Gingerbread Muffins

Nothing smells more like Christmas to me than gingerbread.  I suppose peppermint candy canes would be a close second and I will be featuring a recipe with candy canes soon, but the unmistakable aroma of gingerbread muffins, or cookies, baking in the oven is an all time favorite.  I honestly thought I had posted this recipe last year since it is such a staple in my home.  Better late than never!

As always, I use all organic whole wheat flour to add fiber and nutrients, but the real all stars in this recipe are all the spices.  Cinnamon can help regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation, ginger is a natural pain killer and can ease stomach upset, nutmeg is good for digestion and detoxification of the body and cloves are anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and nutrient dense.  Combine those benefits with a tasty filling snack and you have a perfect holiday treat!

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cookies

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Cookies

This is a very basic gingerbread recipe passed down from my mom.  I did change a few things, choosing to use all organic whole wheat pastry flour and substituting the 1 egg with soaked chia seeds, but you could easily revert back to the basic original version.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so they are perfect for a holiday cookie swap, or for giving away as gifts.  The thing with gingerbread is that it honestly tastes better and better after each passing day, so if the cookies even last that long, they can be enjoyed for days and made ahead for convenience.  This recipe can also be used to make a gingerbread house so long as you have a template to cut the shapes.  A few years ago, my husband, son and I made a gingerbread Alamo using this recipe and if I can find the photos, I will be sure to post them.  This cookie does have a bit of sugar in it (and butter) but it also has a ton of antioxidant rich spices and molasses, a nutrient dense sweetener.  Plus they are just delicious and will make your house smell amazing for days.

Oatmeal Gingerbread Cookies

Oatmeal Gingerbread Cookies

It is another cold and snowy day here in the Poconos so why not spend the afternoon baking up some holiday cheer with your family?  This is another version of my simple to mix together oatmeal cookies, but with a gingerbread twist. The cookies are sweetened with healthy banana and the nutrient dense sweetness of molasses.  Full of antioxidant rich spices, protein packed almond butter and healthful organic oats, these cookies taste like more of a treat than they really are!  So whip up a batch and snack away!

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

This is a family recipe that I got from my mom that both of us have changed around from it's original version. We used whole wheat flour to add fiber and I also used almond butter in place of some regular butter to add in healthy fats and protein.  Of course like most cookies this has a decent amount of sugar, but it also has healthful spices and is far better for you than anything you could buy in a store.  Plus some of the sugar is molasses which is a nutrient rich sweetener that is high in manganese, copper, iron and calcium, just to name a few.

For more information about the health benefits of molasses, go to:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=118&tname=foodspice