Yield: Approximately 24 Cookies

• ½ cup jungle (palm) shortening or other trans-fat free vegetable shortening
• ½ cup rapadura sugar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• scant ½ cup unsulphured molasses
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cool water
• 2½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1¼ tsp agar powder
• ½ cup teff flour
• ¾ cup light buckwheat flour
• ½ cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour

1. Preheat oven to 350º (or 325º in a convection oven)
2. Combine shortening, rapadura and maple syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a paddle until light and fluffy. Add in molasses, water and vanilla and continue to mix
3. Add all dry ingredients to the wet mixture. The dough will be crumbly at first but will soon come together after a few minutes. Finish kneading by hand
4. The dough can be rolled out right away and cut into cookies or it may sit, wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator overnight. It may also be frozen and stored up to a month
5. Working with about a third of the dough at a time, roll out on a piece of parchment paper to a little less than ¼" thickness. If the dough is not easy to work with, place another parchment sheet on top to roll dough between.
6. Place rolled out dough back in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so it is easier to cut with cookie cutters
7. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan for 8-10 minutes for soft and chewy or until slightly risen with a touch of color at the edges. Bake 10-15 minutes for harder cookie consistency. Cool. Store in a airtight container for up to a month
8. If using as ornaments, punch a hole towards top of cookie prior to baking and bake to harder consistency.