Description
Soft and festive gluten-free gingerbread cookies perfect for the holidays. These cookies use a measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend and a blend of warm spices for classic gingerbread flavor. They are easy to decorate and ideal for cookie cutters shaped like gingerbread men, snowflakes, and ornaments.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie 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 and cookie cutters)
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240 grams)
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk (almond milk or preferred milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix well until fully combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, kosher salt, and baking soda to evenly distribute the spices and leavening.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until a smooth dough forms. If the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it reaches a rollable consistency.
- Chill the Dough: Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up. Chilling the dough makes it easier to roll and cut.
- Preheat the Oven: When ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin with gluten-free flour. Roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes, and carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the edges are firm and slightly golden. Avoid overbaking to keep cookies soft.
- Cool the Cookies: Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the Icing: In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, milk (start with 3 tablespoons), and vanilla extract until smooth. Add additional milk if needed to reach desired consistency for decorating.
- Decorate: Once cookies are completely cooled, use the royal icing to decorate as desired. Allow the icing to set before serving or storing.
Notes
- These soft gluten-free gingerbread cookies are perfect for holiday baking and can be made in festive shapes like gingerbread men, snowflakes, and trees.
- Use measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blends to ensure proper texture and structure.
- If you don't have vegan butter, regular unsalted butter works well.
- For dairy-free options, use plant-based milk for the icing and vegan butter in the dough.
- Chilling the dough is essential for easy handling and clean cookie cutter shapes.
- The icing consistency can be adjusted by adding milk gradually; thicker for piping details and thinner for flooding large areas.
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
