On a snowy blustery day like today, it’s time to perfect our gluten free gingerbread cookie recipe! It’s been ages since we shared a recipe. And that’s because this is the year I was determined to lose weight, so there hasn’t been anything exciting to share.
But that ends today because I love ginger bread! So much so that I actually built a huge gingerbread mall to auction for charity when I worked in the marketing department of a local mall. It was so big that the winning bidder had to rent a minivan to transport it home!
I happily spent this weekend experimenting using gluten free flour. So after only two bakes, I’m excited to share that I finally have this gingerbread cookie in our roster of holiday bakes. We’re using a 1-to-1 flour mix so this recipe will work just as well with regular flour too.
Lower Carb Gingerbread
These gingerbread are a real treat for me because I’ve been eating low carb since February and haven’t had a cookie since. However, I’ve lost 23 pounds so I can’t say I’ve missed them until now! Somehow, I’m just programmed to crave something sweet around the holidays. Are you like that too?
To keep the carbs down, we’re using Swerve brown sugar substitute because it has zero net carbs. That leaves the molasses and honey, which of course have carbs. But they really can’t be substituted with anything if you want an authentic tasting gingerbread! Although these a slightly lower carbs per cookie, I’ll still put these into the freezer so I won’t be temped to eat more than one :).
The one mistake I made in the first batch was to pack the sugar substitute (brown sugar Swerve) into the measuring cup as you normally would brown sugar. Big mistake because we both found they were way too sweet (especially if you plan to add powdered sugar or decorate with royal icing). Of course, if you have a sweet tooth, feel free to pack the Swerve. But the sweetness level also depends on the type of molasses you use (we’re using unsulfered molasses – you can read about the types here)
For the final recipe I loosely put the brown sugar into the measuring cup and weighed it. It’s actually best to weigh ingredients when you’re baking if you want consistent results every time, so go by the weight measures provided in the recipe.
Rolling out the Dough
Don’t worry if the mixture is really sticky.
As long as it’s between parchment it’s a breeze to roll out.
Before cutting out shapes, pop it into the fridge to firm up.
You really need to chill the dough or it will be too soft to handle. Gather up all the bits and roll it out again. If you find it getting too soft, pop it back in the fridge again.
Transfer onto Cookie Sheets
It really helps to have a bench scraper to move the cookies to the baking sheet. Of course I couldn’t find mine until after I was finished baking, so had to improvise with with butter knife.
A Silpat baking mat makes baking and cleanup a breeze. If you use one, don’t cut the actual cookies on it; it’s not meant for cutting on.
Depending on the cookie cutter you use, this recipe will make anywhere between 15 – 16 cookies if you use the same cookie cutter. How many the recipe actually yields will all depend on shape and thickness of dough.
Amazingly, these only need to bake for 8 minutes. 
They puff slightly while they bake.
Let cool before moving onto a rack.
The result is a soft chewy gingerbread cookie!
Decorate if you wish or leave plain.
These freeze really well; I just stack them into a Ziploc. You can eat them straight from the freezer or allow them to come to room temperature (I actually like them cold and prefer them unadorned).
You know, it may seem like we prefer to muffin man to the gingerbread man because I just realized that this is the very first cookie recipe on The Unknown Chef! But there’s more classic gluten free recipes to come. You can find our muffin recipes here.
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Want more holiday inspiration besides recipes? Check out these 31 Christmas Craft Ideas for Adults!
Pin Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
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Gluten Free Ginger Bread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (we use Robin Hood because it has Xanthan Gum) this recipe works with regular flour too
- ¾ tsp xanthan gum omit if your gluten free flour already contains it
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (70 g) Swerve brown sugar substitute
- 6 tbsp (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 tbsp (84 g) unsulphured molasses
- 1 tbsp (21 g) honey
- 1 50 g (weighed out of shell) egg at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar or royal icing to decorate optional
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat and set aside.
- In large bowl, cream together butter and Swerve brown sugar substitute. Add molasses, honey, egg and vanilla, mixing to combine.
- In another bowl, wisk together flour, xanthan gum (if needed), baking soda, spices, and salt.
- Pour the dry into the wet mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be thick and sticky. Transfer to a large sheet of unbleached parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment and roll into a rectangle about 3/8-inch thick. Place it in the refrigerator or freezer after you roll it out to allow it to firm up before cutting the cookies.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment paper, dip a cookie cutter in gluten free flour, and use it to cut out shapes from the cookie dough. Place the dough on a flat surface, like a cutting board or rimless baking sheet, and place in the freezer until firm (about 10 min).
- Once chilled, remove the dough from around the cut-outs and gather the scraps. Then carefully peel off the cut-out shapes and place them, about 1 1/2-inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. A bench scraper can help lift the cookies from the parchment. Repeat process with the remaining dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place in the refrigerator or freezer until firm (about 10 minutes in the fridge, or 5 minutes in the freezer). This will help them keep their shape during baking.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until just set, about 8-10 minutes (depending on size and thickness). Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Decorate the completely cooled cookies with powdered sugar or royal icing, if desired. Allow icing to set for 8-12 hours before stacking the cookies.
