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You are here: Home / Desserts / Cookies and Bars / Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

November 14, 2013 By Jeanine Friesen 57 Comments

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The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you’re decorating them.

The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you're decorating them.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored recipe. I was compensated by the kind folks at Crosby’s Molasses for creating this recipe. However, like always, the opinions are entirely my own.

It’s that time of year again. The leaves have all fallen, the daytime highs are rather low, and the ground is often dusted with snow in the mornings. Whether we like it or not, winter is quickly approaching. Within a week or two, the ground will be covered with a layer of white that will last until March or April.

One of the things that I like to do with the kids during these cold winter days is bake gluten free gingerbread cookies. The kids enjoy cutting them out, and decorating them when they are cool. 

The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you're decorating them.

This dough makes the perfect gluten free gingerbread men cookies. Loaded with all the right spices, these cookies, which hold their shape well during baking, are also still soft and slightly chewy. Would they work to make a gluten free gingerbread house?

A small one – Maybe. But for a large house, you’ll need to use my recipe for a Gluten Free Gingerbread House.

The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you're decorating them.

Love these gluten free Gingerbread Cookies? You might also like:

  • Gluten Free Gingerbread House
  • Layered Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake
  • Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake with Chocolate and Coffee
  • Gluten Free White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
  • Big & Soft Paleo Ginger and Molasses Cookies
 

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies:

The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you're decorating them.

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

Yield: 48 4" cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

This dough does require at least 1 hour of refrigeration time after mixing. Take that into account when planning your baking! Adapted from Crosbys.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 cup millet flour
  • 1 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1/2 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch
  • 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, millet flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and spices.
  2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in the molasses and egg, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the lemon juice.
  3. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix until the dry ingredients have been fully incorporated.
  4. Divide the dough in two, placing each piece of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
  6. Lightly flour the counter with sweet rice flour. With a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thick. Use your favourite cookie cutters and get creative. Although the cookies hold their shape pretty well, don’t use anything too detailed, since they do grow a bit.
  7. Place cut out cookies on prepared baking pan, leaving 2-inches between cookies.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before using a simple frosting of confectioners’ (icing) sugar and milk.
  9. Repeat until all the dough has been formed. Off-cuts can be re-rolled and used again.

Notes

Be sure to refrigerate your dough for at least one hour before baking!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @faithfullygf and use the hashtag #faithfullygf . I'd love to see it!

© Jeanine Friesen
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies and Bars
The spicy aroma of soft, chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies will make your mouth water. I dare you to not nibble on one while you're decorating them.

Looking for another reason to use your cookie cutters? How about these Gluten Free Rolled Sugar Cookies?

Gluten Free Rolled Sugar Cookies from The Baking Beauties

 

Images updated November 2018.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies from The Baking Beauties

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Filed Under: Cookies and Bars, Desserts, Easy to Adapt to Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegetarian Tagged With: Cookies, gluten-free

« Substitutions: All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
Gluten Free Turkey Lasagna Soup »

Comments

  1. Bridget says

    November 14, 2013 at 7:44 am

    I love these!
    Soft and slightly chewy is perfect when it comes to gingerbread cookies. Can’t wait to try them…

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:17 pm

      OH, these cookies were really, really good, Bridget! What I love about spicy cookies is that they actually get better as time goes on. Give them a day or two, and they have a deeper flavour. Yum!

      Reply
  2. Wild Child says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:56 am

    These look so good. I loved making gingerbread men with my preschoolers, always so much fun! Might just have to make some and reminisce a little. Besides, they always smell so good while baking, and deciding which part to eat first adds extra holiday cheer. Run, run my gingerbread man, I’m baking you up as fast as I can!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:19 pm

      😀 Run! Run! As fast as you can! You’re right, they do smell fantastic when baking. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Lori says

    November 14, 2013 at 11:47 am

    Looking forward to trying this. The recipe I made last year turned out so hard they nearly broke your teeth.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:19 pm

      Oh, you’ll like these ones then, Lori! They are nice & soft, a little chewy. Perfect, in my opinion. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Cindy says

    November 14, 2013 at 11:50 am

    These are super cute, Jeanine!! I always love gingerbread during the colder months, dipped into my hot chocolate.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      Mmm.. dipped in hot chocolate is perfect, Cindy!

      Reply
  5. Heather says

    November 14, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    If anyone subbs out the butter can you post your results please? Thanks:)

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:22 pm

      Hoping someone tries it, Heather! I think that something like Earth Balance Baking Sticks should work. Be nice to hear from someone that tries it though.
      http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/natural-shortening/

      Reply
      • Maile says

        December 23, 2013 at 10:29 am

        The Earth Balance sticks work splendidly. These were a hot in our gluten free, dairy free family.

        Some tips for success:

        1. Work the dough in smaller batches and rotate them in and out of the fridge
        2. Roll out dough on parchment paper, cut your shapes and remove the excess dough, this way your cookies don’t get smoothed if you try to move them

        Thanks so much for the recipe!

        Reply
        • Jeanine Friesen says

          December 23, 2013 at 10:32 am

          Wonderful! Thank you so much for the great feedback & tips, Maile! Merry Christmas!

