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
Cannot wait to try these although technically they are not gingersnaps but ginger cookies as they are soft. Gingersnaps are crunchy, hence the “snap” in the name. For health reasons I have to have low fat/low sugar so I am thrilled to find this recipe 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies Laura! 🙂
Wonder what you think of “NuNaturals NuStevia” liquid stevia? I can get that locally and quickly. It has no alcohol. Do you have experience with this brand? Cookies look wonderful!! Thank you …
I actually don’t have any experience with that particular brand! I looked around their website, and it looks like you’d need 1 ½ tablespoons of their liquid stevia to replace the 2 ¼ teaspoons of the liquid stevia that I use. I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookies Linda!
Hi, have you trued making these withiut oil? Maybe adding no flax egg, or applesauce, or part of a mashed ripe banana, or even almond butter?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jeanine! These cookies won’t work without the butter, coconut oil, or other fat (like Earth Balance for another non-dairy option). If you tried substituting applesauce or mashed banana, they’d have a gummy, slightly muffin-like texture. It’s a small amount of butter / coconut oil, but it makes a huge difference in their texture! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these gingersnaps!
Hi Amy,I’ve recently made these gingersnaps and they were SO GOOD! I really like the spicy flavour! Actually I subsituted all the spices except for ginger with pumpkin spice,and they still turned out awesome! Thanks for sharing such a wonderdul recipe! 😉
I’m so glad you loved these gingersnaps June! That means so much to me. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 And thanks for including your recipe modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work!
Hi, I am wondering if I could substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the flour?
Thank you. I’m looking forward to making these cookies.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Nikki! I’ve actually covered this in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these gingersnaps!
Hi Amy!! Is it possible to use a flax egg in place of the egg white?
I really appreciate your interest in this recipe of mine too, Stacey! I don’t have much experience with flax eggs, but my brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk. I can’t wait to hear what you think of these gingersnaps!
They turned into ginger BREAD. Not gingerbread but BREAD… it was super soft and did not get crunchy even when I added an extra 10 minutes to the timer. 🙁 super disappointed since that chewy, crunchy texture is what makes the cookie so good but the flavour was alright.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Hannah! If they were bready, then it actually sounds like they were overbaked. They get that dry, bready texture if they’re left in the oven too long. In the recipe and blog post, I mention that these cookies are meant to be soft with just the sugar coating as crunchy. I know that texture description can be easy to miss! 🙂 So I think if you bake them for the exact amount of time given, rather than 10 extra minutes, the cookies should be soft and chewy on the inside (not bready!), as they’re meant to be!
Just made these as I was craving some ginger cookies….yummy thank you for a wonderful recipe ????
I’m so glad you enjoyed these gingersnaps Jennie! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Will the nutrition information change if I used light brown sugar in these. Also do you have any idea how many Syns these would have for slimming world.
Thanks
I’m honored that you’d like to make these cookies Lily! Yes, the nutrition information will change if you use the light brown sugar option that I included in the Notes section of the recipe. This is the nutrition calculator that I use, if you’d like to know what the new nutrition information will be! (It’s free and really user-friendly!) I don’t actually know how many Syns these are, especially if light brown sugar is substituted. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these gingersnaps!
Hi – I am pleased to find your yummy looking recipe! Going to try it out today. One thing is confusing me – in the recipe instructions you specifically recommend flattening the ball of dough but in the notes you advice against it. Which or both? 🤔
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Claire! I apologize for the confusion. If you use the exact ingredients in the Ingredients list, including the stevia + milk, then you must flatten the cookie dough. If you use the substitution in the Notes section for the stevia, where you use coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar AND omit the milk, then do not flatten the cookie dough. This is because coconut sugar, brown sugar, and granulated sugar will all make your cookies spread (they have different molecular structures than stevia, which makes them behave differently in baking recipes!), whereas using stevia + milk prevent them from spreading (so you need to flatten them to compensate!). Does that make more sense? 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of these gingersnaps if you try making them!
Thanks for your quick response Amy and for explaining the difference between the two methods too! – I’ll let you know how it goes.
BTW I am omitting the Stevia as I don’t want them too sweet. I eliminated most sugar from my diet about 8 years ago and find I dislike sweeteners of any kind. It is tricky finding recipes without sugar or sugar substitutes but this recipe looks like it could work well with a minor adjustment. I am thinking that removing the small amount of Stevia will be OK – but I will see when I bake. It might make a difference for the fatten/not flatten so I will do 50:50 when I bake and see how that goes.
It’s my pleasure, Claire! If you remove the stevia and don’t substitute it, your cookies will have about the same sweetness level as scones, maybe even less sweet than that and closer to something like sandwich bread or bagels, because the only sweetener in the cookie dough will be the ¼ cup of molasses. The 2 ¼ teaspoons of stevia is the sweetness equivalent of about 1 cup of granulated sugar. (Hence why the alternative in the Notes section says to use 1 cup of sugar!) Just to give you a frame of reference for what your gingersnaps might taste like! 🙂
I’m excited to hear how your cookies turn out!
Hi Amy, I cooked the snaps yesterday without the stevia and they went really well. I did have to flatten them.The other minor adjustment I made was to include all of the egg.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Claire! Thank you for taking the time to let me know how they turned out, as well as your adjustments. That truly means a lot to me! 🙂