Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
This easy recipe for gluten free gingerbread cookies makes delicious soft cookies that are perfect for the holidays. Using a gluten free flour blend, gingerbread spices and molasses (of course!), you can make this popular Christmas cookie that everyone will love! Decorate these gingerbread men with an easy frosting recipe (within).
Easy Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Christmas time in our house always involves making some type of cookies. Or a few:).
We are big fans of these Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, good ol’ sugar cookies, and who can forget simple chocolate chip cookies, too. But this year, I wanted to try gluten free gingerbread cookies for something different. They’re so cute and fun to make, and decorating it is a fun activity for the kiddos. We had a blast making these gingerbread men!
Gluten Free Gingerbread Men
Unfortunately we have the oldest gingerbread man cookie cutter, so ours look a little out of sorts. But making these couldn’t be easier. After your dough is chilled, roll out on parchment paper. I like to first press down on the dough before rolling. If the dough sticks to your rolling pin, add a little bit of flour. You should not have this problem if the dough is chilled.
Cut out your gingerbread men and place the, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Whatever dough doesn’t work, form a ball and re-roll and repeat the process. Be careful not to leave unused dough out of the fridge or it will get too sticky.
Ingredients for gluten free gingerbread cookies:
For the dough, you will use:
- Gluten-free Flour (I used Josie’s, but King Arthur would work as would Bob’s Red Mill)
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Coconut Sugar
- Molasses
- Dairy-free Milk
- Vanilla
For the frosting:
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
Questions about Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies:
Do I need to let them chill after they cook/before decorating?
Yes, Do not try to remove them from the pan before chilling, as they will stick.
Make it vegan and/or dairy-free:
Make these gluten free gingerbread cookies vegan by substituting vegan butter for “regular” butter.
What if I don’t have coconut sugar?
You can substitute brown sugar for coconut sugar.
How should I store them?
Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. These cookies must stay cold!
About the frosting:
So you definitely don’t need to frost these … but it really ups the fun factor. We had a blast decorating them – what you don’t see are some totally covered gingerbread men! As in full frosting!
If you do frost them, I highly recommend using a cake decorating kit and using a simple tip. We like to use dye-free sprinkles or chocolate chips, too. And don’t feel like you need to only do gingerbread men – any cookie cutter shapes will work!
*** My biggest suggestion with this recipe for gluten free gingnerbread cookies – keep the dough and keep the cookies cold. As you continue to make the cookies (rolling them, etc) the dough will get soft/sticky. It needs to be cold. And once you have made them, they need to stay in the fridge, too.
This easy recipe for gluten free gingerbread cookies makes delicious soft cookies that are perfect for the holidays. Using a gluten free flour blend, gingerbread spices and molasses (of course!), you can make this popular Christmas cookie that everyone will love! Decorate these gingerbread men with an easy frosting recipe (within).
- 3 cups gluten free flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 tbsp dairy-free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup butter , at room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
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In a medium-sized bowl, mix gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices.
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In a separate (large) bowl, beat butter, coconut sugar, molasses, dairy-free milk and vanilla until combined with hand mixers or a stand mixer. Once combined, slowly add in dry ingredients while continuing to mix. Mixture will be dense and tough to mix by the end; make sure all is incorporated.
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Form the dough into a ball and wrap in cling wrap. Place in the fridge for about an hour.
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Once the cookies are chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Lightly flour a surface OR use another piece of parchement paper to work on and place the chilled dough on top (I prefer the parchment method).
Begin to roll it out the dough with a rolling pin. If it's sticky, knead a little flour into it. Roll it to be about 1/4″ thick.
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Cut out shapes and place on lined baking sheet. They will puff up a bit so leave a little room in between each. Re-roll unused dough and repeat process.
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Bake 6-7 minutes.
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Remove from oven but do not remove from baking sheet. Let sit for ~10 minutes and place baking sheet in the fridge to cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
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Place room temperature butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat with hand mixers. Add vanilla. Taste and adust to your liking. If you want to thin the frosting, add milk or dairy-free milk 1 tsp at a time.
In case you are looking for more holiday inspiration, check out these Fluffy Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls or these Gluten Free Gingerbread Muffins (Paleo). You may also want to try this Simple Gluten-Free Bread Pudding (Dairy-free) for one of the days with family. It’s a crowd pleaser!
Let me know how you like these cookies and Happy Holidays!
