• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Straight Up Food
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook
  • Shop
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Ginger Heart Cookies

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    These little ginger cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or whenever you’re feeling the love—and they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. A cousin of gingerbread but without the brown sugar, molasses, eggs and butter.

    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    These cookies are akin to denser tea biscuits. They remind me of thicker graham crackers, and similarly, are not overly sweet or moist. They are nice with a cup of tea when you're not in the mood for a big chocolate chip or oatmeal-raisin cookie. Enjoy!

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    Ginger Heart Cookies


    • Total Time: 1 hour 33 mins
    • Yield: 30 (makes 30 cookies) 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 6 ounces dates (9 to 10 Medjool or 18 to 20 Deglet Noor), pitted, and quartered
    • ¾ cup water
    • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 to 2 vanilla beans)
    • 2 cups whole-grain oat flour
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1¾ teaspoons ground dried ginger
    • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon ground clove
    • ¼ cup almond butter
    • "all fruit" jam (optional; I used raspberry)

    Instructions

    1. Place the pitted dates, water, and vanilla into a small bowl and set aside for at least 15 minutes so the dates can soften. If it’s cold, set out the almond butter so it can come to room temperature.
    2. Place all of the dry ingredients (oat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and clove) into a bowl and whisk.
    3. Transfer the dates, water, and vanilla to a blender, and add the almond butter. Blend on high until smooth.
    4. Pour the date mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients disappear. Form into 2 balls, and place into the refrigerator for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or use a silicone baking mat on each) before cutting the cookies in the next step.
    5. Remove 1 ball of dough from the fridge, flatten it with your hand, and then roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of between ⅛- and ¼-inch (see tips below in Notes). After rolling out, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the cookies. Once all have been cut from the rolled-out dough, place them on 1 of the baking sheets. Repeat with the left over and remaining dough, and place these cookies on the second baking sheet.
    6. Bake as is, or stamp a smaller heart outline into the center (using a smaller heart cutter), or add jam (see Notes and photos below). (Optional: I like to dust the cut cookies with a bit of sifted oat flour before baking to give a festive look.)
    7. Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes (less time for thinner cookies, more time for thicker). Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies at room temperature for about three days (beyond this, freeze them).

    Notes

    Rolling dough: This is my rolling technique, but use any that works for you. I like to use parchment paper under the dough, with a little sifted flour on it, then the dough, a bit more sifted flour, then another piece of parchment on top of the dough. (Just be careful you don't roll wrinkles into the dough.)

    To add jam: Use a slightly smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter to press down a bit on the bigger cookie. Place ¼ to ½ teaspoon jam into the space, evening it out with your finger or the measuring spoon. (The sizes I used: the large heart cutter is 2½ wide by 2¾ tall, and the small one is 1¾ wide and 2 inches tall.)

    Flour: I used whole-grain, store-bought oat flour for this recipe, since I wanted the cookie dough to have a smooth appearance; but you can also grind your own oat flour from rolled oats in a high-speed blender (like a Vitamix). If your dough feels too wet at any point, kneed in a little more flour.

    Spices: This cookie is mildly spicy/gingery, so feel free to add more ginger, nutmeg and clove if you want more of a spice punch.

    Cookie cutters: I used two heart-shaped cookie cutters for this recipe (see sizes above), but feel free to use other cookie cutter shapes and sizes, or even create small balls of dough and flatten them into circles (using your hand or a rolling pin or side of a cup). This recipe would work well for fancy holiday cookies instead of the traditional sugar cookie.

    Recipe products: I used Hain brand sodium-free baking powder in this recipe, as well as heart cookie cutters (both can be found in my Amazon store here).

    • Prep Time: 75 mins
    • Cook Time: 18 mins

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 cookie
    • Calories: 65
    • Sugar: 4.7g
    • Sodium: 1.5mg
    • Fat: 1.7g
    • Saturated Fat: 0.2g
    • Carbohydrates: 11.5g
    • Fiber: 1.7g
    • Protein: 1.6g
    • Cholesterol: 0

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @straightupfood and hashtag it #straightupfood - we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    Above: The cookies without jam, dusted with a little oat flour (use a sifter to get an even dusting). Traditionally this would be powdered sugar, but I do not use any refined sugars in my recipes, so a little sweet oat flour is an option for a more festive look. (A dusting of grated nuts or seeds, using a rotary cheese grater, may also provide a similar effect.)

    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    Above: This lighter-colored cookie dough is related to gingerbread, but it does not include molasses, brown sugar, eggs or butter, all of which I don't use in my recipes but contribute to the darker color of traditional gingerbread cookies.

    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    Above: To add a jam heart in the middle of the unbaked cookies, slightly press your smaller heart cutter into the larger cookie, and then spoon ¼ to ½ teaspoon of jam into the space and spread it out evenly with the back of the measuring spoon or your finger.

