St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls

These St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls are a wonderful holiday treat. They are made with healthy ingredients and only trace amounts of natural sugars making them even better.

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My friend and fellow Trim Healthy Mama Conney shared this recipe with me after she asked about how to make gingerbread on one of my other posts. I am super excited and blessed that she has allowed me to share with you her version of gingerbread which fits into your trim healthy lifestyle as an S treat.

Conney’s Notes About These St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls Recipe

We like to start celebrating Christmas early with the children/grands by having cookies, all spicy and sweet, baked on December 6. That is St. Nicholas Day, so we must have spicy cookies and talk about why and how we celebrate Christmas. Nothing says holiday time like the scent of juicy oranges and spices. This recipe is an adaptation of one I used pre-THM, as well as a recipe from Around the Year with the Trapp Family, and one from the blog All Day I Dream About Food. Now it’s my “secret” recipe.

Conney

How I Baked St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls in my Air Fryer

I invested in and Instant Omni Plus air fryer oven as we were moving into our camper. It has been such a blessing to be able to use it for air frying, baking, roasting and so much more. Using this air fryer saves us on the cost of propane while living in our camper. 

I love that it is large enough to hold a 13 x 9 inch pan like this one and that I can use the large enameled baking sheet that comes with it (I always use parchment just to keep things from sticking)

St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls Recipe

5 from 1 reviews

St Nicholas Ginger Boys and Girls

 

Author: Judy Witherby

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 60 cookies

• Serving size: 3 cookies
• Calories: 121

• Fat: 10g
• Carbohydrates: 12g
• Sugar: trace
• Sodium: 180mg
• Fiber: 9g
• Protein: 5g
• Cholesterol: 34mg

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: German

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  18 mins

Total time:  28 mins

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These ginger spice cookies make for great cut out cookies or even a gingerbread house that are both healthy and delicious.

Ingredients

• 3 cups THM Baking Blend
• 1 cup THM Gentle Sweet
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon THM Mineral Salt
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 4 drops orange oil (see notes about using orange extract)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 teaspoons orange zest
• ½ cup pecans (finely chopped)
• !For The Orange Icing
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 drop orange oil
• 1 cup THM Gentle Sweet
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 pinch THM Mineral Salt
• !For an Orange Frosting
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 drop orange oil
• ½ cup THM Gentle Sweet
• 1 pinch THM Mineral Salt
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

1. Whisk dry ingredients together, set aside. Cream orange oil into butter or coconut oil. Add eggs, sour cream, molasses, vanilla, and orange zest and combine well. I use the mixer for this. Then add the dry ingredients and slowly mix until combined. Add the pecans and mix slowly.
2. Roll half the batter to ¼ inch thick on a parchment that will fit your baking sheet. Cut into desired shapes. Remove the extra dough, leaving the cookie shapes on the parchment. When the parchment is fairly full, transfer with the cookies onto the baking sheet. Just keep re-using the extra dough for making cookies on a parchment sheet, then do the same with the second half of the dough.
3. Bake at 300° for 18-20 minutes or until nicely golden. Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. I like to leave the cookies on the parchment.
4. For Baking in an Air Fryer Oven:
5. Preheat your air fryer oven to 275 degrees and bake cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment for 16-18 minutes.
6. Makes about 50-60 three inch tall ginger boys or girls, or 15 large cookies (bake 27-30 minutes at 300°. If you are pressed for time, just roll the dough into walnut sized balls and press down with your palm or a glass. These flattened cookies I can get three dozen easily, bake 22-25 minutes at 300°.
7. For the Orange Icing:
8. Whisk the orange oil into whipping cream, then whisk in remaining ingredients. You want a fairly loose icing, so just add a tsp or two more whipping cream, until it looks good.
9. When the cookies are cool, spread icing on the top and allow to set for half hour until dried. I found using a large spoon dipped into the icing provided just enough to use the back of the spoon to ice the cookies
10. For the Orange Frosting:
11. Using a hand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk up the butter, add the orange oil and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. I used an offset spatula to spread this frosting…thick or thin, it has a somewhat crystalized crunch that I enjoy

Notes

Cookie Notes: Smaller cutouts can be tricky, I use the point of a knife to gently get the little arms out of the cutter. If you decide to transfer each cookie to the baking sheet lined with parchment, or to move them before they’re cooked, an offset spatula (used in cake decorating) works nicely. About the molasses, I would limit to three cookies while I’m in weight loss mode. These fall under THM S guidelines. The children and hubby, however, use a free hand in making and eating these!Using Orange Extract in place of Orange Oil Those preferring to use extract, use 1 tsp to replace 4 drops of orange oilHow to use Orange Oil vs Orange Extract: Note: I use a food grade orange oil, available at finer kitchen stores and online. You can also use an essential oil, if you are confident in ingesting it. I always mix the orange oil with the other fat in the recipe for even distribution.Icing Notes: Those preferring to use orange extract, use ¼ tsp to replace 1 drop of orange oil. Note: The icing will be very thin and will soften the cookies somewhat.About the Nutritional Values:The nutritional values include both the frosting and the icing ingredient values. These values are provided for informational purposes and may vary depending on the nutritional calculator that you use.

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