Gingerbread Cookies
A holiday classic, these gluten-free cookies are festive and fabulous! They are easy to make, easy to roll and cut out, and they have an amazing texture and gingerbread flavor!. Gluten-Free, Dairy Free optional.
Servings: 48 gingerbread people
Ingredients
Gingerbread cookie dough
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light molasses
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter or dairy free alternative cut up
- 1 large egg
- 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour with xanthum gum (We used GF Jules all purpose flour- affiliate link)
Simple Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make dough
- In a 3 quart sauce pan, heat sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reaching a boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in baking soda. (Mixture will foam up in the pan).
- Stir in butter until melted.
- With a fork, stir in egg.
- Then with a fork or spoon stir in flour until very well combined. (the original recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups but I found the dough was perfect with only 3 1/4 cups recently)
- Remove dough from pan and knead as needed until thoroughly mixed. Doesn't require much kneading.
- Divide dough in half, wrap half of it in plastic and set aside.
Roll out cookies and bake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets.
- On a pastry mat, roll dough until slightly thinner than 1/4 inch.
- Use assorted cookie cutters to cut dough into cookies, place cut outs on cookie sheets.
- Repeat process until dough is used.
- Bake cookies for 10-minutes or until edges starting to brown-- you don't want to over cook.
- Let cool and enjoy or decorate as desired.
- Store in a seal container for several weeks.
- NOTE: do not mix with other cookies in the same container when storing or the other cookies will smell of gingerbread!
Simple Icing
- Whisk all ingredients, starting with 2 tablespoons milk, together in a bowl until smooth It will continue to thin out as you mix it. If your icing is too thin, add in a little more powdered sugar. If your icing is too thick, add the extra tablespoon of milk or a touch more as needed.
- Use a piping bag or a ziplock bag (with a VERY TINY corner snipped off) to pipe icing on to cookies as desired.
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Great recipe! Tried them yesterday and they are really yummy and so easy to make! Thank you for sharing!?
Yay! So happy you loved them too! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
These cookies were excellent! The dough is a little dry/tough when you first start kneading it but I just added a splash of milk to help it come together a bit easier. I found that the dough would dry out if not covered (the a raps between the cut outs) so a drop of milk really helped this problem.
This dough is perfect! It is so durable that you can do it effortlessly and easily lift up the cutouts. It made beautifully crispy gingerbread men that were wonderfully spicy. Don’t be afraid to roll it thin as the dough is easy to handle regardless! Made 4 dozen cookies!
I am making these tomorrow. Do these cookies spread at all? Should I refrigerate the dough before baking?
Hi! Sorry I missed this! They don’t spread too much and you don’t need to refrigerate the dough…. Hope you love them!
What could I replace the egg with that will give it the same consistency?
Great question! I have only ever made this with egg so I can’t be certain. If you know of a liquid egg substitute (as opposed to flax egg), I might try that. Let me know if you make them.
They turned out absolutely amazing and so easy to make!!!
Thanks Danielle! So happy you loved them!
This may be a silly question but does the icing harden?
Not a silly question! And yes, it hardens rather quickly!
I was so impressed by this dough!! Probably some of the best and easiest gf dough I’ve ever worked this!! They also taste delicious!!
Isn’t it such a nice dough? Thank you! So happy you love it!
Do you have the nutrition facts or the calories for each cookies?
Tried this recipe for my first gingerbread cookie ever. The directions and descriptions were spot on and the dough was very easy to work with. The cookies were tasty and crispy. I think this would make a great gingerbread house!
Thanks Kristen! Happy you loved them! And yes! Many people have used this recipe to make gingerbread houses! Great tip!
I loved these cookies. The dough was very easy to work with and the frosting recipe was perfect for decorating. My husband had to ask if they were gluten-free because they were so good. Thank you for all of your recipes. During this last year, I have returned to cooking for my family and you have been a lifesaver!
So happy you loved them! Thank you! And happy you’re enjoying our recipes as you get back to cooking! 🙂
When you stir in the egg should it be whisked prior to adding to mixtures? Should mixture be cooled so the egg doesn’t cook ?
Also do you think 1/3 melted coconut oil would work in place of the butter for dairy free ?
Thank you so so much for this holiday saving recipe!!! I can’t wait to make it for my son who is gluten free!! I also plan on using monk fruit sugar (1 to 1 replacement for sugar). I’ll comment back how it turns out for others to know so they have a sugar-free option for their kids if needed!!
Hi. The egg doesn’t need to be whisked and at this point it is off the heat but doesn’t need to be cooled. As for coconut oil v butter, I’m not sure… I don’t bake a ton with coconut oil…. should work but might impact flavor and texture a bit. Lmk if you make them!
is this recipe firm enough to make a gingerbread house out of? or are they too soft?
Hi. I haven’t made a gingerbread house with this recipe but many people have reported to me that they have so I know it holds its shape well and isn’t too soft. You could also bake it an extra minute or so if you’re concerned. Enjoy!
Love your recipes! Can the gingerbread cookie recipe be made with conventional wheat flour? They are such a dream to make and want to make them for a soup kitchen but don’t want to use my GF flour.
Thanks and merry Christmas!
Yes! The original recipe was made with regular flour. Enjoy!
This recipe is excellent! Thank you.
Superb recipe! I made them with vegan margarine and stevia instead of sugar to accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions at our holiday party. They taste just like regular gingerbread cookies. My only struggle was that the dough stuck to everything, making it really difficult to work with. I didn’t have any parchment paper so I rolled the dough flat using a non-stick baking mat between the dough and the cutting board and rolling pin, then baked them on an oiled pan (coconut oil) and that ended up working great. Thank you!