When I was a child, I didn’t even know what ginger was. Sure, I ate ginger snaps, but they were the tasteless, cardboard-like ginger cookies that could break your teeth unless you soaked them in your milk (I didn’t know what soy milk was back then, either).
But now, fresh ginger is one of my favorite foods. I make ginger green tea almost every day with fresh grated ginger. I eat slices of fresh ginger for breakfast. And ginger kombucha tea is one of my favorite beverages.
Ginger, though, is more than just a burn-your-mouth kind of spice. Traditionally it’s been used for to soothe a wide range of illnesses, from gastrointestinal distress and nausea, to toning down the inflammatory response in the body.
Even without all those medicinal applications, these ginger cookies have been added to my list of must-have ginger moments. Inspired by the triple ginger cookies that I used to buy at Trader Joe’s when I lived in Portland, Oregon, I think these surpass even those.
- ½ cup coconut oil, at room temperature
- ½ cup Demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
- ½ cup raw cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups rolled oats, thick-cut if available
- ¾ cup whole wheat or spelt spelt (or other whole-grain flour)
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup candied ginger, chopped into small pieces
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
- Place the coconut oil, sugar, ground ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, sea salt, vanilla powder, chia seeds, and grated ginger in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until light and creamy. Add the egg and mix by hand.
- Add oats, flour, and soy milk and mix by hand.
- Add chocolate chips and candied ginger. Mix by hand.
- Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon into your palm and roll into 1-inch round balls. Place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.
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Recipe adapted from Eat the Love’s Chewy Oatmeal Ginger Cookies with Dried Blueberries and Crystallized Ginger
