These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly soft and easy to make! You can cut them into any shapes you like, we made gingerbread man cookies and they are so cute! Make a big batch for the holiday’s and your family and friends will love them!
Gluten-free gingerbread cookies are a Christmas staple in our home, we make them every year! The gingerbread dough comes together quickly and is incredibly easy to work with. We love baking classic gingerbread men, but you can cut the cookies into any shapes you like—or even use the dough to build charming gingerbread houses.
We have several family and friends who are gluten free so these gingerbread cookies are the perfect holiday treat!
You may also love these gluten free sugar cookies or gluten free snickerdoodles.
Gluten-free gingerbread cookies are wonderfully festive and surprisingly easy to make, just like all of my recipes. They’re a Christmas favorite in our house and are my kids’ go-to cookie for decorating. They especially love the classic little gingerbread men.
We like our gingerbread cookies soft, thick, and chewy, but you can roll the dough thinner if you prefer a crispier cookie. And since they’re gluten-free, everyone can enjoy them!
Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
- They are fully gluten free!
- Easy to make and decorate
- Perfect cutout gingerbread cookies
- Wonderfully soft centers with crisp edges
- The perfect hint of spice with pops of sweetness.
I mean it is hard not to love these gluten free gingerbread cookies. They are just so delicious, festive and cute!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this amazing festive gingerbread cookies recipe that are gluten free! Everyone will love them!
- Gluten Free 1:1 Flour – I used King Arthur’s brand, but any brand will work as long as it has Xanthan Gum in it.
- Spices – ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves and salt – the perfect combination for that delicious gingerbread flavor.
- Baking soda – is used to help the cookies rise.
- Butter – unsalted butter to give the cookies a nice buttery flavor. You could also use vegan butter, if needed.
- Molasses – the key ingredient in gingerbread cookie dough is unsulphured molasses so there are no substitutions for this ingredient. I like this dark molasses.
- Egg – just one large egg helps bind all the other ingredients together.
- Dark brown sugar – another key ingredient in gingerbread is the dark brown sugar since it has more molasses in it.
- Vanilla extract – just a bit of real vanilla extract for the warm subtle vanilla flavor.
- Icing – I used a quick homemade icing made with powdered sugar, vanilla and milk that comes together in 5 minutes but you can use any cookie icing you like.
*Get the complete list of recipe ingredients, instructions and nutrition in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
- Measuring cups + measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Rolling pin + parchment paper
- Baking sheets
- Cookie cutters
How To Make Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Here is a summary of the steps to make these easy gingerbread cookies that are perfect for the holidays! I included step-by-step photos and instructions to guide you.
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the molasses and stir well. Fold in the dry ingredients until a thick gingerbread dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours.
Step 2: Roll the gingerbread cookie dough on a floured surface to ¼ to ½ inch thick then cut out your cookies using your preferred cookie cutter.
Step 3: Place the cutout cookies onto a lined baking pan about 1 inch apart to give them room to expand as they bake.
Step 4: Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350°F for 11-13 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oven, allow them to cool for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Step 5: Mix up the icing ingredients in a medium bowl and add it to an icing bag or a frosting bottle.
Step 6: Once the cookies are fully cooled, decorate and enjoy!
How To Decorate Gingerbread Cookies
The best part of making gingerbread cookies especially gluten-free ones is decorating them! We like to keep things simple with eyes, noses, smiles, and a few fun squiggles, but you can also add sprinkles, mini M&M’s, round candies, or colored icing to get creative. Just be sure the cookies are completely cooled before you start decorating.
How do you store gluten free gingerbread cookies?
Store gingerbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week to keep them soft and fresh. If you want them to last longer, you can freeze them—just place the cookies in a sealed container or freezer bag, and they’ll keep well for up to 3 months.
More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Did you try this gluten free gingerbread cookies recipe? If you did, then please leave a rating and comment below. I would love to hear how yours turned out!
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Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours 26 minutes
- Yield: 24–26 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly soft and easy to make and decorate! You can cut them into any shapes you like, we made gingerbread man cookies and they turned out so cute! Make a big batch for the holiday’s for a fun festive treat everyone will love!
Ingredients
For the gingerbread cookies
- 3 cups gluten free 1:1 flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter – softened at room temperature
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg – at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
For the cookie icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoons milk – add more if needed
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients (gluten free flour, spices, baking soda and salt) in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixed fitted with a paddle attachment or use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and vanilla and mix, then add in the molasses and mix well on medium speed. Turn the speed down a bit and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until a think gingerbread cookie dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces and press down and form each section of dough into a round disc. Cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Note: you do not want to chill the dough too much longer or it may be hard to roll out.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a couple baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a well floured surface using a rolling pin. Use your cookie cutter to cut out your cookie shapes and place them 1-inch apart on the lined baking sheets. Re-roll any scrap pieces of dough.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 11-13 minutes until golden. Note: for softer cookies bake them for 9-10 minutes and for crispier cookies bake them for 11-12 minutes.
- Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Mix up the icing by adding all of the icing ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk well until a thick icing forms. You can transfer the icing to an icing bag with a tip or an icing bottle.
- Decorate your cookies and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not skip the chilling time. It is essential so the cookies hold their shape when they bake up.
- You can cut the cookies using any cookies cutters you like.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up a week or freeze in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Healthy Desserts
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
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