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These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies are sweet, perfectly spiced, and made with easy to find ingredients! If you’re on a gluten-free diet you can still enjoy classic gingerbread cookies at Christmas with this easy cookie recipe.
I love gingerbread cookies and I love sharing them with people I love. I’ve kind of dubbed myself queen of the gingerbread. It’s my “thing” during the holidays and I make so many batches I lose count. I send them in the mail to friends, I take them to every party, and I keep batches and batches in my freezer to share with guests when they come to my door.
After sharing my soft gingerbread cookie recipe, I was asked about a gluten-free version, so I tested some variations and feel that I’ve come up with a delicious gluten-free alternative so that everyone can enjoy gingerbread this season!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Recipe FAQs
- Expert Tips
- How to Make-Ahead or Freeze Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Special Holiday Gingerbread Recipes
- More Holiday Treat Recipes to Consider
- The Best Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Why You’ll Love These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Best Texture: Gluten-free baking is sometimes a little tricky when it comes to achieving the best texture. But this GF gingerbread cookie has what I think is the perfect, tender texture!
- Classic Flavor: This cookie recipe does not take second place to regular gingerbread cookies — it has the classic warm and spicy gingerbread flavor making it a winner for sure.
- Suitable for Everyone: This gluten free option for classic gingerbread cookies makes it easy to share these traditional cookies with everyone!
- Fun to Decorate: This recipe produces a cookie suitable for decorating so you can make classic gingerbread men.
😋 My Soft Gingerbread Cookies blow up the internet every year starting in November and it’s for good reason — they are amazing!
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Granulated White Sugar
- Egg
- Molasses
- White Vinegar
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend — Grandpa’s Kitchen and Bob’s Red Mill brands both work well
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Spices — ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, molasses, and vinegar.
- Sift the dry ingredients and then mix into the wet ingredients. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, wrap tightly, and refrigerate.
- After the dough is chilled, preheat the oven, then roll out the dough to 1/2″ thick. Cut into shapes and place on a lined baking sheet. Gather and re-roll until all dough is used.
- Bake the cookies. Leave plain or decorate as desired.
Recipe FAQs
You’ll want to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour or Grandpa’s Kitchen Gluten-Free Baking Flour Mix. These flours are my favorites for a couple reasons: They have more than just one ingredient, which makes the structure of your baked goodies better, and they work well when baking.
This is not a good gingerbread recipe for making gingerbread houses. The dough is too soft. I love making gingerbread houses and I normally use this How to Make a Gingerbread House recipe for a sturdy hard cookie that is good for construction.
If you like your gingerbread cookies a bit more on the crispy side rather than softer, you can bake them just a bit longer. Start with 1 minute and check them for your level of crispy desired.
Expert Tips
- Real Butter: I highly recommend using only real butter for the best shape and texture.
- Refrigerating Dough: The dough should be tacky but not gloopy when you put it in the fridge. When it comes back out of the fridge, it should be very firm. You can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days before using.
- My Fave Cookie Cutters: If you are in need of a cookie cutter set, I’ve had this one for almost 11 years and we use it all the time.
- Decorating Gingerbread: This is my favorite part of making gingerbread! I wrote a huge post all about decorating gingerbread cookies to help you with lots of tips and details!
How to Make-Ahead or Freeze Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Making Ahead: These are a great make-ahead cookie for parties! The cookies will last 2-3 days ahead of time stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. You can also make the dough and hold it in the fridge for 2-3 days before baking it.
Freezing Cookies: The baked cookies freeze very well. Just bake and cool (but do not add icing), store in an air-tight container, and freeze for up to 6 weeks.
You can pull the cookies out as needed when guests show up, or thaw the whole batch for decorating all at once.
Pro Tip: This gluten-free gingerbread is a bit more fragile than my traditional gingerbread recipe, so store them in a container without piling them too high. They need to be babied a little or they’ll break in the freezer (freezer bags aren’t a good option for storing this cookie in the freezer).
Special Holiday Gingerbread Recipes
Since I’m the Gingerbread Queen, it’s fitting that I have a lot of gingerbread recipes that I love to make during the holiday season. Here are some of the fun ones my family loves to make!
- How to Make a Gingerbread House: Making homemade gingerbread houses is an annual holiday tradition around here!
- Classic Gingerbread Cookies: The recipe that started it all.
- No-Molasses Gingerbread Cookies: Because sometimes you need a great alternative.
- Gingerbread Wreath: This is a stunning homemade gift or to take to a party. It serves triple duty as a gift, a decoration, and a yummy treat!
More Holiday Treat Recipes to Consider
Simple Gingerbread Recipes
The Perfect Icing for Gingerbread Cookies
Cut Out Cookies
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe for Perfect Holiday Decorating
Cookies
Italian Wedding Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
The Best Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature (salted or unsalted)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 5 cups gluten-free flour blend, such as Grandpa’s Kitchen or Bob’s Red Mill
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Cream butter, adding sugar gradually. Beat until well combined and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in egg, molasses, and vinegar.
- Sift all of the dry ingredients together and then blend sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Divide the dough into two even pieces, wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30-90 minutes.
- When the dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working in sections, roll the dough to 1/2″ thick on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Place shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Gather and re-roll “scraps” of dough as needed, using all of the dough.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Leave plain or decorate (here are 6 Simple Ways to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies if you are looking for some inspo).
Notes
- Use a 1:1 Gluten Free flour mix in this recipe for best results.
- The refrigeration/chilling time is really important! It helps the dough be easier to cut and gives the cookies their perfect texture.
- Use real butter. This isn’t a good place to skimp and use a substitute.
- Decorating the cookies is half the fun! Find my favorite ideas in this post.
These are so yummy, they retain their shape and aren’t too spicy. I made a double batch for a cookie decorating event and everyone loved them. You cannot tell they are gluten free.