Raw Gingerbread Men

[snowdrop]

i got this in a newsletter and thought WOW, just in time for cookie making season! i can't wait to try them!
xoxoxo
-snow




Raw Gingerbread Men
It all began with a desire to replace my son's "healthy" (organic, no junk) gingerbread men with truly healthy ones just a couple of days ago. As my mind kicked in to try and figure out how this could be possible and with a little search on the web for traditional gingerbread men recipes, Luke and are were soon equipped with all we needed and raring to go to see what we could create. Fast forward to multiple Gingerbread Men all dehydrated and ready to be gobbled up: Success!



NB: This recipe doesn't have to be dehydrated to taste good or hold itself together, but for the crunch factor, yes, absolutely.

Ingredients
Makes 9 small Men.

* 1 cup of golden flax (linseed)
* 1 cup pecans
* 3 teaspoons powdered ginger
* 2 Tablespoons of dark agave syrup
* 1/8 cup of pure water

Directions

1) Mill the flax seed and pecans together into a fine flour. (This is best done in the Vita-Mix dry jug, or by using a coffee mill; a food processor won't get it fine enough on its own).

2) Pour the "flour" - saving just a little back for step 3 - into a food processor adding the remaining ingredients. Process until a dark sticky ball is created.

3) Remove the ball from the processor and lay it out on a flat surface ready for rolling out. This is where you may need to use the flour you held back from step 2 as it might stick to the surface or rolling pin! So lightly coat the board you are rolling on or the mixture itself in a fine dusting of flour and then roll out into a flat dough.

4) Using gingerbread men-shaped cookie cutters, cut out your men and either leave plain or decorate, according to your preference. Once finished, you can either eat as a "fresh" version which will be juicy and slightly chewy, or you can move to step 5 where you'll need a dehydrator...

5) Lay your men out on your dehydrator tray. No protective sheeting is required as the mixture isn't runny. Depending on how crunchy you want your men (!), dehydrate anything from a few hours to 24 hours. The full 24 hours at 100 degrees F will give you crunchy men, so long as they are no more than 5mm thick when they go in to dry.


By following this recipe you'll have gingerbread men ready to go in just minutes if you opt for the fresh version. As this is my first conscious foray into making creative raw food for kids, next time around as I tweak the recipe I'll be experimenting with raisin "buttons", chocolate "icing" and goji berry clothing!

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

* If your child doesn't like this recipe (but does like commercial gingerbread men), try making it using a different shaped cookie cutter, or adding decorations, or mixing their favourite raw ingredients in. My experience suggests that kids eat as much, if not more so with their eyes than their mouths! So be prepared to do things a little more differently than you would do for yourself.

* Try tasting them at all different stages of dehydration to see which one you prefer. My favourite is "almost fully dry with just a little bit of softness in the middle." (Make of that what you will!)

[subbacultcha]

ooh yeah I saw this yesterday on Karen Knowler's newsletter! I went out and got the ingredients today :)

[rawkchicster]

yeah, I saw it too! planning on making it sometime this holiday season :)

[Madeleine.Blythe]

I'm going to make these, and I'm pretty excited because I absolutely love gingerbread!!
Before I eat anything however, I have to know the nutritional values.. So, here it is, per cookie for this recipe:

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving

Calories:
160.7 kcal

Water 1.9 g
Carbohydrate (19%) g
Protein (9%) 4.37 g
Total Fat (72%) 13.78 g
Monounsaturated 5.67 g
Polyunsaturated 6.24 g
Saturated 1.23 g
Cholesterol 0 g
Dietary Fibre 5.86 g

Vitamins
Vitamin A 6.16 IU
Thiamin 0.1 mg
Riboflavin 0.04 mg
Niacin 0.37 mg
Pantothenic acid 0.35 mg
Vitamin B6 0.18 mg
Folate 50.3 mcg
Vitamin B12 0 mcg
Vitamin C 0.34 mg
Vitamin E 0.21 mg ATE

Minerals
Calcium 41.97 mg
Iron 1.35 mg
Magnesium 75.65 mg
Phosphorus 116.24 mg
Potassium 162.38 mg
Sodium 5.86 mg
Zinc 1.22 mg
Copper 0.31 mg

[subbacultcha]

I just thought how nice one of these will be with a glass of cinnamon pecan milk in the afternoon to warm me up :)

[beppa66]

Thanks Snow, these sound amazing. Just in time for the holidays...YAY!!!!
Any ideas on frosting?

