The best LCHF gingerbread cookies
The holiday season is upon us and we want to enjoy it and have a good time with our loved ones. We invited four interesting LCHF celebrities to share their best tips and recipes for treats without excessive amounts of bad carbohydrates.
Our second holiday-season hostess is the popular Swedish cookbook author and blogger Monique Forslund, who among other things includes the best LCHF gingerbread cookie:
The holiday really means family, candles, a warm fire and good food. I appreciate the Swedish holiday season with all the traditions and the December darkness that we warm with our candles and holiday lights. Unbeatable! The holiday spirit is about caring and memories, and often the two are associated with food. You can make many wonderful and delicious LCHF meals for the holiday season. Gingerbread spices may be varied indefinitely, as may saffron.
It’s all about thinking outside the box – outside the “usual”. I make some recipes a little more liberal to fit others, but always avoid sugar and wheat flour.
I wish all of you a warm and loving holiday season with lots of laughs and memories, and of course, sugar-free
Big hug, Monique
To the recipes and pictures:
Monique’s LCHF Mulled Wine
– the very first LCHF mulled wine (Swedish glögg) that was spread on the internet!
- 1 bottle (75 cl) red wine (you can use water instead)
- 2 cups water
- 1 blood orange (a clementine or orange works), halved and squeezed
- 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup black currants or blueberries
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 cup hard liquor, such as lemon vodka – optional
1. Put everything in a pot (not the liquor) and heat.
2. Bring to a boil, remove from heat.
3. Remove the orange after 20 minutes.
4. Let the rest remain in the pot and “rest” for 1–3 hours, or even better, overnight.
5. Pour in liquor if you want a strong mulled wine – optional.
6. Strain and pour into a bottle!
7. Serve with peeled almonds!
Gingerbread Biscotti
- 3 ounces butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
1. The butter should be at room temperature.
2. Whip the butter with a mixer and stir in vanilla.
3. Add the eggs one at a time during whipping.
4. Mix together almond flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut, gingerbread spices and baking powder and stir into the batter.
5. Form two lengths and place on parchment paper on a baking tray.
6. Bake in the lower part of the oven for about 20–30 minutes at 400°F.
7. Remove the baking tray and let cool for a while, then cut crosswise and put back on the baking tray (cut surface facing up).
8. Set the oven to 250°F and continue baking until the cookies are dry, about 1–2 hours…
Saffron Biscotti
- 3 ounces butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1.5 ounce almond flakes
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
1. The butter should be at room temperature.
2. Whip butter with a mixer and blend in saffron and vanilla.
3. Add the eggs one at a time during whipping.
4. Mix together almond flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut, gingerbread spices and baking powder and stir into the batter.
5. Form two lengths and put on parchment paper on a baking tray.
6. Bake in the lower part of the oven for about 20–30 minutes at 400°F.
7. Remove the baking tray and let cool for a while, then cut crosswise and put back on the baking tray (cut surface facing up).
8. Set the oven to 250°F and bake further until the cookies are dry, about 1–2 hours…
Gingerbread Cheese Balls
- 7 ounces blue cheese (I used one with 36% fat content)
- 7 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1. Mash the cheeses together.
2. Roll into balls.
3. Mix together the spices in a small bowl.
4. Roll the cheese balls in the spice mixture.
Really tasty and festive!
You can use goat cheese instead of blue cheese. You can roll the balls in anything, if you tolerate berries – it’s good with dried cranberries. Or roll in chili pepper, chives or nuts…
Saffron Mini Pancakes
- 8 mini pancakes
- 4 eggs
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup coconut cream or heavy whipping cream
- 0.5–1 pinch saffron
- 1.5 tablespoons psyllium husk
- 1.5 ounces butter
1. Mix the eggs with cream cheese and coconut cream, preferably using a hand blender.
2. Mix in saffron and psyllium husks.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan and drop in little piles of batter (made in several installments).
4. Fry on low heat for a few minutes before turning. Serve as is, with butter, or with cream and berries. They’re also good cold.
Gingerbread Balls
(Liberal LCHF as dates are pretty sweet)
- 1 2/3 cups walnuts
- 1 pound pitted dates
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
1. Mix nuts in a food processor or a hand blender until crumbly.
2. Mix in dates, oil, vanilla, salt, spices.
3. Take a heaping spoonful of the batter in your hand.
4. Form into balls and then roll them in shredded coconut.
5. Place in muffin forms for a more festive appearance.
Refrigerate or freeze.
Tomato Soup with Saffron and Shrimp
2 servings
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- 1.5 ounces butter
- 1 onion
- 5 cauliflower florets
- 2 pressed garlics cloves
- 1 cup tomato juice (as low-carb as you can find)
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/2 orange, the juice
- 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
- 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
- 0.5–1 pinch saffron
- salt and white pepper
- 1 table spoon paprika powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 pound peeled, cooked shrimp (optional)
1. Boil the tomatoes for a few minutes, remove from the water and peel, divide the tomatoes into pieces.
2. Chop the onion and fry it in butter in a saucepan.
3. Cut the cauliflower and add to the pan with the garlic and tomatoes.
4. Pour in the water and tomato juice.
5. Grate the orange zest and add to the pan, squeeze out the orange juice and pour into the soup.
6. Add spices and saffron.
7. Let simmer for about 40 minutes.
8. Pour in the cream, bring to a boil and mix with a hand blender or food processor until the soup is smooth.
9. Bring to a boil again.
10. Remove from heat and mix in the peeled shrimp.
11. Warm the soup but don’t boil with the shrimps.
The Best LCHF Gingerbread Cookies
- 4 ounces butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid stevia (optional)
- 1 egg white (lightly beaten with a fork in a cup)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons psyllium husk
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the spices.
Pour in the cream and let simmer for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool a little.
Whisk the egg white lightly with a fork and pour into the butter mixture while stirring.
Mix in the vanilla and, if you want, stevia.
Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and psyllium husk.
Mix and put the dough in a freezer bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
Work the dough together.
Flatten the dough and roll it gently.
Use cookie cutters to form cookies and place the cookies on a baking sheet in the oven.
Bake at 400°F for 7 minutes.
Let cool and enjoy.I’m usually not much in favor of sweetening as I want to avoid all sweet tastes. BUT in order to get the rest of the family to eat (and yes, it does taste more “normal”), I use a minimal amount of sweetening.
These are AMAZINGLY delicious! Best LCHF gingersnaps so far!
Hug, Monique
More
Thank you to our third holiday-season hostess!
What do you think about the tips? Please feel free to leave a comment here or at Monique Forslund’s blog.
Holiday Gift
Monique’s cookbook is a great holiday gift:
Previously
Recipes for a Healthy Holiday Season