Been trying to perfect a ‘healthier’ gingerbread cookie, but really, there’s only so much whole grain you can sub in & fats you can switch around or sugars you can cut or sub before they just taste like disappointment.
I worked out a partially whole grain recipe that actually tastes good/has the right texture. Taken from a gingerbread cookie recipe from an old Pillsbury Family Cookbook I have, with more ginger & spices added.
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening (all I had on-hand; had to give up trying to sub in healthier fats, for now), softened
- 3/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap— I used “Grandma’s Unsulphured Molassesâ€)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup Splenda (or just use all sugar; I try to cut where I can without sacrificing flavor/texture)
- 2 cups white flour
- 2 cups white whole wheat pastry flour (I would’ve preferred to use ONLY this, but the cookies kept coming out too dry/bland)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 2 tbsp powdered buttermilk + 1/2 cup water)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients & blend well (ideally w/an electric mixer). Add the almond milk at the end *only* if the cookie dough seems super dry.
Rest the dough overnight in the fridge, packed down in an airtight container, to let the flour fully absorb the fats & spices. And make the dough easier to roll & shape later.
Preheat oven to 375F when ready to bake. Remove dough from fridge
only when you’re ready to roll/shape/bake. Don’t let it sit out/get too warm.
Lightly dust your rolling surface & rolling pin with white flour.
Roll out the dough & cut into desired shapes. 1/4 inch thick for soft cookies (but still sturdy for decorating) cookies, or 1/8 inch for crisp cookies. Save the trimmings for last to roll at once if you want all the other cookies to be more tender.
Grease a baking sheet or use parchment paper over an ungreased one. I tried a silicone mat for one batch, but they stuck terribly for some reason.Bake 7-10 min. Cool on a rack. Decorate & use wax paper between cookies if you need to stack them.