Low Sugar Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread cookies scream Christmas. The smell of them baking makes everyone feel merry. So try these low sugar gingerbread men to have all of the fun and smells and tastes of Christmas without the sugar crashes!

Is it really even Christmas time until someone has baked gingerbread cookies? The smell of ginger and cinnamon wafting through the house brings everyone running to the kitchen hoping for the first taste of Christmas.

But while there is nothing wrong with a little indulgence at Christmastime, it can all too easily become 3 months of constant sugar highs as you bake treat after treat until the word loses all meaning. Believe me, I know. All too well!

Fortunately, I’m here to ease the sugar crash load for you a little by bringing you these low sugar gingerbread men. They are sweet, but not sickly, crumbly but not hard, and while they don’t have a signature snap without at least some sugar, they have all the flavours and fun you associate with them, making them a very satisfying alternative!

For those who are keen on getting their kids involved in the kitchen, this is a great one to start with, as even really young children can cope with much of it (with supervision of course). I always recommend getting children involved in savoury cooking more than sweet to encourage the tastebuds in that direction (who doesn’t eat as they cook?), but of course it is great fun to do a bit of baking together every so often, and I love showing my kids that the treats don’t have to be full of sugar for them to taste amazing!

If you are making this (or any recipe) with children, try to:

1. Read the recipe the whole way through, and make notes (physical or mental) about what your child could do.
2. Measure the ingredients out beforehand. If you are doing this with young children, it can be stressful to try and measure as you go. Hands get into bowls, flour goes everywhere, toys get flung in (maybe that one is just in my house!), and it can be difficult when trying to do something that is as exact an art as baking to get it right! And on that note…
3. … If your kids are very young, measure everything out into non-breakable containers. I like to use Tupperwares, as my daughter can easily just chuck them into the mixing bowl without them breaking!
4. Get out some extra utensils for them. Once her jobs are done, my daughter often keeps going with a little extra flour and some small pots, spoons, pastry brushes… anything near her really. And I get to deal with the oven without having her hovering! She also has her own rolling pin, and for this particular recipe, I got out two different sized cutters and gave her the smaller one.
5. Talk them through it. Show them how to do something, talk to them about it, then let them do it themselves. Step back. You may be surprised by what they can do. I know I constantly am!
6. Enjoy it! Have some fun. Try not to stress. It takes everything for me to restrain myself and allow things to not come out perfect, the kitchen to get ridiculously a little bit messy, and for it to take years a bit longer than I’m used to. I am a stress baker – I bake to escape stress. So baking with children is not ideal for me. But I see how much it means to my kids, and I usually end up loving it and having a great time. I just need to remind myself to relax and remember that it is only a broken bowl, or an inedible batch of biscuits, or a kilo of flour on my kitchen floor. It is worth so little next to fun memories and learning experiences and positive association with healthy homemade food for my daughter.

I hope you love these sugar free gingerbread men as much as we do. Bake, brew a cup of tea, then sit down with your child and The Gingerbread Man story and just read, eat, laugh and learn together. They grow up too fast!

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Low Sugar Gingerbread Men

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Total Time

17 mins

 

Servings: 24 -36, depending on the size of your cutter

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 1 and 1/2 cups (200g) plain flour (or use 1 and 2/3 cups/200g gluten free flour blend*)
• 2/3 cup (100g) ground almonds
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves, optional
• 1/2 cup (120g/1 stick) unsalted butter or coconut oil
• 1/2 cup (100g) xylitol (try to use a little less each time you make these - if you want a little more snap and don't mind a bit more sugar, use 1/4 cup/50g of a sugar-stevia blend if you like)
• 1 tsp molasses
• 2 tbsp rice syrup, optional, but recommended for a bit of added colour and sweetness
• 2-4 tbsp milk (dairy or non-dairy) if needed, to bring the dough together

For the Icing (optional):

• 1/4 cup (50g) xylitol
• pinch of cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1/2 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
• 1-3 tsp milk (dairy or non-dairy), to make a thick paste

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, ground almonds, bicarbonate of soda and ground spices together in a bowl.
2. Over a low-medium heat, heat the other ingredients (except the milk) in a saucepan until everything is melted and the xylitol dissolved.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix to form a dough, using a little milk if needed to make a soft but not sticky dough.
4. Press into a disc shape and wrap in cling film, then chill in the fridge for 10 mins.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
6. Roll the dough out and cut shapes, placing them on baking-paper-lined baking trays. Refrigerate again for 5-10 mins.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins, or until the biscuits are just starting to go a deep golden colour on the edges. Allow to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, make the icing: blitz the xylitol and cornflour in a coffee grinder until it resembles icing (confectioner's) sugar. Mix with vanilla extract and just enough milk to make a smooth, thick icing.

9. Ice the biscuits to your liking (you could use melted 85-90% dark chocolate instead, or leave un-iced if you prefer) and allow it to set before serving.

Recipe Notes

You could also use the icing simply as "glue" for things like fruit, nuts or chocolate chips/cacao nibs. Alternatively, you could use melted chocolate to decorate.

*You can use a shop-bought blend, but I like using this one.

Want some more low sugar Christmas recipe ideas? Have a browse of plenty over here.