I developed this recipe at the urging of my brother in law. One of my friends, 11 year old Maxx and I used to get together prior to Covid to bake regularly. Many times when I asked him what he wanted to make this time, he told me how he wanted to make these crinkle cookies AGAIN. I have included both the orange chocolate version and the peppermint version. A key to getting the right crinkle on these is to make powdered coconut sugar, which is super simple. These cookies are very delicate and make the perfect gifting cookie. It is important to make sure that you roll these small so that they develop the right crisp edges and bottom. Small size ensures that they flatten a little to get the right bake or crackle lines on top. It's important too that you chill the dough for at least 60 minutes so the dough is firm enough to roll into balls. Prep time does not include the dough chilling time. My sister was looking for recipes that my her daughter (my niece) could have as she was recently diagnosed with multiple allergies, very similar to mine, and she quickly fell in love with these. They added cacao nibs to my recipe and I decided to try it and I love the crunch that the nibs give it, not to mention the deep cacao flavour. You can make these with the paleo flour mix of your choice. Most recently I made these with Australia based Pom Pom Paddock gluten free cauliflower flour mix and they were wonderful! If you are using another Paleo/GF flour blend substitute a total of 1 cup of your favourite blend for all of the grain free flours called for in this recipe.
Beat coconut oil and sugar together in a medium bowl until light, about 2-3 minutes if using an electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla and egg replacer and beat another few minutes. Mix in the nut/seed meal/flour.
Sift the rest of the dry ingredients over a medium bowl. Stir into the dough gradually until they are well incorporated. Stir in the peppermint extract or orange zest and mix dough well to combine. Stir in the cacao nibs. Dough will be quite loose so place the dough in a covered container and chill for about 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Once dough is firm enough to roll into balls remove it from the refrigerator and roll into balls about 1 1/2 inches in circumference. Drop ball into powdered coconut sugar and roll gently to cover it in the sugar. Place ball on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Since these cookies are quite small you should be able to fit about 1 1/2 dozen onto each baking sheet. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through baking time. They should be crispy on the bottom and edges and have a slight crackle on top. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze.
Place coconut sugar and arrowroot in a coffee grinder (one that is not used for coffee or grinding spices) and whir until you have a fine powder. I have also made this in a food processor however I found I could not get it as fine as in a coffee grinder. The amount of powdered sugar is more than you will need for one batch. In fact this should make at least 3 batches. So place only about 1/3 of the powdered sugar in a bowl to use for 1 batch. The rest can be stored in a covered glass container/jar for several months.
This powdered sugar tends to clump easily so make sure you stir well before using to break up the clumps.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat coconut oil and sugar together in a medium bowl until light, about 2-3 minutes if using an electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla and egg replacer and beat another few minutes. Mix in the nut/seed meal/flour.
Sift the rest of the dry ingredients over a medium bowl. Stir into the dough gradually until they are well incorporated. Stir in the peppermint extract or orange zest and mix dough well to combine. Stir in the cacao nibs. Dough will be quite loose so place the dough in a covered container and chill for about 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Once dough is firm enough to roll into balls remove it from the refrigerator and roll into balls about 1 1/2 inches in circumference. Drop ball into powdered coconut sugar and roll gently to cover it in the sugar. Place ball on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Since these cookies are quite small you should be able to fit about 1 1/2 dozen onto each baking sheet. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through baking time. They should be crispy on the bottom and edges and have a slight crackle on top. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze.
Place coconut sugar and arrowroot in a coffee grinder (one that is not used for coffee or grinding spices) and whir until you have a fine powder. I have also made this in a food processor however I found I could not get it as fine as in a coffee grinder. The amount of powdered sugar is more than you will need for one batch. In fact this should make at least 3 batches. So place only about 1/3 of the powdered sugar in a bowl to use for 1 batch. The rest can be stored in a covered glass container/jar for several months.
This powdered sugar tends to clump easily so make sure you stir well before using to break up the clumps.