          Reply
  6. Heather Porrill says

    November 14, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    You ate his head!!!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:22 pm

      Haha, no, well, yeah, but not that ones. 😉 The kids loved the new cookie cutters I got. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Laurel says

    November 14, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    mmm…mmm I love, love, love gingerbread cookies, well gingerbread anything. I’m really glad you included that comment about gingerbread houses though. You must have read what remains of my mind.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 14, 2013 at 3:25 pm

      I love all things gingerbread too, Laurel! The combination of spices & molasses is just so warming. I have used a gingerbread recipe that worked great for houses in the past… I’ll find the link.
      This one: http://onlysometimesclever.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/gingerbread-for-cookies-houses-gfcf/ (and it is also dairy free!) Here’s what I made with it: http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2010/12/christmas-time-is-here-gluten-free-gingerbread.html

      Reply
  8. Michelle @ My Gluten-free Kitchen says

    November 14, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    These are just adorable Jeaninie! I’ve been wanting to make some of gingerbread men and your recipe looks great!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 17, 2013 at 8:38 pm

      Thanks, Michelle! I think your boys would love these cutters, or the Ninja cutters, those were my boy’s choice. 🙂 All kinds of fun we can have now.

      Reply
  9. Erika says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:51 pm

    Thank you Jeanine! I can’t wait to try these. Gingerbread men have been a holiday tradition for us and I have been sturuggling to make them gluten free. ( We end up piping gingerbread man-esque shapes unto baking sheets because the cookie dough is so sticky). It will be wonderful to use the cookie cutters again…after a good washing of course. My kids will be more than thrilled.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      November 17, 2013 at 8:39 pm

      Oh, these definitely roll out nicely, so you can get the cookie cutters out again! 🙂 Hope you guys have a great time continuing your holiday tradition! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Tish says

    December 8, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    These look great and I’ve been hoping to find a good GF version of gingerbread cookies. But, I can’t find millet flour. Would it work to use more of one of the other flours?

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 8, 2013 at 1:04 pm

      I haven’t tried making them any other way, but I’d think that either sorghum or gluten free oat flour would work well as a substitute.

      Reply
    • Julie says

      October 13, 2018 at 6:02 am

      I substituted 1 cup or sorghum flour for the millet since I already had some. It worked perfectly!

      Reply
  11. Tish says

    December 8, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    Thank you for your quick reply. I will try one of these and let you know how they turn out. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
  12. Kim says

    December 8, 2013 at 7:51 pm

    Has anyone tried this recipe with a standard gluten free flour blend? If so, how did they turn out? Thanks!

    Reply
  13. Beth says

    December 9, 2013 at 11:41 am

    Bought a Ninja cookie cutter set yesterday, and since today is a snow day we decided to make Ninjamen! The dough was a bit sticky but poping it into the freezer between rolling it out worked great. I always sandwich my dough between plastic wrap when I roll it out. That way they don’t stick to the counter, and you can pick up the sheet of dough to help remove your cut out shape. They baked up perfectly and my kids are excited to decorate! They are soft and chewy but hold togehter well. Thanks for yet another great one!!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 15, 2013 at 5:48 pm

      Glad that you love the recipe, Beth! Your ninjamen are SOOO cute! 🙂 Thanks for sharing a pic on FB!

      Reply
  14. Nancy says

    December 15, 2013 at 5:43 pm

    I’m wondering if I can sub out the millet flour for something else. I can’t find millet anywhere!!!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 15, 2013 at 5:47 pm

      I haven’t tried making them any other way, but I’d think that either sorghum or gluten free oat flour would work well as a substitute.

      Reply
  15. Nancy says

    December 15, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    Thanks!! I’ll try sorghum and let you know! Do you get millet in Winnipeg? If so…. where!

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 16, 2013 at 9:49 am

      I actually get my millet flour in Steinbach, at Stony Brook Pantry, they carry a wide variety of gluten-free Bob’s Red Mill flours at a great price. Maybe a health food store would have it? I’m not sure…

      Reply
  16. Adelaïde says

    December 16, 2013 at 2:37 pm

    Hi!
    These look delicious. I was in search of a GF refined sugar free recipe for gingerbread cookies and yours looks fabulous. I was wondering if these would be stable enough to hang on my christmas tree? I would use 3-4 inch cookie cutters and make a pencil sized hole in each cookie for the twine. Should I bake them a little longer? Or would they be too soft? Ideally I wanted a recipe that we could enjoy eating as well as hanging on the tree, rather than making two kinds of gingerbread cookies:). Thank you!

    Adelaïde

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 16, 2013 at 2:45 pm

      What a neat idea! I think it would work to hang them on the tree. Just roll the dough a little thinner, and use a straw to put a hole at the top to run a string through after baking. I’m not sure how they’d last in the long term though.

      Reply
  17. Yuko says

    December 23, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    Would this recipe work with blackstrap molasses?

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 23, 2013 at 8:42 pm

      Yeah, I think that would work without a problem, Yuko!

      Reply
  18. Carol Speight says

    January 15, 2014 at 4:11 am

    Can these OR any of you recipes be made subbing out the sugar for a sugar substitute? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      January 29, 2014 at 2:18 pm

      I’ve never tried baking any of them using any other kinds of sweetners or substitutes, Carol. Sorry!

      Reply
  19. Julie says

    October 13, 2018 at 6:00 am

    These are fabulous cookies!! The dough is easy to handle and roll. The taste and texture is excellent and they don’t crumble and fall apart. I substituted 1 cup or sorghum flour for the millet since I already had some. I have celiac disease and have been baking and eating gluten free for 30 years. So, I know a good GF recipe when I see one and this one is great! I will definitely add it to my arsenal of recipes that are worth making. I am sure that these cookies measure up to my little rule (or hope!) that no one will know they are gluten free! That’s the ultimate test and compliment! Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Jeanine says

      October 13, 2018 at 9:07 am

      Perfect! Glad o hear that, Julie!

      Reply
  20. Joan says

    December 8, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    Do you think I can use a premixed gluten free flour blend, rather than making my own.

    Reply
    • Jeanine Friesen says

      December 8, 2019 at 1:34 pm

      I’ve only tried the recipes as written, Joan. You can learn why I don’t use preblends here: https://www.faithfullyglutenfree.com/substitutions-all-purpose-gluten-free-flour/

      Reply

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