Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

MAKES 20 GINGERBREAD PEOPLE OR 30 COOKIES

Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• ¾ cup palm sugar
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
• ¾ cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk

Preparation

1. Process the flour, palm sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt together in a food processor until combined (about 10 seconds). Add the coconut oil and process until the mixture is very fine and sandy (about 15 seconds). With the machine running, add the molasses and the coconut milk in a steady stream through the feed tube and continue to process until the dough comes together (about 10 seconds).

2. Divide the dough into two even pieces and roll each out to a quarter-inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between parchments, stack them on a baking sheet and freeze until firm (15 to 20 minutes).

3. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Working with one piece of dough at a time, transfer dough to a clean counter and gently remove the top sheet of parchment. Stamp out cookies using cookie-cutters. Transfer the cookies to prepared baking sheets with a thin metal spatula, spaced about ¾ inch apart.

5. Bake the cookies until they are light golden brown and show a slight resistance to touch (8 to 11 minutes), switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. (Do not overbake.)

6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack before serving.