Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies {Paleo, AIP}
These chocolate gingerbread sandwich cookies are the perfect decadent Christmas cookies for chocolate lovers! They’re paleo and can be made AIP.
Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
If you love chocolate and gingerbread, these are the cookies for you! They’re a crunchy traditional gingerbread with added cocoa powder made with a creamy ganache filling and topped off with powdered sugar. They’re fun to make, and even more fun to eat.
The Ingredients
- Tigernut Flour. I like this tigernut flour.
- Cocoa Powder. You can sub carob to keep the recipe AIP
- Gelatin Powder. I like Vital Proteins.
- Baking Soda.
- Ginger and Cinnamon. These spices bring out the gingerbread flavor.
- Palm Shortening. I haven’t tried any other fats to sub for palm shortening.
- Maple Syrup.
- Blackstrap Molasses. The blackstrap molasses gives this recipe the deep richness of gingerbread!
- Vanilla Extract.
- Tapioca Starch.
The Tools
- One larger cookie cutter and one smaller. You can even use a cup if you don’t have cookie cutters! You can make the shapes as straightforward or as fancy as you’d like.
- Rolling pin. It’s really helpful to have a rolling pin for this recipe, but you can easily use your hands if you don’t.
How to make Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
- Combine the dough.
- Roll out the cookies. Working with about 1/2 cup of dough at a time, flatten it to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut a cookie, and pull away any excess dough with your fingers. Return any excess dough to the bowl. Transfer the formed cookie onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with half of the dough, or about 6 cookies.
- Shape the cookies. With the other half of the dough, repeat the process of cutting circular cookies. Use a small cookie cutter to cut a peekaboo cut out in the middle of the cookies. Add the 6 cookies and the 6 small cookie shapes to the baking sheet.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.
- Make the ganache and fill. To make the ganache, melt the chocolate chips and coconut cream together in the microwave (or using a double boiler) until smooth and incorporated. Spoon about 1 tbsp of ganache onto a circular cookie, and sandwich a cookie with a cut-out on top. Carefully pour about 1 tsp worth of ganache into the hole on top of the cookie to fill the excess. Repeat for all of the cookies. Dip the small cookies in ganache if desired.
- Dust with powdered sugar and chill!
Can you make these cookies without palm shortening?
I haven’t tried to make these with an alternative fat source, but let me know if you try!
Can you leave out the molasses?
The blackstrap molasses gives this recipe a deep richness that you know and love for gingerbread. Please, don’t swap out it out for extra maple syrup if you want real gingerbread flavor!
Can you use a different filling for these cookies?
You can also use a chocolate buttercream style filling for this recipe, but I think the ganache works much better.
Can you use different cookie cutters?
For sure! I think using a round cookie cutter for the base cookie is the easiest, but you can use a heart, star, tree, etc. for the smaller cookie cutter.
You’ll also love…
Print
Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Scale
For the cookie:
- 3/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup tigernut flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder (sub carob for AIP)
- 1 tbsp gelatin powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup palm shortening
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the ganache/topping:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (sub homemade carob chips for AIP)
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- 2–3 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F & line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, cream together the palm shortening, maple syrup, and molasses. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir in the vanilla extract and combine well until all ingredients are blended and form a dough. Transfer the dough to a clean piece of parchment paper.
- Working with about 1/2 cup of dough at a time, flatten it to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut a cookie, and pull away any excess dough with your fingers. Return any excess dough to the bowl. Transfer the formed cookie onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with half of the dough, or about 6 cookies.
- With the other half of the dough, repeat the process of cutting circular cookies. Use a small cookie cutter to cut a peekaboo cut out in the middle of the cookies. Add the 6 cookies and the 6 small cookie shapes to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.
- To make the ganache, melt the chocolate chips and coconut cream together in the microwave (or using a double boiler) until smooth and incorporated.
- Spoon about 1 tbsp of ganache onto a circular cookie, and sandwich a cookie with a cut-out on top. Carefully pour about 1 tsp worth of ganache into the hole on top of the cookie to fill the excess. Repeat for all of the cookies. Dip the small cookies in ganache if desired.
- Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and allow to chill for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes
All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 313
- Fat: 19.9g
- Carbohydrates: 31.5g
- Fiber: 5.1g
- Protein: 3.3g
Recipe by Michelle, Unbound Wellness. Photos by Ashleigh Scott
These turned out beautiful and so yummy! Although there was multiple steps – your directions were easy to follow. What a fun treat and pretty enough to share.
So glad you enjoyed!!
For some reason the dough wasn’t dry enough for me to cut cookies out of it. I added 1/4 c more tigernut flour and it was better. Recipe still turned out nicely and the cookies were delicious!
Glad you enjoyed them!!