[snowdrop]

Thanks Snow, these sound amazing. Just in time for the holidays...YAY!!!!
Any ideas on frosting?

i made a confectionery sugar by just whizzing dried coconut in the coffee mill.
use some agave or stevia to sweeten and thin with lemon juice to piping thickness. color it with a few drops of strong veggie juice (beet, spinach, carrot) or leave as is, white.
:)
just an idea, maybe others have better ones...
xoxoxo
-snow

[halikatak]

I cannot WAIT to try this!
I bet this would be good for a pie crust as well!!!!





Thanks mucho!


http://www.xoospace.com/myspace/graphics/12080.gif

[spiralgirl]

snowdrop,

Yes, I get the same newsletter and am also dying to try them out. :) They look good. Gingerbread were one of my favourite SAD treats before Raw.

[luna99]

oh my goodness that picture of the cookie looks like the real thing! I"m definitely going to make these for thanksgiving dinner and give them to my sad family! I think I'll try the icing too! thanks!

[halikatak]

I've already eaten two of them and the rest are still dehydrating!!!

I didn't have pecans - so I used almonds.
I added a bunch more ginger and also some cinnamon.
I think next time I will add raw sugar to sweeten them up.

I just made balls and flattened them. I didn't feel like rolling/cutting.
Lazy me!

[Vegan Princess]

I made them too. I halved the recipe to test it out and when I blended the pecans and flax in the dry container for the vitamix the flax didn't turn into powder...so it had whole flax seeds in it. Next time I will grind them up separately. It still tasted great though. I also agree that it needs more ginger and some cinnamon. But I think my ginger was old and I am buying a new bottle. I plan on doubling or tripling the recipe and brining them to a raw holiday potluck this weekend. Thanks for the frosting idea!

Cindy

[raweater]

I think next time I will add raw sugar to sweeten them up.


Are you aware that what's sold as "raw sugar" isn't raw at all? It's not the same meaning of "raw" as ours (which is not heated above 118 F), their "raw" means "unprocessed". The "raw" sugar sold in health stores is very cooked, and any form of sugar is bad. Why not add more agave nectar? It's still sugar but truely raw and far less damaging. You can also use green stevia leaf powder as a healthy sweetener.

[raweater]

I just made these in about 15-20 minutes and they're now dehydrating. The gingerbread cookies I had always also had cinammon and cloves so I added those 2 spices also.

Some mentioned this recipe came from a newsletter, which newsletter is it from? I think I'd like to sign up.

Thanks

[halikatak]

Are you aware that what's sold as "raw sugar" isn't raw at all? It's not the same meaning of "raw" as ours (which is not heated above 118 F), their "raw" means "unprocessed". The "raw" sugar sold in health stores is very cooked, and any form of sugar is bad. Why not add more agave nectar? It's still sugar but truely raw and far less damaging. You can also use green stevia leaf powder as a healthy sweetener.


Oooh thanks for letting me know! I didn't know this!
I do have Stevia and Agave on hand.

Thanks! :eek:

[GreenJB5]

Did you soak the pecans?

[eachpeachpearplum]

I just made these in about 15-20 minutes and they're now dehydrating. The gingerbread cookies I had always also had cinammon and cloves so I added those 2 spices also.

Some mentioned this recipe came from a newsletter, which newsletter is it from? I think I'd like to sign up.

Thanks


www.therawfoodcoach.com by Karen Knowler, she's in the UK.

[raweater]

When I made these from the recipe, even though I added cinamon and cloves, they were near tasteless and lacked sweetness (the flax tasted more than anything else).

I re did the recipe but with 4 tsp ginger, 3 tsp cinnamon, 3 tsp cloves, and 2 tsp allspice, and 1/2 tsp sea salt. I also replaced the 1/8 cup of water with agave.

They are 100 times better now! The original recipe is a GREAT base for these cookies, but I found they severely lacked taste and sweetness. If you liked the original version, please try my modification, I am blown away by it!

[subbacultcha]

I made these today, with some alterations. I was worried they would taste flax-y, so I changed the ratio of pecans to flax by making it 1+3/4cups pecans and 1/4 cup flax meal.

I thought they might not stick together so well with less flax so I made the pecans into pecan butter in my food processor. I then added quite a lot of mixed spice (think it's an english thing: its got cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander and some others) -the more the better, and a large pinch of sea salt into the FP with it and blended it up again.

