The Best Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
on Dec 17, 2018, Updated Feb 26, 2020
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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.
Looking for more gingerbread cookie recipes? Try my recipe for perfect gingerbread cookies without molasses or this recipe for soft, classic gingerbread cookies. I also have a tutorial with 6 easy ways to decorate gingerbread cookies for the holidays!
Easy Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
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. My Soft Gingerbread Cookies blow up the internet starting in November and it’s for good reason. They are amazing.
With that particular gingerbread cookie recipe I get two main requests/comments (besides how much people love them). 1) How do I make them without molasses? and 2) Can I make these gluten-free? I took it upon myself to answer those requests and questions properly this year so that everyone can enjoy gingerbread this season. In this post – gluten-free cookies! (You can learn how to make gingerbread cookies without molasses by clicking through to this post.)
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookie Ingredients:
- Flour: 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.
- Butter: Use real butter and don’t forget the resting time. Real butter gives the best shape and texture, and helps keep the shapes better. 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.
- Ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves: These spices are all considered “warming” spices, meaning they are great in sweets to add complexity and balance with sugar.
- These cookies are for eating not building: 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.
- 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.
How to Make Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
I tweaked my original recipe just a bit by using gluten-free baking flour mixes and it turned out great. I tried it a few different times with different brands of flour and had great success. They taste just the same, and hold their shape perfectly. The only difference is they aren’t quite as soft when baked. The cookies are just a bit crunchy. My daughter actually preferred the texture of the gluten-free gingerbread to the my original recipe! She’s already requested another batch.
They are an excellent gluten-free gingerbread cookie with just the right amount of sweet and spice that I’ll be making for my gluten-free friends (Hi Lindy!) time and time again. I hope this becomes your go-to recipe, too.
To make, 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).
How to make-ahead or freeze your gingerbread cookies:
- Making Ahead: The cookies will last 2-3 days ahead of time stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. These are a great make-ahead cookie for parties! 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. 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).
Here are my favorite ways to decorate gingerbread cookies:
- Royal icing to add faces, clothes, and other cute details.
- Candies like red hots as buttons or facial features.
- Sprinkling sugars over top the frosting.
- Dustin with powdered sugar.
- Sprinkles to add on top of frosting for more festivity and color.
I wrote a huge post all about decorating these cookies if you want more specifics and details. Check out 6 Simple Ways to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies here on the blog.
The Best Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 dozen medium cookies 1x
Description
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.
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).
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
If you like this gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipe here are a few other gluten-free desserts you might like:
- No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Energy Balls
- Blueberry Muffin Date Balls (healthy, no-bake treat)
- 3-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Torte Recipe
- Easy Healthy No-Bake Cheesecake
Hooray for easy recipes that you can make for your friends who are gluten-free, even if you aren’t. Of course, be up-to-date on best practices for gluten-free baking and be aware of cross-contamination. Food safety and education is key when cooking for someone with food allergies.
Enjoy from my kitchen to yours!
Me again. Thank you for your response! I only had blackstrap so I bought regular. I tried to halve this recipe but added the full 2 Tbs of vinegar and the full amount of spices by accident. 🤦♀️
I’m hoping they somehow turn out okay. Maybe I’ll use lots of flour when I try to roll them out tomorrow… The dough tastes spicy but good!
Sounds delicious! Let me know how it goes!
What kind of molasses do you use?
Use cooking or fancy, but don’t use black strap!
They are really good but I thought they would have a bit of crispness for snap, would I have to just bake them longer
Exactly, if you want them crisper you can roll then slightly thinner and baked them a few extra minutes.
Hi! I have been making these for the last couple of years and get so many compliments, and requests for recipe. Mostly from people who aren’t GF. Would you reccomend they just sub out the flour blend?
Yep, it’s the same recipe. They can find it here! https://www.blessthismessplease.com/soft-gingerbread-cut-out-cookies/
You named these correctly!! They really are the best. They roll out so easily, no sticky mess. My grandson and I make these every time he visits. Delicious! Just wondering, would they be as good made with regular flour??
YES! They are excellent in their gluten-FILLED form! Here’s the original gingerbread cookie recipe with regular flour. I’m so glad you like them as much as we do! Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Rolling out to 1/2 inch seems really thick for a cut-out cookie. I want to try this recipe, but am questioning this.
Feel free to make it thinner, it’ll work out great!
Is there any reason this recipe doesn’t have brown sugar, like in your classic recipe?
Everyone I have made your classic gingerbread for absolutely LOVES them! I would really like to aim for a soft gingerbread cookie that is gluten free. Does it help to cook these gf ones with less time?
The classic one has granulated sugar in it too! I’ve had really good luck with these staying soft too.
Oh, excellent! Thank you so much. I would have made them regardless. I love your recipes. Cheers!
Can we make them ahead and chill dough overnight?
Yes, you can make it up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge or you can make it and freeze it until ready!
These were great. I’ve never made gluten free before but needed to to include all in a classroom. I only used 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp cloves and a heaping tsp of cinnamon since I was feeding 5 year olds. They still had a good flavor not strong. All the kids ate them (without frosting) and loved them. They rolled out easily. My children have requested I only make this gingerbread recipe from now on.
Yay!!! I love that you made them and that they worked so well for you, happy cooking fir 5 year olds!
AWWH SOUNDS FABULOUS! I am only 12 but I still love cooking and this recipe is turning out great an dit even works for my dad (who’s gluten intolerant) THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I am officially in awe. I will be making these in the next few days. Thank you!!!