It’s not Christmas without Red-Nosed Rudolph. Made with mashed sweet potato and almond flour, these gingerbread reindeer cookies are chewy and hearty, sweet and spicy! These cookies also make healthy gluten-free, low carb, vegan treats for everyone during the holidays.
Ingredients used to make these Cookies
**I’ve linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂
- Almond flour – I used blanched almond flour. But you can also make your own by blending raw or blanched, slivered almonds in the food processor and sifting them through a sieve.
- Coconut flour – Coconut flour does not substitute well, and I can’t recommend swapping coconut flour with other ingredients unless you absolutely had to (2 Tbsp coconut flour = ½ cup almond flour). Unfortunately, you probably won’t get the same texture or mouthfeel as the original recipe.
- Sweet Potato – the easiest way I know how to cook sweet potatoes is to microwave them on high for 6-7 minutes (or more depending on the size of the potato). Afterward, I mash it with a fork.
- Salt – Pink Himalayan salt is what I have at home, so it’s what I use, but you can use any kind for this recipe.
- Coconut Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice, but coconut, date and maple sugars are less processed sugars I would recommend. Honey and maple syrup should also work, but I have not yet tried. For keto options, you could also use stevia (but be sure to convert according to package instructions).
- Flaxseed Meal- you can make your own flaxseed meal by grinding whole flaxseeds in a high power blender.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – lemon juice also works if you don’t have apple cider vinegar
- Olive Oil – Instead of olive oil, you can use coconut oil, or avocado oil here if you’d like.
- Gingerbread Spice – gingerbread spice is made of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sometimes with clove and cardamom, but I usually just use this pre-made spice mix.
- Red M&Ms
- Mini chocolate chips
- Pretzels – regular or gluten free
Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:
- Instead of mashed sweet potato, you can use pumpkin puree instead.
- If you don’t like or don’t have gingerbread spice you can use 2 tsp of cinnamon. You can also try 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder for a chocolatey variation on these cookies.
- You can also try substituting gingerbread spice with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (I didn’t feel like it was essential so I left it out in this recipe), or other flavorings or extracts, such as lemon extract, orange peel, or peppermint extract.
How to Store
- You can store these cookies covered at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. For longer storage, you can place them in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze up to 4 months.
Final Tips
- You’ll need to press the M&Ms, the eyes and pretzels AFTER the cookies are done baking, so it’s important that you have all the decos ready when the cookies are out of the oven. If you wait too long, it’ll be more difficult for you to press the pretzels and M&M nose.
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Sweet Potato Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies
It's not Christmas without Rudolph. Made with mashed sweet potato and almond flour, these gingerbread reindeer cookies are chewy and hearty, sweet and spicy! They also make healthy gluten-free, low carb, vegan treats for everyone during the holidays.Makes 10 cookies
Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar of choice*
- 1 1/2 tsp gingerbread spice
- 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato
- 1/2 cup light olive oil
COOKIE DECO
- 10 red M&Ms
- 20 pretzels regular or gluten-free
- 20 mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- First, make the flax egg by mixing the ground flax and water then let sit 5 minutes.
- In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the rest of the wet ingredients (including the prepared flax egg) and mix until the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough is smooth.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 10-30 minutes,
- Evenly divide the dough into 10, then roll into balls
- Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined cookie tray then flatten to about 1/3 inch thickness (note*)
- Bake in oven 350F for about 13-15 or until slightly golden with a browned cookie base.
- Prepare the deco ingredients while the cookie bakes.
- As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, remove from cookie tray and use tweezers/ plating tongs/gloved hands to press the red M&M candy on the center of each cookie, and two pretzel antlers on the upper left and right side of the cookie. Press two mini chocolate chip “eyes” in between the M&M nose and pretzle antlers.
- Let the cookies cool before enjoying!
Notes
*the cookies don’t spread so they have to be flattened before they go into the oven.
** You can use any granulated or liquid sweetener of your choice, but honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, date sugar and maple sugars are the less processed, naturally derived sweeteners. For the lower calorie, reduced carb option reflected in the nutrition facts, use sugar-free sweeteners such as stevia (just be sure to convert according to package instructions as stevia differs by brand).
Nutrition
Calories: 264kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 6gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 71mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 5gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 943IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 1mg***Net Carbs: 4g
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