Gingernut Biscuits (or Ginger Snaps) with a freshly brewed cup of coffee is the perfect afternoon treat. We love the fiery taste from the ginger and the crunchiness of them and they also hold together really well when dunked. These are Healthy Gingernut Biscuits, and vegan and gluten free too.
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.
I also find the ginger flavour really settling when I have a bad stomach and don't feel like much else. I practically lived on these when I was pregnant and had horrendous morning sickness.
If you are looking for more recipes with ginger, why not try our easy 10 Minute Sticky Ginger Beef, comforting Soy Ginger Salmon Noodles, super nutritious Ginger Shot or our festive Gingerbread Cupcakes?
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Why you will love them
- Nutritious - There are lots of health benefits of ginger, and these are low calorie, low fat and low carb too.
- Really simple to make - Just mix everything together in a bowl and bake.
- Kids will love them - A great way to introduce kids to the flavour of ginger.
- Cheaper and healthier than store bought - This ginger biscuit recipe is so cheap to make, especially if you buy nuts in bulk.
Ingredients needed
- 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. Don't use fresh for this.
- Maple syrup - To sweeten the biscuits. You could use honey, but they wouldn't be vegan.
- Baking powder
- Lemon juice
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make ginger nut biscuits - Step by step
Prep: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4
One: Place the cashews, almond and coconut into a food processor and blend until a flour like consistency. Transfer into a large bowl.
Two: Add the salt, baking powder, ground ginger, lemon juice and maple syrup to the nut flour.
Three: Mix well to form a dough.
Four: Using your hands roll the dough into 8 equal sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, evenly spaced.
Five: 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.
Six: Put the baking tray of biscuits into the oven for 20 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.
Gingernut or Ginger Snap?
There may be some confusion for our American readers. A biscuit in the UK is a cookie in the US and a gingernut is a ginger snap. Whatever you call it, you'll be sure to make this ginger snap recipe over and over again.
Healthy biscuits
What makes these biscuits healthy? Well, they are not packed with sugar and butter like regular biscuits are and instead they use a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten them.
We have also skipped the regular flour and used almond and cashew flour instead, which means they are gluten free and vegan too and they will help you feel fuller for longer.
What to serve them with
These are the perfect biscuit to dunk into a nice hot drink. Here are some of the ones on the blog that would go really well with it:
- Cinnamon Coffee
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- Cinnamon Mocha
- Chai Tea Latte
FAQs
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.
These aren't the most low calorie biscuits, at 137 calories per biscuit, because they are made with nuts. However, they are bigger than a store bought gingernut, which has 55 calories in it, and are much more filling because of the nuts. So, it's not all about the calories, it's the ingredients too.
When I was pregnant with my first, I lived on these for about the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. I suffered awful morning sickness and gingernut biscuits were the only thing that settled my stomach.
Ginger is known to help with stomach issues and whilst I could have had some ginger tea or ginger ale, I opted for ginger biscuits because, well, pregnancy. Instead of raiding a whole pack of shop bought ones, I made them myself.
I can sometimes find vegan and gluten free biscuits a little bland, and sometimes soft - these are neither. By making a flour with nuts, they are gluten free and everything is vegan too.
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.
Extra 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.
More snack recipes
If you’ve tried these homemade gingernut biscuits, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
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 20 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.
Nutritional Information
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.
Matthew Steele
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
Happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Jon Eay
Simple enough recipe, but less than 10 minutes in the oven and they were almost burnt!
Dannii
At gas mark 4 (in a non fan assisted oven), they should not be burnt in less than 10 minutes.
Michael
Same happened to me. Dry burnt biscuits within 15 minutes at 180C.
Dannii
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.
Dawn
I dont like coconut can I just omit it or use something to replace it?
Dannii
It would change the texture and it might not hold together as well - I haven't tried it though. But these don't taste like coconut.
Jagruti
We love ginger nut cookies, especially with masala Chai. I like your recipe, soon I'll bake a batch of this:)
Camilla
These biscuits are simply genius, no flour just nuts - who knew a healthy biscuit existed!?
Zara Lipstixx
Oh yes, love ginger nut biscuits! They seem to be a weakness in my household! x
Charlotte
These look really yummy! I love gingernut biscuits! x
Monica
I have only just released that they don't normally have nuts in. Yours look great they and I am so proud of you for having a book. A big well done.
Liz
I am so excited for your book Dannii. I ordered mine today :)
David @ Spiced
These cookies sound incredible, Dannii! You guys really know how to use ginger over there. I've been meaning to try to recreate a ginger cake that I ate on our last European trip, but I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'm thinking these cookies might bump that cake back another notch anyways. Congrats on the book, and great photo! :-)
Jo of Jo's Kitchen
I love ginger nuts and these healthier ones sound just like what I need! I