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Tiger Nut Flour Ginger Cookies {vegan, GF}

Deeply delicious, shortbread-like tiger nut flour ginger cookies are perfect for nibbling any season. They are vegan, grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and Paleo.

tiger nut ginger cookies cooling on a wire cooling rack with a pale coral napkin alongside

Healthy Gluten-Free Baking with Tiger Nut Flour

I am a fool for just about any ginger or gingerbread type of baked goods all year round, but especially Ince the winter holidays roll around.

If you fall into the same category , you simply must try my ginger cookies made with tiger nut flour. They are cookies that just about everyone on your baking list can savor and love!

a stack of 5 tiger nut flour cookies on a fabric napkin

What is Tiger Nut Flour?

First up: what the heck is tiger nut flour?

Tiger nut flour is faintly sweet, gluten-free flour made from finely ground tiger nuts (also known as chufa nuts). The “tiger” eponym comes from the tiger-pattern exterior of the nuts. The nuts make a great snack on their own, too.

Tiger Nuts are NOT Nuts

Despite their name, tiger nuts are not nuts, nor are they related to any kind of nuts. Instead, tiger nuts are tubers that grown of the yellow nutsedge plant. They are a sustainable, allergen-free crop that can be enjoyed by just about everyone!

overhead shot of whole tiger nuts and a wood bowl full of tiger nut flour

Where to Buy Tiger Nut Flour

Tiger nut flour can be found at health food store and online, but I recently found it right here, in my smallish Texas town, in the gluten-free baking section of my local superstore. It was well below half the price of an equal mount of almond flour.

Recipe Benefits

Whether you are novice, an expert, or anywhere in between when it comes to baking with tiger nut flour, I know that one thing is certain: you will LOVE these cookies. They are:

  • Quick & easy to make
  • Vegan (egg-free & dairy-free)
  • Gluten-free
  • Grain-free
  • Nut-free
  • Seed-free
  • Paleo

Ingredients for the Cookies

ingredients for tiger nut flour cookies, all in small glass or wood bowls

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post

To make the cookies, you will need the following:

  • Tiger nut flour
  • Tapioca flour
  • Coconut sugar (I have alternatives in the recipe card, below)
  • Vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
  • Ground spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves)
  • Salt
  • Water

Recipe Accuracy: Weigh Your Ingredients

Tiger nut flour is unique, but it is much like other alternative gluten-free and grain-free flours and meals when it comes to measurement: it is easily mis-measured if it is packed into the measuring cup. Weighing the flour ensures that the correct amount goes into the recipe, every single time.

For the best (and most consistent results), I recommend weighing the ingredients with a digital kitchen scale. It is one of my favorite, and most-used, baking tools!

Step by Step Instructions

I am all for baking and eating ginger cookies at all times of the year. If you are making a batch of these cookies during the winter holidays, you’ll be happy to know that they can be assembled an baked with ease, regardless of baking skill.

Step One: Preheat the Oven & Prep a Baking Sheet

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) before mixing the cookie dough. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step Two: Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk the tiger nut flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt until blended.

a medium glass bowl with a whisk, filled with the dry ingredients for vegan tiger nut flour cookies

Step Three: Add the Wet Ingredients

Add the warm coconut oil and water to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until completely combined into a dough.

a glass bowl filled with vegan ginger cookie dough

Step Four: Shape the Cookies

Roll 10 equal portions of the dough into balls (I use my small cookie scoop for even portioning, but a tablespoon measure of dough will also work well).

Use your fingertips or the flat bottom of a glass to flatten the dough into an even circle.

photo collage showing how to form tiger nut flour cookie dough into balls and then flattened before baking

Step Five: Bake the Cookies

Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 8 to 9 minutes until just set and the edges of the cookies appear crispy and dry.

ginger cookie on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet

Step Six: Cool the Cookies

Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.. It’s a hard ask, I know. But believe me, these ginger-y gems are worth the wait!

overhead shot of tiger nut cookies cooling on a wire cooling rack

Texture of the Cookies

The cookies are slightly fragile while still warm. They are more durable once cooled and, if chilled, they are very firm. The cookies are tender and crisp, like sandies or shortbread.

a stack of two ginger tiger nut cookies on a floral napkin

FAQ

How should the cookies be stored?

Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Can I use another flour in place of the tiger nut flour?

Not without some experimentation. I specifically designed this recipe using tiger nut flour, for which there is no ready substitute.

