Grain-Free Spice Cookies – autoimmune paleo, dairy & egg free
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My family has been gluten-free for awhile now, but we’re trying to go more and more grain-free to improve our gut health. We already have some great recipes for paleo cookies that we love like Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Cookies, Chocolate Mint Bars, Almond Joy Bars, and No-Bake Coconut Cookies, but I am thrilled to have this recipe for Spice Cookies from Naomi of Almost Bananas as a new treat. Besides being paleo, they are also autoimmune paleo which is a new diet that I will be writing about soon.
It’s tough to be on a healing diet or have food allergies during the holidays.
Not only do scrumptious goodies that harm you abound, but food also is associated with so many memories.
Gingerbread houses, spiced apple cider, mincemeat pastries – they are a part of my Christmas memories.
It’s also tough for those who don’t have health issues but are hosting family or friends that do. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when trying to accommodate restricted diets.
“What is gluten in again?”
“Has this touched peanuts?”
“What can he eat??”
“Oh, shoot, I forgot…”
AIP, or, the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, is an especially tough nut. For the first thirty days, there is a long list of things you can’t eat, including (but not limited to): grains, nuts, seeds, dairy, eggs, nightshades, and the kitchen sink.
One of the hardest for me would be eggs – it’s my go-to fast food, and baking without them is tricky.
Fortunately, there are some great real food egg replacers, and smarter people than me hit on the idea of using gelatin to substitute for eggs in baking. It helps keep things moist and stick together, like eggs do.
I am not AIP myself, but I like a challenge when cooking, and AIP definitely fits the challenging bill.
Other sweet AIP recipes I’ve created include
3 Ingredient Amazeballs (bet you can’t guess the third ingredient),
Watermelon Lemon Balm Sorbet, and
Fermented Spiced Apple Chutney (perfect for Christmas).
For savoury AIP dishes, try Strapacky (baked sweet potato, bacon, and sauerkraut), Fermented Red Onions, or, for the adventurous, Beef Tongue Spread and Sweet Beef Heart Curry (not your regular curry).
It took a few tries, but I present to you a gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, grain-free, egg-free, seed-free, “kitchen sink-free” cookie. It’s not overly sweet, but gives just enough to satisfy the need for a sweet treat.
Recipe Note
- 1 1/2 scoops stevia extract can be substituted for honey (see this post for more information on stevia).
- Vegans can use organic agar agar powder.
- Keto: Use an alternative low-carb sweetener like Lakanto or erythritol instead of honey. Code wholenewmom gets 20% off everything at Lakanto.
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut butter (240 g; softened)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves (freshly ground; may need more if not freshly ground)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (unrefined)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon gelatin powder
- 7 teaspoons water (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F/180° C.
- Sprinkle gelatin powder over 2 tablespoons of cold water in a tiny pot (for stovetop) or bowl (for microwave) and let soften.
- Mix together softened coconut butter, honey, spices, salt, and baking soda in a larger bowl.
- Add coconut oil to the gelatin/water mix and warm up, on the stove top or in a microwave until everything has melted. Watch it like a hawk – it burns quickly. I don’t have a microwave, so I couldn’t tell you how long to mix it for.
- Pour the gelatin mixture over the coconut mixture and immediately mix. At this point it is very crumbly, it doesn't stick together like normal cookie dough at all. Add the last teaspoon of cold water.
- This is the way I shaped them: place a tablespoon of ‘dough’ in one hand and squeeze, like you’re going to make a ball. It will start to stick together. With your other hand, make a circle with your thumb and pointer finger. Put the ‘dough’ in the circle and press it together with the other hand’s thumb and pointer finger, until it has filled the circle and sticks together.
- Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Shorter baking times will give a more moist cookie, longer baking will render a drier cookie. As the cookies don't spread, you can place them fairly close together.
- Eat, enjoy, and decide that AIP can be pretty good.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
It’s a simple recipe, but tasty.
The spices really make the cookies taste special and the coconut is quite rich.
If you’re not on an AIP diet, you could put a drizzle of a cinnamon infused version of these Homemade White Chocolate Chips or these Homemade Chocolate Chips.
Are you on a special diet?
Are the Holidays particularly difficult for you?
Naomi is originally from Canada but is now a wife and mom in Slovakia. She tries to live each day as a follower of Christ in the chaos of caring for children. Using real food and creating an environmentally friendly surrounding for her family is a priority. She dreams of a little farm while living in an apartment, enjoys handmade creations, and still doesn’t like brussels sprouts. Naomi shares her food creations and photos of Slovakia at Almost Bananas. She looks forward to connecting with you on Pinterest, Google+, and Facebook.
Hi! I wanted to ask, should the cinnamon be 1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon? I did 1 tablespoon and the cookie was so dark, I couldn’t tell when the cookies were “lightly golden” as they were a dark brown lol! Also the cookie was soo oily, even the next day. I had to throw it all away. What did I do wrong?
Hi there! I’m so sorry you are having problems! About the recipe – first of all, I didn’t write it so I’m a bit handicapped but I am pretty sure I made them once.
I don’t recall having the issues but did you use coconut butter or coconut oil for the first ingredient? I will try to make sure that the 1 tablespoon is accurate. I think it is!
I used coconut butter as the first ingredient. Thank you!
OK I will see if I can get a hold of the author of the recipe!
Wow, you’re amazing Naomi! Love all your sites! I’m trying to start a gf existence again alongside one of my children. Will keep this site on my radar for your recipes, and will pass along the word to others. Many thanks!
Please tell me the difference in coconut oil and coconut butter. Ive not used the butter and havent seen it before The cookies sound delish!
Coconut oil is the fat only. Coconut butter is a butter made from dried coconut. I just put a more obvious link in the post to show how to make it. I hope to do an update on it and maybe add a video soon. Hope that helps! https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/make-your-own-coconut-butter/
Hi Naomi,
from what I know gelatin is not vegan, it’s produced from anomals or fish.
I would be thrilled to know if there is a vegan alternative, the only one I know is Agar Agar.
All the best,
Liat
Agar agar works the same – thanks for the heads up. It’s my error – not Naomi’s. I did the graphic and have been a little too overwhelmed here. A xanthan gum or glucomannan would be other possible alternatives too. Thanks and I’ll work on a new graphic asap.