texture, use the full amount. 🙂 You just keep making my day with how many of my recipes you’d like to try — I’m truly honored!!
Hey, can I use fresh ginger?
Im pretty sure that you could. Probably just grate it really small and it should be fine. For other gingersnap recipes i used fresh ginger before buying ground ginger.
I used 50/50 powdered & fresh ginger — yummy!
That sounds like a great idea, Jared! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
This recipe is great! I subsituted erythritol as the sweetener (only added 2/3 the amount because I don’t like things too sweet) but the dough was pretty crumbly so I added a few splashes of milk until it came together. I would actually recommend flattening the dough first and then dipping the top of the cookie in granulated sweetener, because i found that when i flattened the cookies with the sweetener it just went into the cookie and you couldnt really see it anymore. Baked them for a few extra minutes because after 10 minutes they still felt very undone instead of just the centers being undone, and took them out when the centers were undone. The texture was pretty cakey straight out of the oven but got better overnight and the taste is really good. I also subsituted the nutmeg for cloves since i didn’t have any and added a full teaspoon of cinnamon because I like things very cinnamon-y.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies too, Leyla! You have a great baker’s intuition to realize that you’d need to use the milk after all, when substituting 2/3 cup of erythritol for the liquid stevia instead of coconut sugar. I think that erythritol substitution actually helped, in this recipe, compared to the chocolate hazelnut cookies! With coconut sugar, the dough can be really sticky, but since erythritol yields a drier dough, your cookie dough was probably easier to work with. 🙂
As for the texture, it’s true! These cookies (and almost all of my brownie recipes) can taste cakey when warm and fresh from the oven, but if you let them rest for 6+ hours after they’ve completely cooled to room temperature, they’ll have a much chewier texture (and fudgier, in the case of brownies!).
Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment and review — I’m so honored that you’d give them 5 stars!! 🙂
Hello! I wish to try these but I am sensitive to Stevia. Any suggestions for a substitution? Can I leave it out and just add a bit more granular sweetener? Thank you.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Marilyn! I’ve actually covered the answer to this exact question in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these gingersnaps if you make them!
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I totally missed it! I see it now. I’ll let you know how they turn out for me.
It’s my pleasure — I’m happy to help, Marilyn! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of these cookies! 🙂