These spiced sweet potato cookies are the perfect healthy real-food treat! They’re also easy to make and totally AIP and Paleo friendly.
It just gets me SO excited when I create a treat recipe that is also nutritious!
Obviously, I’m all about healthy eating… BUT that certainly does not mean treats are totally out of the question. It’s all about balance – right? And when your treat incorporates nutrients, like from sweet potatoes – even better!
What you need to make these sweet potato cookies
Sweet Potato
Well, obviously š You’re gonna need some sweet potato.
Now you may be wondering if the sweet potato should be raw or cooked. And it is indeed raw. One cup of raw sweet potato chopped into 1 inch cubes is what you will be adding to the blender (I use the vitamix) or food processor. You may think it would be tough to purƩe but since you are processing with oil and applesauce, it works!
Coconut Flour
I have only tried these cookies with coconut flour. It’s possible it may work with other AIP flours but I haven’t personally tried it!
Arrowroot Flour
It can also be called arrowroot starch or arrowroot powder!
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is my fave oil for paleo baking! Palm shortening would also work in this recipe.
Applesauce
Not only does the acidity of the applesauce help with activating the baking soda, it’s also adding fibre to these cookies! You’ll want to use unsweetened applesauce.
Baking Soda
The baking soda gives these cookies a little lift. I did try making these without baking soda as I was out the other day – hate when that happens! Although the cookies still were tasty, the texture was just not the same. So you don’t want to skip on the baking soda!
Maple Syrup
Although the sweet potato and the applesauce add a bit of sweetness, I still add just a bit of maple syrup to round it out. You could skip the syrup if you’re really watching your sugars!
Cinnamon, Ginger, Mace, Cloves
Kind of the AIP version of pumpkin spice! Nutmeg is off limits while on the elimination stage of AIP but cinnamon, ginger, mace, and cloves are not! I promise you won’t miss the nutmeg!
Salt
All you need is a pinch š
Yield: 12-15 cookies
Spiced Sweet Potato Cookies (AIP/Paleo)
5 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
35 minutes
These spiced sweet potato cookies are the perfect healthy real-food treat! They're also easy to make and totally AIP and Paleo friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw sweet potato, chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp mace
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth.
- Drop by the TBS onto the prepared cookie sheet and with a spatula (or the back of a spoon) spread the cookies in a circular motion until they are approximately 2 inches wide.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow to cool.
- Enjoy!
Other healthy treat recipes:
- Salted Caramel Pumpkin Energy Bites
- Fudgy Avocado Collagen Brownies
- Banana Muffins
- Baby Sweet Potato Cookies
Do you cook the sweet potato first? I would think it would be tough to put the potato in the processor raw?
Nope you don’t need to cook the sweet potato firs, you put it in raw! I use my vitamix and I don’t find it tough at all especially when it’s in there with the oil and applesauce!
These sound and look great! Are they crispy at all or totally soft?
Hi Susan,
They are more of a soft cookie š
Can I sub tapioca flour for arrowroot? Itās all I have at the moment!
I think that would work, although it may change the texture slightly.
Can I use extra apple sauce instead of oil ? I canāt tolerate any oils .
hmm might be worth a try…honestly I’m not sure how it would turn out though. I’m sure the texture would be different.
Are the sweet potatoes raw or cooked when added to the recipe?
Raw š
These look amazing. The 1 cup chopped sweet potato is holding me back because I think it is a crucial measurement but has so much variability. 1/4 inch pieces vs 1/2 inch pieces, or grated makes a huge difference. Can you be more specific.
1 cup of raw sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes! Thank you for commenting, I’ll update the recipe since I’ve had a lot of these questions š
Measuring by weight would be super helpful and make the process easier for those that have a kitchen scale (an item that has been so crucial for my AIP baking. It makes measuring coconut oil so much easier)
I rarely measure by weight and much prefer to create my recipes measuring by volume. But thanks for the suggestion, certainly something to consider!
Can I substitute canned pumpkin purƩe for real sweet potatoes?
hmm I don’t think it would create the same texture… I’m not sure it would hold together enough.
I made these using canned pumpkin & only cinnamon for my daughter. They were delicious!
Thatās awesome! So glad they were enjoyed! Iām going to have to try them with pumpkin ????
Thank you for this!! My kids devoured these in one day! I have 6 kids and they all loved these (it is rare they all like the same thing especially my autistic one) We didn’t use sweet potatoes until we started AIP so I am still new to using them, this recipe is AMAZING!! They seemed to bake up best on the lower rack of my oven for 20 minutes. Thank you for sharing!
oh I am SO happy all the kiddos enjoyed the cookies! That is AMAZING! Thank you for commenting, made my day š
I had a hard time mixing with the sweet potatoes. They wouldnāt break up. Should the cookies have pieces of potatoes in them
I blend until there aren’t any more chunks. I use my vitamix blender but a food processor would also work.
Mine didnāt look like the picture at all. Too flat, didnāt ācakeā like that. Flavor was good but I was hoping for puffier. Not sure what I did wrong? Followed everything.
hmm well they aren’t going to be fluffy like a muffin. They are flat but they should have a little but of cake like texture. The only thing I can think of is the baking soda… make sure you include baking soda as the texture is different without it.
How long do these last? And can they be frozen?
I would say these last approximately 4 days. You can store them in an airtight container or in the fridge. You can definitely freeze these!