Gingernut Biscuits (or Ginger Snaps) with a freshly brewed cup of coffee is the perfect winter afternoon treat. You have the fiery taste from the ginger and then that classic crunch - they also hold together really well when dunked in a cup of tea. With a few nutritious changes, these are Healthy Gingernut Biscuits, and dairy and gluten-free too.
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The flavour of ginger might divide people, but we LOVE it. These gingernut biscuits are a favourite in our house. Lots of flavour and texture and the perfect dunkable biscuit with some healthier swaps like nuts and maple syrup.
I also find the ginger flavour really settling when I have nausea and don't feel like much else. I practically lived on these during pregnancy and had horrendous morning sickness.
Packed full of nuts, these healthy gingernut biscuits have 4g of protein in each one and only 140 calories. So simple to make, by just mixing everything together in a bowl and rolling into balls. A simple bake for kids.
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Healthy Gingernut Biscuit Ingredients
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Nuts - We used cashews and almonds.
- Desiccated coconut - Helps with binding the mixture, but doesn't give a coconut flavour.
- Ground ginger - Obviously for the fiery ginger flavour. Commenters have said they have used fresh ginger, but I haven't tried this myself.
- Maple syrup - To sweeten the biscuits. You could use honey, but they wouldn't be vegan.
- Baking powder
- Lemon juice
Variations
I love adding these to a homemade cookie box at Christmas time. Although they are pretty special as they are, I make them extra special by drizzling them with some 80% dark chocolate.
30g/1oz is enough when melted to cover all 8 healthy gingernut biscuits.
You could even then add some festive sprinkles.
How to Make Ginger Nut Biscuits
Prep: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4.
- Step 1: Place the cashews, almond and coconut into a food processor and blend until a flour like consistency. Transfer into a large bowl.
- Step 2: Add the salt, baking powder, ground ginger, lemon juice and maple syrup to the nut flour.
- Step 3: Mix well to until a dough forms.
- Step 4: Using your hands roll the dough into 8 equal sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, evenly spaced.
- Step 5: Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball so they have a diameter of about 3 inches; this will ensure they crisp up nicely.
- Step 6: Put the baking tray of biscuits into the oven for 15-18 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before eating.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Cooking times will vary depending on your oven and they can burn very quickly. So keep and eye on them from 10 minutes and if they start browning, taken them out.
- Add some dark chocolate chips or raisins for a little extra flavour.
- Don't feel like you have to stick to almonds and cashews - try using walnuts and pecans too.
- These ginger biscuits will become crispier once left to cool on a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have frozen gingernut biscuits, and whilst they are a perfectly acceptable biscuit when defrosted, they do lose their crunch. A gingernut is all about the crunch for us, so I would say these are best made from fresh. Store them in an airtight container to maintain their crunch.
Traditionally, gingernut biscuits don't actually have nuts in them. Weird! Apparently they are called gingernuts because they are hard like a nut shell. Well, we have actually used nuts in the recipe for ours, so we can safely call them gingernuts.
More Snack Recipes
If you've tried these homemade ginger biscuit recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Healthy Gingernut Biscuits
Ingredients
- 70 g (0.5 cups) Cashews
- 70 g (0.5 cups) Almonds
- 20 g (0.25 cups) Desiccated coconut
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 0.5 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1.5 tablespoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon Maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4. Line a large , flat baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Place 70 g Cashews, 70 g Almonds and 20 g Desiccated coconut into a food processor and process to a fine, floury consistency. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Add 1 pinch Sea salt, 0.5 teaspoon Baking powder, 1.5 tablespoon Ground ginger, 1 teaspoon Lemon juice and 3 tablespoon Maple syrup to a bowl and mix well to form a dough.
- Using your hands, roll the mixture into 8 equal-sized balls and place, evenly spaced, on the baking sheet.
- Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball to a diameter of 7.5cm/3 inches; this will ensure that your biscuits crisp up nicely.
- Transfer the biscuits to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before eating.
Recipe Tips
- Cooking times will vary depending on your oven and they can burn very quickly. So keep and eye on them from 10 minutes and if they start browning, taken them out.
- Add some dark chocolate chips or raisins for a little extra flavour.
- Don't feel like you have to stick to almonds and cashews - try using walnuts and pecans too.
- These ginger biscuits will become crispier once left to cool on a wire rack.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Ruth Willmore says
Could I leave the lemon juice out of these? Maybe replace with ACV, apple juice or water? I'm allergic to citrus fruit.
Dannii Martin says
The acidity of the lemon helps to react with leavening agents, giving it a better texture. You can try vinegar though, but I haven't used it myself.
Kathryn says
How fo you think this could be adapted without maple syrup for toddlers.. ie no sugar??? cause they have a great consistency. ps In my adult version I added about 5 pieces of crystalised ginger.
Dannii Martin says
They need some kind of sugar in them like honey or maple syrup. They are natural sugar and refined sugar free. My kids loved them when toddlers.
Lolly says
Wow - I baked these today and they were amazing! I made a couple of changes based on what I already had in. I added a little melted butter and coconut sugar instead of honey. I also replaced powdered ginger with fresh grated ginger plus cinnamon powder and chai masala powder. They were an absolute hit - thank you so much for this brilliant recipe!
Sue says
Great recipe...easy and delicious.
Alex says
These are just delicious!!!. I love them thank you!. Just the right amount of ginger and of everything. I didnt have issues with baking them, all ingredients are cooked anyway, just made the dough too watery. I have a bad food processor and I couldn't blend the ingredients without adding water. Lesson learned for next time xx
Jenny Snee says
These ginger nut biscuits are delicious. Texture was just like a crunchy biscuit. Healthy too. Next time I will make a double batch. They were so nice they disappeared very quickly!
Matthew Steele says
These are delicious and healthy as well! I used an equivalent weight of almond meal and had to add a tablespoon of water. Were cooked and browned nicely in 25 minutes
Dannii says
Happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Jon Eay says
Simple enough recipe, but less than 10 minutes in the oven and they were almost burnt!
Dannii says
At gas mark 4 (in a non fan assisted oven), they should not be burnt in less than 10 minutes.
Michael says
Same happened to me. Dry burnt biscuits within 15 minutes at 180C.
Dannii says
We have a tip in our extra tip section about cooking times varying and to check them from 10 mins and remove them from the oven if needed.