Bake a classic holiday gingerbread cookie with this easy, healthier recipe

Nothing says the holidays quite like the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven.

Scripps News food and wellness contributor Jessica DeLuise is sharing her warm, spicy gingerbread recipe. It's a nostalgic, family-favorite treat that couldn’t be easier to make. This version gets a healthier twist, made with whole-grain flour and olive oil, without sacrificing any of that classic holiday flavor.

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Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole grain, all-purpose flour (use a gluten-free all-purpose option if needed)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup avocado oil or olive oil
• ½ cup molasses (use regular molasses for lighter, somewhat spicy cookies or blackstrap molasses for very spicy, intensely flavored cookies or a mixture of both)
• ½ cup packed granulated sweetener
• 1 large egg

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar – use a non-nutritive option for a lower-carb, lower sugar option
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 (ish) tsp milk +/- more as needed

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, flour, spices, baking powder and baking soda.
• Whisk to combine.
• In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients: egg, oil, molasses, and sugar. Mix to combine.
• Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Begin to mix the dough. The dough will seem dry and shaggy at first, but keep mixing! It will come together. Using your hands helps.
• On a clean work surface, lay our a large piece of parchment paper, about 2 ft long. Fold it in half.
• Place the dough inside the fold, so it sits on one half and the other half covers it up.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 – 1/3 inch thick.
• Then, use the bench scraper to cut the dough into squares.
• Stamp the cookies with your design.
• Line your baking sheet pan (or two) with a silicone mat.
• Carefully transfer your cookies to the mat, leaving about 1/4 inch between cookies.
• Bake for 28 minutes.
• Check the cookies and bake for additional 2-5 minute increments until done. When done, they will be firm and easily lift off the silicone mat in one piece. If they are crumbly or break, they are not done.
• Cook in the pan on the stovetop or on a trivet on the counter.
• Eat as is or add icing. They are delicious both ways!