Gingernut Biscuits (or Ginger Snaps) with a freshly brewed cup of coffee is the perfect afternoon treat. We love the fiery taste from the ginger and the crunchiness of them and they also hold together really well when dunked. These are Healthy Gingernut Biscuits, and vegan and gluten free too.
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Why should you try it?
- Low calorie, low fat and low carb
- Really simple to make
- kids will love them
- Cheaper and healthier than store bought
What you will need
- Nuts - We used cashews and almonds.
- Desiccated coconut - Helps with binding the mixture, but doesn't give a coconut flavour.
- Ground ginger - Obviously for the fiery ginger flavour.
- Maple syrup - To sweeten the biscuits. You could use honey, but they wouldn't be vegan.
- Baking powder
- Lemon juice
Step by step
One: Place the cashews, almond and coconut in to a food processor and blend until a flour like consistency. Transfer in to a large bowl.
Two: Add the salt, baking powder, ground ginger, lemon juice and maple syrup to the nut flour.
Three: Mix well to form a dough.
Four: Using your hands roll the dough in to 8 equal sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, evenly spaced.
Five: Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball so they have a diameter of about 3 inches; this will ensure they crisp up nicely.
Six: Put the baking tray of biscuits in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before eating.
Gingernut or Ginger Snap?
There may be some confusion for our American readers. A biscuit in the UK is a cookie in the US and a gingernut is a ginger snap. Whatever you call it, you'll be sure to make this ginger snap recipe over and over again.
Healthy biscuits
What makes these biscuits healthy? Well, they are not packed with sugar and butter like regular biscuits are and instead they use a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten them. I have also skipped the regular flour and used almond and cashew flour instead, which means they are gluten free and vegan too.
Do Gingernuts contain nuts?
Traditionally, gingernut biscuits don't actually have nuts in them. Weird! Apparently they are called gignernuts because they are hard like a nut shell. Well, we have actually used nuts in the recipe for ours, so we can safely call them gingernuts.
Hungry Healthy Happy Book
These are one of the most popular recipes from my first book, Hungry Healthy Happy(aff). They are easy to make and don't need any fancy ingredients, just like all the recipes in the book. If you want some healthier recipes to some of your favourite meals and desserts, then order a copy of the book.
This picture is taken from the book.
Do gingernuts help with morning sickness?
When I was pregnant with my first, I lived on these for about the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. I suffered awful morning sickness and gingernut biscuits were the only thing that settled my stomach.
Ginger is known to help with stomach issues and whilst I could have had some ginger tea or ginger ale, I opted for ginger biscuits because, well, pregnancy. Instead of raiding a whole pack of shop bought ones, I made them myself.
Vegan and gluten free
I can sometimes find vegan and gluten free biscuits a little bland, and sometimes soft - these are neither. By making a flour with nuts, they are gluten free and everything is vegan too.
How many calories in gingernut biscuits?
These aren't the most low calorie biscuits, at 137 calories per biscuit, because they are made with nuts. However, they are bigger than a store bought gingernut, which has 55 calories in it, and are much more filling because of the nuts. So, it's not all about the calories, it's the ingredients too.
FAQs
We have frozen gingernut biscuits, and whilst they are a perfectly acceptable biscuit when defrosted, they do lose their crunch. A gingernut is all about the crunch for us, so I would say these are best made from fresh. Store them in an airtight container to maintain their crunch.
Extra tips
- Add some dark chocolate chips or raisins for a little extra flavour.
- Don't feel like you have to stick to almonds and cashews - try using walnuts and pecans too.
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Recipe card
Healthy Gingernut Biscuits
Ingredients
- 70 g Unsalted cashew nuts
- 70 g Whole almonds
- 20 g Desiccated coconut
- A pinch of sea salt
- 0.5 tsp Baking powder
- 1.5 tbsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 3 tbsp Pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a large , flat baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Place the cashews, almond and coconut into a food processor and process to a fine, floury consistency. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the salt, baking powder, ground ginger, lemon juice and maple syrup to a bowl and mix well to form a dough.
- Using your hands, roll the mixture into 8 equal-sized balls and place, evenly spaced, on the baking sheet.
- Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball to a diameter of 7.5cm/3 inches; this will ensure that your biscuits crisp up nicely.
- Transfer the biscuits to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Add some dark chocolate chips or raisins for a little extra flavour.
- Don't feel like you have to stick to almonds and cashews - try using walnuts and pecans too.
Nutritional Information
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Jon Eay
Simple enough recipe, but less than 10 minutes in the oven and they were almost burnt!
Dannii
At gas mark 4 (in a non fan assisted oven), they should not be burnt in less than 10 minutes.
Dawn
I dont like coconut can I just omit it or use something to replace it?
Dannii
It would change the texture and it might not hold together as well - I haven't tried it though. But these don't taste like coconut.
Jagruti
We love ginger nut cookies, especially with masala Chai. I like your recipe, soon I'll bake a batch of this:)
Camilla
These biscuits are simply genius, no flour just nuts - who knew a healthy biscuit existed!?
Zara Lipstixx
Oh yes, love ginger nut biscuits! They seem to be a weakness in my household! x
Charlotte
These look really yummy! I love gingernut biscuits! x
Monica
I have only just released that they don't normally have nuts in. Yours look great they and I am so proud of you for having a book. A big well done.
Liz
I am so excited for your book Dannii. I ordered mine today :)
David @ Spiced
These cookies sound incredible, Dannii! You guys really know how to use ginger over there. I've been meaning to try to recreate a ginger cake that I ate on our last European trip, but I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'm thinking these cookies might bump that cake back another notch anyways. Congrats on the book, and great photo! :-)
Jo of Jo's Kitchen
I love ginger nuts and these healthier ones sound just like what I need! I