Soft Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread is my favorite type of Christmas cookie. There’s no other time of year that gingerbread is popular, so I make the most of it during the winter holidays. It’s sweet with a little bit of spice, and fun to cut into a village of cookie children.
I know some people don’t like gingerbread. My husband was one of these people until I made him this recipe. I made the full recipe, but only cut 4 cookies and refrigerated the rest of the dough. I wanted to see if he liked them first.
I think I converted him. He not only told me he now likes gingerbread cookies, but he rolled out the last batch and cut them himself. He even made little gingerbread surfers with a run-infused orange zest icing sugar that he whipped up off the top of his head.
Cookie Allergen Information
These cookies are gluten-free, nut-free, and vegetarian. They can probably be made with vegan butter and an egg substitute, but I have yet to try that. If you do, let me know how they turn out in the comments.
Storage
The dough can be pre-made and stay in the refrigerator up to a week before it needs to be baked. You can also freeze the dough for 1-3 months before baking off gingerbread men and women.
Preparation Tip
*Before you start the recipe, make sure you take the butter and egg out of the refrigerator to get to room temperature.
Enjoy!
Soft Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring’s Gluten-Free Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men
Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 8 mins. Total Time: 33 mins.
Yield: 24 small cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup unsulphured molasses
1 Tbsp honey
1 egg at room temperature, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Take butter and egg out of refrigerator to allow it to reach room temperature.
Whisk dry ingredients (flour through brown sugar).
Create a well in the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients.
Using a potato masher or pastry blender, mash the ingredients until they combine into a smooth, homogenous dough. If the butter isn’t soft enough, this can take up to 15 minutes.
Form dough into a ball using clean hands.
Place dough between two sheets of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap and roll out into a thin layer with a rolling pin.
Place rolled out dough in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up and make it easier to cut.
Pull the dough out of the freezer and use cookie cutters to create gingerbread men or other shapes.
Place shapes on a parchment lined pan and again freeze for 5 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
Bake gingerbread for 8 minutes and let cool completely before removing from the pan.
Nutrition
Serving size: 2 small cookies (about 3.5” tall)
Calories: 184
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Carbohydrates: 31g
Total Sugar: 15g
Fiber: 0g
Added Sugar: 15g
Protein: 2g
Vit D: 0%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 6%
Potassium: 2%
To make a virtual appointment with a Registered Dietitian, go to ZESTNutritionService.com
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