I have many other cookie recipes on my site using coconut flour, almond flour, chickpea flour, flaxseed meal, and more. Use the search function and type “cookies” to find a recipe that uses the flour you prefer or have on hand.

Can I leave out the oil?

Technically, yes, but the cookies will have a different texture. The oil in this recipe leads to tender cookies with a crisp texture that is similar to shortbread.

If the oil is replaced with something like applesauce, water, or nondairy milk, the texture will be soft instead of crisp.

Is there a substitute for the tapioca flour?

I have only tested this recipe using tapioca flour. However, an equal amount of potato starch or arrowroot should work well as substitutes. If you are ok with cornstarch, that should work, too.

Happy baking, friends!

a stack of 5 tiger nut flour cookies on a fabric napkin

Tiger Nut Flour Ginger Cookies (vegan, grain-free)

Yield: 10 2-inch (5 cm) cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Deeply delicious, shortbread-like tiger nut flour ginger cookies, that are vegan, grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and Paleo.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (60 g) tiger nut flour
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) tapioca flour
  • 2 tablespoons (24 g) coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3 tablespoons (45 mL) oil (I used avocado oil)
  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) water

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the tiger ut flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves until blended.
  3. Add the oil and water to the bowl, stirring until completley blended into.a dough.
  4. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and roll each into a ball (about 1 inch/2.5 cm each).
  5. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten (with fingers, spatula, or flat-bottom-glass) until the cookie dough balls are about 2 inch (5 cm) in diameter.
  6. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 9 minutes until deep golden brown and the surface of the cookies appears dry.
  7. Remove from oven and cool 1 minute on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Notes

Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Sweetener Options: An equal amount of light or brown sugar can be used in place of the coconut sugar. An equal amount of keto-friendly brrown sugar can also be used to reduce the total amount of carbohydrates.

Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 90Total Fat 7.1gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 0mgSodium 19mgCarbohydrates 6.3gFiber 1gSugar 2.6gProtein 1.27g

Did you make this recipe?

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Hillary

Wednesday 1st of March 2023

These tasty little cookies are packed with flavor and are so easy to make. I doubled the recipe and found that I needed quite a bit more liquid than called for. I added 4-5 more teaspoons of water and 2-3 more tablespoons of oil. I did use a scale and the ingredients as listed, so perhaps my flour had less moisture. I also baked about 5 minutes longer and they were perfect. I'll definitely be making them again. Thank you so much for these delicious treats!

Camilla

Wednesday 1st of March 2023

I am so glad you found the recipe, and liked it, Hillary! I love tiger nuts and tiger nut flour, I wish that both would become more readily available for everyone to try it. Thank you for sharing your tips. I have only used two brands of tiger nut flour, and I think you are right, that there are some differences by manufacture process regarding moisture/dryness. Way to make it work! Thank you for sharing your tips.

Begum

Tuesday 13th of September 2022

Thanks so much for this recipe. Made these today for the first time. I used 1/4 cup ground tiger nut and 1/4 cup ground oats, 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1 tablespoon jaggery powder. 2 tablespoons coconut oil. The rest is all the same. Cookies came out really good, slightly fragile but have to wait until completely cool before removing from tray BTW: I use my 4 slice toaster oven for baking. If it is something large, I break it down or halve the recipe. ?

Heather

Thursday 4th of August 2022

This recipe looks delicious and for that I must thank you, but I also must comment on the setup of your webpage. I am not sure if it appears the same on your end, but the popup ad box is right in the way of the recipe, and although there's an X to close the box, it is covered by the reddit share button, so there's no way to close out the ad box, leaving the site incredibly difficult to see more than the top half of the screen. It's pretty rough!

Lorlyn

Friday 3rd of June 2022

Thank you for the recipe Camilla. I used Arrowroot instead of Tapioca and the cookies turned out great, appreciate your tip for alternatives. Also substituted unrefined cane sugar for the coconut sugar which offered a subtle molasses taste. It's great there's some flexibility with ingredients to allow for dietary restrictions or just what is on hand at the time. These cookies are a keeper, cheers!

Camilla

Tuesday 7th of June 2022

That's wonderful, Lorlyn, thank you for sharing your success with the substitutes :)

Nicole

Saturday 23rd of April 2022

Tiger nut is often used in Czech folk cooking.

Camilla

Monday 25th of April 2022

Ooh!!! I am going to look that up right now! I would love to see how it is used. It is such a tasty ingredient!

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