WHOLESOME GINGERBREAD COOKIES (and an update on Baby Marzipan)

Before I get to the recipe, it is with a full and happy heart that I share with you the news that our long-awaited “Baby Marzipan” (now known as Oliver <3 ) arrived on February 28, at 10:56pm.

For those of you who may be interested in the birth story, I am considering sharing it here as it may be a comfort to others who have had previous traumatic birth experiences or those whose pregnancies continue beyond their due dates. Those post-due date days can be challenging for a number of reasons; the physical discomfort of “slow labour”/heavy pregnancy, the worrying about when/whether things will happen “naturally”, the fear of intervention in the form of induction/planned c-section, the constant queries about whether the baby has arrived yet… It’s hard to believe that only 2 weeks and 2 days ago I was in that exact space, making almost daily trips to the hospital to be examined for “progress” and to have my baby’s movements monitored.

I can happily report that today I absolutely count my blessings that things panned out the way they did. The residual emotional pain of my first traumatic birth experience (an intervention gone seriously awry) and my untimely separation from my second baby (on account of requiring emergency surgery 3 minutes after she was born), has been washed away by this completely different induction experience and Oliver’s happy, complication-free delivery.

These cookies were the last thing I baked before I headed to the hospital to have Oliver. And I dedicate this post to my very own little Swedish gingerbread baby and all those who supported me during my pregnancy and labour*, including all of you who have taken the time to stay in touch with me here, despite the fact that I have been rather inactive and caught up in all the happenings at Marzipan HQ.

My <3 and best to all of you!

MM xx

*Many thanks to the amazing staff at Sodersjukhuset’s Förlossningsavdelning, BB-avdelning 73 and to my doula, Sofie Rebel.

WHOLESOME GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Makes: 10 gingerbread men

INGREDIENTS
375 ml almond flour (I used Fitnessguru)
60 ml arrowroot flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground clove
A pinch of salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
70 ml rice malt syrup
Extra arrowroot flour for rolling out dough

FOR DECORATING
Melted dark (90%) chocolate (I used Lindt)
Pepitas and goji berries (I used Fitnessguru) to create bow ties

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add the coconut oil and rice malt syrup and mix until dough comes together.
3. If your dough feels particularly tacky/sticky, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up a little, otherwise place it directly on a sheet of baking paper and dust it with a little arrowroot flour.
4. Roll the dough out flat with a rolling-pin (to around a 1/2 cm in thickness). Cut out as many gingerbread cookie shapes from the sheet of dough as you can. Re-form, re-dust and re-roll the excess dough to cut out extra cookie shapes.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes and allow to cool completely before decorating. I used a toothpick to “paint” on the melted chocolate, then dipped one side of each goji berry/pepita in the chocolate before placing on the cookies to form bow ties. To set the chocolate, place the cookies in the fridge or freezer.

 

*I store these cookies in the freezer, in an airtight container separated by small pieces of baking paper

*Recipe modified from this one by Detoxinista