Gingerbread Cookies

A holiday classic, these gluten-free cookies are festive and fabulous! Super quick and easy family recipe yields cookies with the most amazing texture and flavor.

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com
Gingerbread Cookies

Not too sweet and the perfect gingerbread flavor!

HOLIDAY SALE: receive 10% off any purchase $25 or more on GFJules.com. It’s a great time to stock up on gluten-free flour! Use affiliate code HGFF2022. Good through 12/4 11:30pm.

For Gingerbread Cookies, read on!

New! I added a cooking video so you can see how easy it is to make these gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies.

As with all our recipes, there is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions at the bottom of the page.

Hope you love them!

Gluten free Gingerbread Cookies www.healthygffamily.com

Original post…

These Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies are a holiday favorite!

When I was younger we used to make gingerbread cookies all the time as part of our holiday cookie baking day. But somehow when the kids were younger and my youngest was diagnosed with celiac disease and started a gluten-free diet, we stopped making them for no other reason than time constraints.

Last year was the first time we’ve made this family recipe since going gluten-free and it worked beautifully.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous trying them for the first time (By now you know, I like recipes that are quick and easy. I shy away from labor intensive baking and the idea of rolling dough is not my favorite!)

But I was blown away by how easy it was to roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters to make gingerbread shapes!

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

And the cookies have the most an amazing texture and gingerbread flavor!

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

And the only change I made to the family recipe was to use GF Jules gluten-free all purpose flour — they tasted just like the original!

You may have noticed that we are affiliate for GFJules.  A great gluten-free flour is so important with gluten-free baking! To learn more about why we love GFJules flour and why we have used it for 10 years, click here.

Bonus: at the bottom of that post is a one-time use affiliate Discount Code.

And importantly, purchasing through an affiliate link does not change your cost at all. It generates a small percentage of the sale for me, and purchasing through an affiliate link helps me fund this website and all the recipes I share, so thank you!

Back to the Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies…..

The dough is super easy to whip up!

All you need is 11 ingredients, mostly spices.

You’ll need:

sugar

gluten-free all purpose flour

sugar

molasses

ground ginger

cinnamon

cloves

nutmeg

pepper

baking soda

butter or dairy free butter

egg.

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

And if you’re looking for a nourishing grab and go snack with the same great gingerbread flavor, try our Gingerbread Bliss Bites.

And the dough comes together quickly, in 3 easy steps, stove top!

  1. First you heat the sugar, molasses and spices.
  2. Then you remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. This part is really fun because it is like a chemistry experiment and the mixture foams up!
  3. Then one by one, you mix in the butter, egg and flour until  a dough forms.  That’s it!

The dough is warm and you knead it just a few times to make sure all the ingredients are well combined, then you divide the dough in two (wrapping 1 piece to keep from drying out) and start rolling!

The dough rolls sooooo smoothly and easily!

And the cookie cut outs lift without any sticking at all!

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Roll about 1/4 inch for a classic, slightly chewy cookie. Roll thinner for a crisper one.

You make the cookie first, then decorate later.

The icing is simply powdered sugar, milk and a touch of vanilla extra.

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

When you mix it together, it will at first seem clumpy, like it needs more milk but milk vigorously as it will continue to thin before adding too much more liquid.

Place the icing in a piping bag or ziploc bag and cut a very tiny hole at the bottom.

Then decorate and have fun!

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Hope you love them as much as we do.

For more gingerbread recipes, try our:

Soft & Chewy Ginger Cookies, click here.

Gingerbread Bliss Bites, click here.

Gingerbread Cake with cream cheese frosting, click here.

 

For more holiday cookies, click here.

PIN it!

gluten free gingerbread cookies #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.

Recipe

 

Share on Facebook Pin Recipe Print Recipe Rate this Recipe
5 from 7 votes

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.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time42 minutes
Course: Holiday Baking, Dessert, Cookies
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Optional
Servings: 48 gingerbread people
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

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.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!

 

26 thoughts on “Gingerbread Cookies

  1. 5 stars
    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!

  2. 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!!

  3. 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!

  4. 5 stars
    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!

  5. 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!!

    1. 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!

    1. 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!

  6. 5 stars
    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!

  7. 5 stars
    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!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating