Description
These soft gluten-free gingerbread cookies are a delightful holiday treat perfect for making festive shapes like gingerbread men, snowflakes, ornaments, and trees. Made with gluten-free flour and warm spices, they offer a classic holiday flavor without gluten.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 3/4 cup butter or vegan butter, softened (170 grams/1.5 sticks)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup molasses (120 grams)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour, like King Arthur Flour (420 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- A few tablespoons additional flour (for flouring the work surface + cookie cutters)
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240 grams)
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk (almond milk recommended)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mixing thoroughly to combine all wet ingredients.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, kosher salt, and baking soda to ensure even distribution of spices and leavening.
- Mix Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring to form a dough. If the dough feels too sticky, incorporate a few tablespoons of additional flour to make it manageable for rolling.
- Chill the Dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, allowing the flavors to meld and the dough to firm up for easier rolling.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Work Surface: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Lightly flour your work surface with gluten-free flour to prevent sticking.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use your desired cookie cutters to cut shapes, re-rolling scraps as necessary with the additional flour to prevent sticking.
- Bake the Cookies: Place the cut-out cookies onto ungreased baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the edges are firm but the centers remain soft.
- Cool the Cookies: Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the Icing: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk (start with 3 tablespoons), and vanilla extract until smooth. Adjust consistency with more milk if needed for desired thickness.
- Decorate Cookies: Once cookies are fully cooled, use the icing to decorate as desired. Allow icing to set before serving or storing.
Notes
- Ensure all ingredients, especially the baking powder or baking soda, are gluten-free certified.
- For vegan option, use vegan butter and a flax egg or other egg substitute instead of a large egg.
- Use almond milk or any plant-based milk you prefer to keep the recipe dairy-free.
- If dough is too soft, chill longer before rolling to prevent sticking.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 186 kcal
- Sugar: 16.7 g
- Sodium: 159.1 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 1.4 g
- Cholesterol: 23 mg