    Ginger Heart Cookies by Straight Up Food

    Above: The finished cookies: plain, dusted, and with jam. There is not a lot of fat in this recipe, so the cookies are on the more biscuit-y side; but if you want them to be more crisp, just roll them thinner and keep an eye on the oven so they don't over-brown.

    « No-Bake Pumpkin Cream Pie
    Jambalaya Stew »

    Share the recipe:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Yummly
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. bilberryelf

      February 12, 2019 at 4:54 am

      These are just too adorable! Being from Sweden, I have always been very fond of gingerbread, so it's fantastic to now have such a beautiful and simple recipe for making such perfect ones 🙂 Thank you as well for the rolling suggestion, and I really like the idea of using oat flour for dusting! I've been thinking of what I could use instead of sugar, and now I know 😀 Thank you for everything you do 🙂

      Reply
      • bilberryelf

        February 16, 2019 at 9:30 am

        Just made them today, and both I and my mom loved them! So wonderful, thank you <3

        Reply
    2. Faith L Scott

      February 12, 2019 at 8:18 am

      Mmmm looks amazingly delicious!

      Reply
    3. Trailmomma

      February 13, 2019 at 12:56 pm

      These are absolutely beautiful! I cannot wait to try them & have my kiddos help! Thank you!!

      Reply
    4. Ruth Mcroy

      February 18, 2019 at 8:07 am

      These were delicious! Definitely making them again soon!

      Reply
    5. Kat

      June 12, 2019 at 6:08 am

      Could you make these with whole wheat flour?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        June 16, 2019 at 2:35 pm

        Sure. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Saga

      July 08, 2019 at 11:22 pm

      Oh my gosh! Thank you for this beautiful blog. Actually wfpb no oil and no sweeteners you’ve made me so excited to try all your innovative recipes!

      Reply
      • Cathy

        July 09, 2019 at 5:46 pm

        Yay! Welcome! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Wanda

      August 09, 2019 at 5:24 pm

      I'm making these tomorrow for my daughter's wedding.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        August 09, 2019 at 6:28 pm

        Aw, yay! Happy wedding! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Becky

      September 16, 2019 at 12:29 pm

      So pretty! Looking forward to trying them. 1 more idea for the "dusting" on the top of cookies: Have you tried finely ground dried coconut?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        September 16, 2019 at 4:55 pm

        That would work I think! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Jan

      October 16, 2019 at 1:21 pm

      Do you think it would work to substitute tofu or applesauce for the nut butter? Or something else? Can't have nuts.

      Reply
      • Cathy

        October 19, 2019 at 10:10 am

        Hmm, for these cookies to not be as hard as rocks, I think they need a little fat, so using applesauce probably wouldn't work. You could use seed butter. Not sure about tofu. :-/

        Reply
    10. Sandra Franco

      December 19, 2019 at 11:36 am

      My dough is crumbling after being in the fridge. What did I do wrong?

      Reply
      • Cathy

        December 30, 2019 at 9:26 am

        Hi Sandra, I think you'd just need to add a bit more liquid or let the dough sit and warm a bit. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Mia Codron

      December 28, 2019 at 12:33 pm

      Yum! Me and my children made these twice over Christmas. We just used festive cookie cutters instead. They went down a treat! Thank you

      Reply
      • Cathy

        December 30, 2019 at 9:23 am

        Great! Thanks Mia! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Cassie

      December 29, 2019 at 5:29 am

      I made these and like them!

      Reply
    13. Marvin Dittfurth

      January 09, 2020 at 12:58 pm

      I am a fool for ginger and this looks great. Ginger is a stomach settler and I exercise a lot and ginger and ginger products make it easier to do so with some food on the stomach. My wife is the whole foods cook and I have shown her these and she said looks good and doable.

      Reply
    14. Anna

      October 24, 2020 at 2:41 pm

      These look delicious! What is an "all fruit" jam and where can I get one? I always see jams and preserves with added sugar in the stores 🙁

      Reply
      • Cathy

        October 27, 2020 at 8:23 pm

        This is the one I use. 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Souper Cubes

    Categories

    Straight Up Food cookbook ad

    Recent Recipes

    • Crabless Cakes
    • Creamy Corn Pasta
    • Pumpkin Muffins
    • Green Bean Casserole
    • Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
    • Fresh Rolls with Mango Sauce
    • Tortilla Soup
    • Tabouli Salad
    • Black Bean Chili
    • Spicy Thai Salad
    • Waldorf Salad
    • Tofu Mayo
    • Red Lentil & Quinoa Soup
    • Lemon Cheesecake Bars
    • BBQ Baked Beans
    • Pecan-Persimmon Muffins
    • Pumpkin-Curry Soup
    • Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
    • Watermelon Salad
    • Roasted Corn Salad

    Footer

    Never Miss A Recipe!

    Sign Up to receive new recipes from
    Straight Up Food directly to your inbox!

    • Resources
    • My Meals
    • Shop
    • Contact

    COPYRIGHT © 2022 STRAIGHT UP FOOD · PRIVACY POLICY · DESIGN BY CLDS

    ↑ back to top