Easy Homemade Gingerbread Dessert Taco

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Why Gingerbread Dessert Tacos are a must-try!

Gingerbread is one of my favorite fall/winter flavors. If I could, I would have it with everything. The comforting warmth of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in homemade gingerbread lets me know that the holidays are approaching. To get your fix, you could certainly have gingerbread cookies, gingerbread hot chocolate, and gingerbread lattes.

Fun fact, back in the day (and I mean Medieval times), gingerbread simply meant preserved ginger and it wasn’t the dessert we know until the 15th century (PBS). So what if you could serve up gingerbread flavors in the form of a classic savory dish? For us, this is a taco. Take a gingerbread shell and pipe in decadent cream cheese, light and airy ricotta, and semi-sweet chocolate. You’ll definitely have Santa coming back for more.

The beauty of this recipe is that it’s gluten-free AND mostly grain-free (aside from corn starch)! Oh yeah, high-fives all around! It’s a wonderful feeling when you know that everyone in the room can dig in despite the long list of allergies you may have had to account for. Before assembling, we recommend making this quick DIY flour recipe.

Easy homemade gingerbread tacos at your fingertips

This recipe may seem daunting but we promise it’s easier than it looks. The rest will come more easily once you nail down your first taco shell. One thing you will definitely need is a waffle cone maker. If you have a wire rack that you can elevate, you’ll be in a good position to start knocking out these taco shells. You will also need to make the tiger nut all-purpose DIY flour.

Gather your ingredients and set up your station. Make our tiger nut all purpose flour mix recipe quickly if you haven’t already! Have the waffle cone maker ready to go, a separate plate to place the waffles on, and a wire rack propped up on something where the shells can suspend in the air. In the pictures below, you’ll see our setup involved two flour jars we had handy.
In a standing mixer with a whisk attachment or with a handheld mixer on medium speed, combine the heavy cream and vanilla extract until a mousse-like texture forms. There should be no peaks. Replace the whisk attachment with a paddle attachment if you’re using a standing mixer. Beat in the remaining waffle ingredients. The batter should appear like it does below. Allow this batter to rest for 30 minutes.
Heat up the waffle iron and grease plates with olive oil spray. Use 1 ½ TBS of batter per shell and grease waffle plates between.
The shell may seem like it will break apart when you first lift it off the plates with a spatula but it just needs time to cool to solidify. Set waffle on a plate for ten seconds before transitioning it to the wire rack.
Time to form taco shells! Quickly take the waffle from the plate and gently fold it over two of the wire rack slots (depending on the size of the rack) as pictured below to get that U-shape bottom. Allow the waffle to cool completely this way while you place another batter ball into the waffle maker.
Add filling ingredients to a clean standing mixer bowl with a whisk attachment or bowl and whip together on low speed with a mixer. You can mix in chocolate chips or save till the end to top off the taco. Add filling into a piping bag and pipe into shells. Complete with your favorite toppings and enjoy these hard-earned homemade gingerbread dessert taco!

We’re here for your questions

Do I have to use the flour specified in this recipe?

You can substitute 1:1 for all-purpose flour. We have not tested out other gluten-free flours. Let us know if you try to use other flours!

Do I need to let the batter rest?

Yes! Since there is no gluten, the flour needs time to absorb the moisture. By allowing the flour to rest, you can ensure that you’ll have the proper cook on the waffle cones.

Do I need to use a waffle maker to make tacos shells?

Yes, we highly recommend getting a waffle maker machine because of how thin these baked shells are. The irons in these machines have shallow depth so you will ensure the shells are thin and malleable. These machines also come with a waffle cone shaper that you can use. However, we recommend using our method described above for this recipe.

Why can’t I use the cone-shaped tool that comes with my waffle maker?

You certainly could but you will not get the consistent U-shape that most tacos have. You’ll likely have one side that’s wider than the other because those molds are meant to make ice cream cones.

My shells keep breaking. What do I do?

Timing is everything here. First, let the waffle settle on a plate for ten seconds before trying to mold it using the wire rack method we suggest above. If worse comes to worst, you can always use them as dipping chips and use the filling as a dip!