Calling all kids & kids at heart… This Gluten Free & Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Recipe will make you smile & your tastebuds happy! The only trouble we have with these cookies is deciding whether to eat their head or legs first… Well, that and trying to stop my 5 boys from decorating all of them with ‘private’ parts! It’s an uphill battle people – but I really am trying!
If you’re just looking for a Gluten Free version & you’re not a Vegan or allergic to Eggs, feel free to add back in the real versions of those ingredients. I’ve noted the adaptations in the recipe below. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
The tools & ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are:
This Gingerbread Cookie Recipe is my Gluten Free & Vegan adaptation of this original recipe from Taste of Home.
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Gluten Free & Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 2 Dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
Description
The BEST Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe that’s also Vegan! You can make these into the cutest Gingerbread Man Shapes & Decorate with Sugar Icing. All Natural – EASY & Delicious!
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter – I use Melt or Earth Balance (regular butter also works if you don’t need it to be vegan)
- 3/4 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Molasses
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce (or 1 egg)
- 2 Tablespoons Water
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 2 2/3 Cups Erika’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 1/2 Teaspoon each ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)
- Extra Tapioca, Potato or Corn Starch for Rolling Out Dough
BASIC SUGAR ICING INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (learn to make your own over here)
- 1/4 – 1 Teaspoon Milk Alternative (or Milk)
Instructions
- In a bowl of stand mixer, cream the Vegan Butter and Brown Sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the Molasses, Applesauce and Water until smooth.
- In small bowl, whisk together Gluten Free Flour, Ginger, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt & Pumpkin Pie Spice. Add to creamed mixture and mix well – stopping to scrape sides if necessary.
- Cover dough and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 min. This makes it easier to handle when rolling out.
- Preheat oven to 350° & Line Cookie Sheets with Parchment Paper or Silpat Liner
- Use Tapioca Starch (or other starch of choice) to lightly dust surface & rolling pin. Take about 1/4 of dough from fridge and roll out into a 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness. Cut out cookies with a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place at least 1″ apart on cookie sheets.
- Use your scraps & roll-out with more dough to make as many cookies as possible.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm.
- Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely, then decorate with icing as desired.
SUGAR ICICNG INSTRUCTIONS:
- For a basic sugar icing, combine Powdered Sugar with Vanilla & 1/4 tsp. Milk Alternative and mix well. Add in 1/4 tsp additional liquid at a time until the desired consistency is reached. You don’t want it to be too runny or too stiff, just thick enough to pipe out so it will keep its shape as it dries. If you don’t have a decorating/piping kit, you can use a squeeze bottle. Allow Icing to dry completely before storing.
Notes
You can make these into standard round gingerbread cookies too!
Storage: Store in airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or longer if refrigerated or frozen.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 90
On a dusted surface, roll your chilled dough to approx. 1/4″ thick. You can make these cookies in any shape or size, but Gingerbread Men are so much fun! Use a spatula to help lift the cookies onto the baking tray, so they don’t break.
Line Cookie Sheet with Non-Stick Liner. Place Cookies about 1/2″ Apart – But, they really don’t spread too much.
Cookies are done when the edges are firm, but not overcooked… About 8-10 minutes. See how they retain their shape & size well?
Allow Cookies to cool completely on wire rack before icing.
Apparently icing ‘private parts’ onto Gingerbread Men is hysterical business.
Head or Leg… Which one do you eat first?
Made this recipe with my son who has eosinophilic esophagitis and multiple food allergies – the recipe was a delight. THANK YOU!!
So glad he enjoyed it! =) I pray he will continue to improve & outgrow all of those allergies some day soon! God Bless! ~Erika
I was looking for a gluten and dairy free gingerbread for my son. After using your bread recipe as a staple in my house since we discovered his allergies, I was aboslutely thrilled to find this. You have saved christmas for my family, gingerbread for everyone!
Thank you so much for the sweet comment Lauren! Allergies can be so discouraging, especially around the holidays… I’m so humbled to hear that you guys are enjoying the recipes! God Bless! ~Erika
Great recipe! I am allergic to cane sugar so I used date molasses & coconut sugar. Tasted just like gingerbread cookies are supposed to!
these were amazing! perfect, perfect, perfect! having intolerances to wheat and dairy, soy and egg, I never dreamed I would have cookies like these again! thank you so very much for this great recipe!
Thanks Karen! There’s a great satisfaction in making a cookie you can actually eat when you’ve got food sensitivities… So glad you enjoyed them. =) God Bless! ~Erika
Can you use regular Gf flour or do I have to make the one you have supplied.
Hi Anthony! I can’t say for sure how other GF Flour blends will do, but I think most of the popular ones (Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur, etc…) should work just fine in place of mine. If you try, let us all know how it goes! =) Enjoy & God Bless! ~Erika
These were awesome! I used butter flavored coconut oil instead of vegan butter and cane sugar plus extra molasses in place of the dark brown sugar. I did get a bit discouraged at first when rolling out but I simply needed more starch dusting a to roll them a bit thicker! Seriously so yummy though! Thank you!
These look great! Do they come out crunchy or chewy?
These look amazing! What ingredient would I add to your Gluten free flour recipe to ensure crispness for cracker or crispy hard cookie
Recipes?
This recipe is DELICIOUS (and that’s coming from a gingerbread hater!) Oh. My. Goodness. Make this recipe even if you arent vegan or gluten free. The house smells delightful while baking and the texture is superb, slightly chewy and soft with a little crisp to the edges. I even left them out overnight to cool and the next morning the texture was the same.
Phenomenal!
★★★★★
I made this and my dough came out extra sticky. I tried using starch & rice flour for dusting, but I had to use crazy amounts on the dough, counter, & rolling pin just to even roll it because it Just stuck to everything. Really challenging for my 3yo to help b/c it was such a mess.
@Moe–just made these cookies with my kids and had the exact same problem with the sough being overly sticky. I was finally able to have success after scraping the sticky dough back up and refrigerating it again for an hour. When i rolled it back out the secons time–should mention I used corn starch only for rolling out the dough–I did NOT let my kids help roll ir out, even my teenagers, because I found that the dough requires a very light handmfor rolling out. I moderately applied the starch both to the parchment paper we rolled out on, the rolling pin, and the cookie cutter, and then I more or less tapped the dough out with the rolling pin vs. actually applying pressure and rolling it out. With these changes to how I handled the dough, we had successful cookie-men. Should also mention I kept the dough pretty thick, I would say thicker than the recommended 1/4″.
★★★★
I made this with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour blend, and I “frosted” the cookies with melted white chocolate chips. The cookie dough was perfect- not sticky at all, and rolled out very well. The taste was on the blander side, and I mean that as a good thing as kids were involved, but I did find that they could have been sweeter if you do not intend to frost them or use much frosting. Since frosting is so sweet, this worked really well for us. My favorite thing about the cookies is that they were chewy and shortbread-like in texture, and not too crispy like a lot of gingerbread cookie recipes are. I like more of ginger-sugar cookie than a ginger snap. If you love ginger, consider doubling the amount of ginger spice and cinnamon, as well as adding a bit of white sugar to the brown sugar and vegan butter at the beginning to bring out more flavor.
★★★★