recipe: molasses cookies (aip)

In my last Friday Favorites, I told you I was adapting a recipe to make molasses cookies. I think I have it just about perfected!

These cookies are AIP compliant, which also makes them gluten-, egg-, nut- and dairy-free. (So my egg and dairy allergic brother-in-law could eat these!)

Basically, they're so good that I have to pop the extras in the freezer so I don't eat the whole batch in one sitting!

Molasses Cookies
adapted from AIP Chewy "Chocolate" Chunk Cookies on Flame to Fork
makes approximately 15 cookies

2/3 cup (3 oz) tapioca starch
scant 1/4 cup (1 oz) coconut flour
1 T gelatin (I use Great Lakes red can, but you can use Knox if you want)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (I buy mine in bulk at Sam's Club)
1 t baking soda
1/2 t sea salt
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/8 t mace (you can use 1/2 t nutmeg if not AIP)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 T maple syrup (I get mine from Trader Joe's--they have the cheapest price that I've found)
2 T molasses
2 t water, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. (You're not making a gelatin egg here; just mix the dry gelatin in with the other dry ingredients.) Add all of the wet ingredients except the water, and mix well. The dough will not be as cohesive as regular cookie dough, but it should hold together. If it's too dry, add water one teaspoon at a time.

Your dough should look something like this.

Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place two inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat. Flatten slightly with your hand, as these will not spread much in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on tray for five minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Some helpful hints:

• I nearly always double the recipe--these are so good that they won't stick around long!
• These cookies will start to get stale after about four days, but they freeze beautifully. I always store mine in the freezer.
• When I'm making the recipe as printed, I just mix it up by hand. When making a double batch, I use my stand mixer.
• Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste. Just know that the spices mellow and blend in the baking process--the dough always tastes much spicier than the baked cookies do.
• I haven't played with alternate sweeteners at all. I'd imagine you could probably substitute honey for the maple syrup, but I haven't tried it.
• My gas oven is pretty spastic and hard to regulate, so you may need to adjust your baking time slightly.
• If you don't already have some of these ingredients (like the gelatin or the tapioca starch), shop around. The links I've provided go to Amazon, but I've found better deals at Vitacost and Thrive Market at times. It totally depends on the product. (Thrive Market is a membership site, but you can check prices without signing up. Also, they offer a free 30 day trial membership and 25% off your first order. You can check it out here.)

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission or referral bonus. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."