Once upon a time…

Gingerbread cookies are a holiday staple. Enjoy these little crunchy cookies done right with natural ingredients

Ingredients: (makes about 3 dozen cookies)

• 3 cups flour (buckwheat, whole wheat, or spelt are good)
• 3/4 cup baking stevia or succant
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• dash of sea salt
• 1/3 cup black-strap molasses
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup organic unsalted butter, soft
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ensuring dough is consistent. Feel free to use an electric mixer or food processor on low speed. Once fully mixed, remove dough and divide into two parts. Wrap both in plastic and refrigerate. Preheat oven to 350. After 2-3 hours in fridge, remove dough and roll on a floured cutting board until thin. Use cookie cutters or simply make round cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes (check at 10). Let cookies cool completely before decorating, playing imaginary gingerbread family, or devouring.

One Healthy Breakdown: run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me…