Paleo Gingerbread Donut Holes (AIP)
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These gingerbread donut holes are the easiest little treat for Christmas! They’re paleo, AIP, egg-free, and so easy to make.
Cookies are king during the holidays, but sometimes it’s fun to mix up the baked goods! Donut holes have been a favorite treat of mine for as long as I can remember, and these gingerbread donut holes are absolutely perfect. They’re incredibly easy to make, they’re allergen-friendly, and super cakey and delicious. Plus, they’re AIP and paleo-friendly!
These paleo gingerbread donut holes are perfect for….
- Leaving out for Santa
- A little holiday treat for two or three to share
- Doubling or tripling the recipe o bring to a holiday party to share
- Placing on a holiday cookie tray as something a little fun and different
- Making with kiddos for a super simple holiday treat
The Ingredients
- Tigernut flour, Coconut flour and tapioca starch. These three flours are all grain and nut free, making them paleo and AIP-friendly. I’ve tested this recipe a lot of different ways and have always had the best results with these three flours together. The only swap I would recommend is arrowroot starch in place of tapioca starch.
- Palm Shortening. Palm shortening helps give these donuts a cakey texture. I have not tried it without palm shortening.
- Maple Syrup. You can easily substitute honey in place of maple syrup.
- Vanilla. Vanilla gives these even more of a cookie flavor!
- Gelatin. Gelatin basically acts as a binder in this recipe. There’s no need to bloom it (it’s dry in this recipe) and you can use varieties such as Vital Proteins, Great Lakes, or others. However, you cannot sub-collagen.
- Ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg/mace
How to make Gingerbread Donut Holes
- Step one. Prep the dough by combining the flours together, and the wet ingredients separately. Combine to make a dough.
- Step two. Form the donut holes. Form the dough into 8 rounded donut holes and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Step three. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the donut holes are hardened on the outside
Tips & Tricks
- Scale up for a crowd. The recipe makes 6-8 donut holes. You can scale up or down from there!
- The donut holes are best eaten warm. You can totally store them in the fridge, but I think they’re best warmed up a bit.
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Paleo Gingerbread Donut Holes (AIP)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup tiger nut flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ¼ tsp clove
- ½ tsp nutmeg, sub mace for AIP
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup palm shortening
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
FOR TOPPING
- For AIP - 2-3 tbsp melted coconut butter
- For non-AIP - traditional glaze, like this, omitting the lemon
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Sift together the three flours in a medium-sized bowl until evenly combined. Stir in the baking soda, spices, and gelatin.
- In a seperate bowl, cream the palm shortening, maple syrup, and vanilla together. Add it to the bowl with the flour and stir until a dough forms. The dough will be fairly thick.
- Form the dough into 8 rounded donut holes and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the donut holes are hardened on the outside
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Top with a traditional glaze or melted coconut butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
Serving: 1donut hole, Calories: 146kcal, Carbohydrates: 13.8g, Protein: 2.2g, Fat: 11.4g, Fiber: 1.8g
All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.
Did you Make this Recipe?Tag @unboundwellness on Instagram and hashtag #unboundwellness!
This recipe was published in 2017 and updated in 2023.
Can you sub Ghee or another fat (tallow, coconut oil) for the palm shortening?
I haven’t tried without the palm shortening, but let me know if you do!
I can’t do eggs or beef what would you recommend to use instead of Gelatin?
I haven’t tried anything else so can’t say for sure it would yield the same results… sorry!
These look amazing can you substitute anything else for the palm shortening ? Can’t get it in Canada ? Would regular shortening work ?
Love your recipes
Thank you so much, Karen! I haven’t really tried any alternatives. I would think that lard may be a close second?
My teenager just got in the kitchen and made these and YUM! Perfect treat for the season. We didn’t have tigernut so he subbed with almond flour and a little cassava too. Love the glaze!
Yum! Thank you so much, Rennie! So happy you enjoyed!!
The flavor is good but I found these to be a little to dry, I think I’ll try adding a little pumpkin next time. The pumpkin donut holes were perfect.
I just made these. I was never a donut person, and I knew they wouldn’t be like the yeast donuts that many crave. So I cooked up a batch. They were delicious. I made 7, ate 3, and stuck 3 in the freezer. That leaves me 1 for later. I lived the fall spices. The only problem that I had was that after biting into the hole, the remaining hole piece would crumble into 2-3 parts. This isn’t really a problem since it tasted so good. Thank you for all of your egg-free recipes.
Made these this weekend. Turned out perfectly. I ended up baking them in a mini muffin tin so the shape wasn’t quite the same, but they’re were at least uniform 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
How do these freeze?
Wow! Great flavor and pretty easy. Thank you! Two questions – 1) mine cracked on the top—what am I doing wrong? And, 2) how do you turn the coconut butter into a glaze? Heating in microwave turned it brown. Also, did you mix the cinnamon and coconut sugar into the butter, or just sprinkle on top?
Thank you Ardi!
1) Some of mine crack a bit on the top as well. It’s pretty normal for something that’s egg free. You can try to make them smaller, or add 2 tbsp of pumpkin puree to them for more moisture. It changes the flavor but it makes for a more moist product.
2) I just sprinkle it over the top 🙂
I love that these are egg-free!! Can’t wait to make them for our family! 🙂
Thanks Megan! I’m egg free myself so I know how hard it is to find good egg free things!