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If you’re looking for a healthy gingerbread cookie recipe, this is for you! With more natural sweetness from sweetpotato puree, you still have the iconic gingerbread flavor, but with less sugar. Enjoy these gingerbread man cookies anytime of year!

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You know it’s the holiday season when you see gingerbread everything.

The smell of gingerbread is in the air. I enjoy gingerbread recipes as much as the next person, but I like to make mine healthier and my own, which explains the fun twist on these sweetpotato gingerbread cookies.

For instance, this crockpot gingerbread oatmeal that you can make the night before Christmas for a Christmas morning breakfast!

Or our favorite iced gingerbread banana bread, a fun snack that actually provides some protein and fiber.

And these sweet gingerbread cookies get some natural sweetness from the sweetpotatoes, but still provide that delicious molasses taste that you know and love.

Obviously, recipes with sweetpotatoes are endless!

These cookies are so flavorful, they really rival our other holiday favorite: These oatmeal peppermint cookies.

Why You’ll Love These Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

• More fiber – Thanks to the sweetpotato puree and oat flour, these healthy gingerbread cookies are higher in fiber and nutrients than most, yet they still taste amazing, like a family favorite.
• Great for kids – Making these gingerbread men cookies is a great food activity for toddlers, if you need to entertain them! I love baking with my little ones. I’ll also set them out as Thanksgiving treats for kids so I can get to work on the main course.
• Soft and chewy: The sweetpotato keeps the texture moist and tender, creating that ideal soft gingerbread texture you know and love. Even with the oat flour, you can still make great cut outs and shapes – I love these designs! If you do want a crispier cookie, bake for a little longer!
• Freeze well for later– We always like to make extra gingerbread cookies for later! I’ll thaw one and enjoy it on a slow afternoon with my coffee boosted with collagen or my favorite bone broth hot chocolate.

Let’s Take a Look at the Ingredients

This delicious gingerbread cookie recipe is really quite simple – our star is the sweetpotato puree, which adds extra sweetness and nutrients!

• sweetpotato puree – Adds a natural softness, sweetness, and vitamins A, C and fiber!
• butter – Make sure to keep it softened at room temperature for 20-30 minutes! If you use melted butter, the dough will be too sticky.
• brown sugar
• egg
• molasses – The secret ingredient for that “gingerbread” flavor
• all purpose flour – Keeps our favorite gingerbread cookies nice and light!
• oat flour
• baking soda
• salt
• cinnamon
• gingerbread spice – I prefer to use the storebought blend for ease, but you could make your own if you’d like

How to Make This Healthy Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

If you don’t have leftover sweetpotato puree, microwave a medium sweetpotato for 5-7 minutes and let it cool.

While the sweetpotato puree is cooling, grab a large mixing bowl and mix your softened butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, or until combined.

Then, add your sweetpotato puree, egg, and molasses to the wet ingredients bowl with the butter and brown sugar.

Then, mix your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and proceed to mix the dry into the wet ingredients.

Use a cookie scooper to scoop the dough into balls of dough on a greased pan. It should make about 15-25 cookies, depending on the size of your cookies!

You don’t have to bake these babies very long because remember, we thinned out the dough! Mine were ready in about 10-12 minutes.

Note that if your cookies are thicker, it may take a little longer to bake.

Then, let them cool for 15-30 minutes and enjoy these healthy gingerbread cookies as is, OR with icing!

Tips for Success

Here are some tips that I recommend for the best outcome:

• If you want a crispier gingerbread cookie, add 3-5 minutes to the bake time.
• While I think the gingerbread cutouts are super cute, these gingerbread cookies still taste delicious as your typical circle cookies with a cookie scooper!
• If you can remember, try to take your eggs and butter out to room temperature about 30 minutes before baking. You don’t want to use melted butter because it will let more air into the dough, making it stickier when kneading.

Servings 20 -25 cookies

Healthy Sweetpotato Gingerbread Cookies

Sarah Schlichter, MPH, RDN

If you're looking for a healthy gingerbread cookie recipe, this is for you! With more natural sweetness from sweetpotato puree, you still have the iconic gingerbread flavor, but with less sugar. Enjoy these gingerbread man cookies anytime of year!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Cooling Time for Dough (Optional) 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

Wet Ingredients

• ½ cup sweetpotato puree, cooked
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for 20-30 min*
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup molasses unsulphured

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp gingerbread spice

Instructions 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. If you don’t have leftover sweetpotato puree, start by microwaving sweetpotato (place sweetpotato on a bowl, prick with a fork and microwave for 5-7 minutes). When it’s done, remove the puree from the skin.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together softened butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 1-2 minutes.
4. Add cooled sweetpotato puree, egg, and molasses to the wet ingredients bowl.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (both flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and gingerbread spice), stirring gently to mix.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well combined. See notes below to make cookie cutter shapes in dough**.
7. Using a cookie scooper, scoop small balls of dough on a greased baking sheet about 3” apart. Gently flatten the top part.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are firm. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on a baking sheet or a separate rack for 15-30 minutes. Repeat process for remaining cookies.

Notes

If you want to make gingerbread cutouts, cover the bowl of mixed batter and place it in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight. Then, on a floured flat surface or piece of parchment paper, spread the batter and knead it into a thin layer (about ¼-½ inch thick). Press down on the dough with cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired shapes. When necessary, roll the dough back into a ball and knead it back out to re-use the rest of the dough. 

*If the butter is melted (and not room-softened), it may lead to sticky dough because more air gets into the dough

• If your cutouts are thinner, make sure to adjust the baking time. Thinner cookies may be done closer to 10 minutes.
• Note that cookies will seem soft after baking but will harden as they cool.
• If your dough is too wet, add a little more flour, as needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 192kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 179mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 697IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?Let us know how it was!