These Spiced Almond Butter Cookies are rich with warm spices and just sweet enough—the perfect treat for any time of day!
A few years ago, my colleagues and I started doing a quarterly cookie exchange. We all bring in our favorite cookie recipe and vote on the winner. After a few lackluster attempts to prepare the winning cookie, I realized I had to go back to the drawing board and come up with something really unique. I started exploring ingredient combos that would wow the crowd and stand out from the other entries. I wanted to come up with a cookie that would taste indulgent but be a bit more diet-friendly than those of my competitors. After weeks of testing out different ideas, I finally came up with this recipe for spiced almond butter cookies. These cookies offer all of the flavor of conventional butter cookie recipes, but they contain natural ingredients that won’t get in the way of your healthy eating goals.
Each cookie is a rich tapestry of warm and comforting flavors. Creamy almond butter provides a rich, smooth base, while coconut sugar and molasses lend natural sweetness. Fragrant spices like ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves round out the flavors and make each bite taste like a holiday memory. A pinch of sea salt helps balance the sweetness in this recipe, while the apple cider vinegar amplifies the flavors still further with its subtle tanginess.
The result? A delectable cookie that you can whip up any season of the year. This recipe is perfect for a midday pick-me-up, after-school snack, or simple dessert. And as my recent victory in my work bake-off would suggest, these spiced almond butter cookies always deliver!
Can I customize this recipe?
I don’t know about you, but experimenting with new recipes is one of my favorite ways to spend a quiet evening. Although I love how this particular recipe turned out, you can absolutely customize these cookies with a few simple tweaks. Not a fan of almond butter? Feel free to swap this ingredient with a substitute like peanut butter or even cashew butter. Want to customize the flavor additions to these cookies? You could experiment by testing different ratios of the spices called for in this recipe, or you could add nutmeg or other spices of your choosing. If you’d like to add a little extra texture to this dish, you could also add in a handful of chopped nuts, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, or dried cranberries. Finally, you can also try adjusting the sweetness of these cookies. You can change the amount or ratio of molasses and coconut sugar. Or you could replace these ingredients with alternative sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. Take some time to explore these suggestions, or try coming up with some different tweaks of your own.
How do I store leftovers?
If you have any leftover cookies, you can place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 4 days. If you’d like to store them for longer, you can also freeze your cookies for up to 3 months. Before you freeze your leftovers, I do recommend wrapping them individually or separating them with layers of parchment paper. This will help prevent your cookies from sticking together in the freezer. When you’re ready to serve your cookies, let them defrost in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for about 20 minutes. If you can’t wait that long before digging in, you can also thaw frozen cookies in the oven or microwave until warmed through.
Serving suggestions
These cookies work great as a standalone snack you can munch on in the office or the school pick-up line. But you can also pair your spiced almond butter cookies with a number of other complementary recipes. Prepping a cookie tray for your next work event or family gathering? You could serve these cookies along with Iced Oatmeal Cookies, Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, or Eggless Sugar Cookies. Planning a few energy-boosting snacks to pack for the kids’ next soccer game? You could include these cookies as a sweet treat along with these Rice Krispies Treats Granola Bars, Trail Mix Energy Bites, or this Homemade Crock-Pot Chex Mix.
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural creamy no-stir almond butter
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat together the almond butter and coconut sugar. Add in the applesauce, molasses and apple cider vinegar and beat on high speed until it forms a dough and begins to stop sticking to the beaters, about 30 seconds.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add into the dough and stir well.
- Roll the dough into lightly heaping tablespoon balls (don't flatten them out) and place onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Once frozen, bake the cookies on the top rack of your oven until the edges just begin to turn golden brown, about 14-15 minutes. Let them cool completely on the pan. Please note that the cookies firm up a lot once cooled.
- Serve!
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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