Gingerbread Men and Ladies : Low Carb and Gluten Free

This lovely idea comes from Carolyn at All Day I Dream About Food. It is an extremely popular recipe for all who live the LCHF lifestyle. Why not give these a try, and let your imagination (or those of your children / grandchildren) run wild ... as you and they enjoy decorating these Gingerbread Men and Ladies ...

Recipe idea and further details can also be found here, do please go over and have a look.

Classic Gingerbread Men – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Makes: Approx. 50 cookies (3 to 4 inch tall)

Ingredients:
Cookies
4 cups almond flour
1 cup Swerve Sweetener
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract

Royal Icing
1/2 lb powdered Swerve Sweetener
1 ½ tbsp meringue powder
1 ½ tsp arrowroot starch OR 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup lukewarm water (more if needed to thin out)

Instructions:
For the cookies, preheat oven to 275F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and cloves.
Stir in eggs, coconut oil, molasses and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
Divide dough in half and turn out first half onto a large piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out out about 1/4 inch thick.
Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and gently loosen and lift with an offset spatula. Place onto prepared baking sheets.
Gather up scraps and re-roll until too little is left to roll out. Repeat with second half of dough.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the royal icing, in a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sweetener, meringue powder and arrowroot starch or xanthan gum.
Add water and stir until smooth. Add more water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
Pipe icing onto cooled cookies and let set 30 minutes or longer.

Tip 1 : best frozen before decorating

Tip 2 : for crisper cookies, bake at 225F for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. They will crisp up as they cool

Notes:
Makes about 50 cookies. Each cookie has 4 g of carbs and 2 g of fiber.

Total NET CARBS = 2 g.

All the best Jan