Then I added a mix of honey, agave and maple syrup until it tasted sweet. I had the flax meal in a separate bowl and mixed in a tiny bit of water, then stirred in the pecan butter mix.

The dough was too sticky to roll out so I placed teaspoons of the mixture onto a teflex sheet and stuck it in the dehydrator. After about an hour it was less sticky so I took the blobs and formed them into balls and flattened them and put them back into the dehydrator. I ate some and the rest are still in there crisping up :)

[snowdrop]

When I made these from the recipe, even though I added cinamon and cloves, they were near tasteless and lacked sweetness (the flax tasted more than anything else).

I re did the recipe but with 4 tsp ginger, 3 tsp cinnamon, 3 tsp cloves, and 2 tsp allspice, and 1/2 tsp sea salt. I also replaced the 1/8 cup of water with agave.

They are 100 times better now! The original recipe is a GREAT base for these cookies, but I found they severely lacked taste and sweetness. If you liked the original version, please try my modification, I am blown away by it!

super!!!
i also was disappointed... with the end result being a bit bitter.
i wanted to paint the tops with maple syrup and dehydrate some more,
but if i were to make them again- your fix seems just right.
thanks-
snow

[raweater]

I find flax tastes "bready" so it gives it that authetic gingerbread taste, but I use golden flax seeds, I haven't used brown flax in over a year. I don't think the brown one tastes very good, if you use the golden one you'll probably like the taste a lot better, and they're healthier.

Also don't forget maple syrup is cooked to death and is quite unhealthy. I'd stick with raw sweeteners, maple syrup makes me sick due to it's high toxicity, agave doesn't make me sick like that even in higher quantities. Honey, even raw, does make me sick like maple syrup. Don't forget any sugar is highly toxic anyway, raw or not, and should be used in moderation. I normally use stevia as it's the only sweetener with no negative health effects and only benefits.

[beppa66]

i made a confectionery sugar by just whizzing dried coconut in the coffee mill.
use some agave or stevia to sweeten and thin with lemon juice to piping thickness. color it with a few drops of strong veggie juice (beet, spinach, carrot) or leave as is, white.
:)
just an idea, maybe others have better ones...
xoxoxo
-snow

BRILLIANT!:D :p :D

[IamLoved]

Bumping up for Christmas.

I will be making these today. I'll post my results later.

[Vivafree2]

Great receipe thanks - but it is a ginger woman on the pic:)

[mountaintop]

Gee, these do sound good. I will try them for the holidays. Thanks!

[IamLoved]

Hello!!

Ok, so I made a batch of these cookies on Wednesday. Only I didn't have enough pecans so I used brazil nuts. I added extra ginger, some cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves and extra agave. Then I made little teddy bear and candy cane and star shapes for my children. I gave them each a bite of the "dough" and they loved it! But, here is the best part. My husband is not raw. But I keep making raw things and having him try them. Usually he shakes his head no, makes a face, or just shrugs his shoulders in indifference. He has never "liked" anything. The best response I have gotten is, "It's ok" So I gave him a bite of this cookie and his eyes got big and he smiled and nodded his head and said "These are good. I like these. I really like these." Then he took two to work with him the next day. I was so happy I wanted to jump up and down!

So thanks for the recipe. Finding something that my husband likes is huge! I made a double batch yesterday so I now have approx. 4 doz of these babies ready to go for Christmas all in cute little shapes!

[Blissed]

As simply adore gingerbread, these sound quite enticing. Already late in the season now to make for anyone other than me.

[WannaBraw]

What about date sugar, which naturally forms on dates?

[Zaphirah]

so GOLDEN flax is a must in this recipe? all I have is the regular brown stuff...:confused:

[ShelShel]

These are amazing. I made them with the modifications recommended and wow! I absolutely loved the dough and ate half of it before it ever went in the pan. :D The best raw dessert I have made yet...and that's saying something with raw brownies around.

I didn't bother to dehydrate...I pushed them into a square pan and put them in the fridge. After a few hours chilling I will cut them up like I do brownies.

I did roll it out at first and then cut the men...and then thought, what if dehydrating these changes the taste. :eek: So, I'm playing it safe. LOL

Love Love Love these! thanks for sharing!

[RawHealthyBeauty]

Bumping for Christmas!!! :D