Your favorite classic cut out gingerbread cookie recipe made gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free. These adorable gingerbread cookies are easy to make, incredibly delicious, and the perfect holiday treat.
I just love a good gingerbread cookie around the holidays. Perfectly spiced with all the cozy spices, soft and chewy on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside, and topped with just the right amount of sweet icing. Mmm, there’s nothing quite like it.
What you’ll need to make these gluten free gingerbread cookies
(links below are the gluten free & celiac safe products I used in this recipe)
- gluten free 1:1 flour
- baking soda + baking powder
- fine sea salt
- spices: ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove + allspice
- refined coconut oil
- coconut sugar
- egg
- unsulphured molasses
- pure vanilla extract
- lemon zest
- powdered sugar
- unsweetened vanilla almond milk
This gingerbread cookie recipe is loaded with all the spices – ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice, which make them oh so delicious. They’re also gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free which means everyone can enjoy them!
When you bake a batch of these gingerbread cookies, your entire house will smell so amazing. They’re the perfect cookie to make with your entire family this holiday season. Everyone will love picking out their favorite cookie cutters and decorating their cookies with icing, sprinkles, candies, you name it!
tips + tricks for making the perfect gingerbread cookies
- Whenever I make cut out cookies like these, I like to roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, cut out the cookies, then freeze them on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes. This ensures the cookies will hold their shape when baked.
More delicious gluten free cookie recipes you’re sure to love!
- Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
- Gluten Free Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Gluten Free Double Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
If you make these Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and rating below. You can also snap a photo and post it on Instagram! Make sure to tag @glutenless_apron and use the hashtag #glutenlessapron for a chance to be featured. Enjoy!
This post is in partnership with Kana.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Your favorite classic cut out gingerbread cookie recipe made gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free. These adorable gingerbread cookies are easy to make, incredibly delicious, and the perfect holiday treat.
Ingredients
(links below are the gluten free/celiac safe products used in this recipe)
- 3 ½ cups gluten free 1:1 flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 6 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil, cooled
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Instructions
step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. Set aside.
step 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, and egg. Mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the molasses, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix on low speed until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and smooth. Dough will be sticky.
step 3
Divide the dough in half and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Pat the dough down to about 1 inch thick disks. Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours or overnight.
step 4
After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
step 5
Remove one disk of chilled dough from the refrigerator. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and lightly dust it with gluten free flour. Place the dough onto the parchment paper then lightly dust the top of the dough with gluten free flour. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to an even ¼ inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes (re-roll scraps until all dough is used, refrigerating for a few minutes if needed). Place cut out cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart, and place the baking sheets into the freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining disk of dough.
step 6
Once cookies have chilled, remove baking sheet from freezer and place directly in the oven. Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
step 7
To make the icing – whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a little more almond milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer icing to a piping bag or a ziplock bag (with a very small hole cut out of the corner) and pipe the icing onto the cookies, decorating however you desire.
* some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! thanks for the support! *
Alexandra Toppins says
Wow, just wow! These rank in the top five cookies I’ve eaten in my life. I’m the daughter of a pastry chef, so that is HIGH praise. The recipe is well written, the dough comes together flawlessly, and the result is perfection. They were so delicious that I didn’t even put the icing on them. I gave some to two different friends that both raved and raved; one of which went on and made a batch of her own. I used chopsticks as guides on either side of my dough to make sure it was evenly rolled and baked for eight minutes. My cookie cutters were approximately 3″ and they turned out just perfect!
Alexandra says
Adding five stars to the review above. I wish I could give it more!
Emily says
These turned out incredibly well! I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, and nuttelex instead of coconut oil, they turned out perfect. So easy, my whole family loved them so I’m making another batch this week! Best GF gingerbread I’ve ever had.
Emily Chave says
I’m so glad you loved my gingerbread cookies! Thanks for letting me know the substitutions worked out perfectly.
Kaitlin says
If you weren’t concerned with them being dairy free, could you sub butter and milk for the coconut oil and almond milk? Thanks!
Emily Chave says
Hi Kaitlin,
You can definitely use regular milk for the icing. I haven’t tried using butter in the cookies instead of coconut oil, but another commenter above said she used something besides coconut oil and they turned out great. I would assume the butter would be fine. Let me know if you try it!
Emma says
Can I use this recipe to make a gingerbread house?
Emily Chave says
Hi Emma, This recipe is for softer gingerbread cookies. A gingerbread house needs to have sturdier cookies, so I would say no.
Jeretta says
Could these be made with almond flour instead of gluten-free flour? I don’t have any gluten-free flour on hand and I do try to use almond flour when I can.
Emily Chave says
Hi Jeretta, This recipe was developed using gluten free 1:1 flour, so no, subbing almond flour will not work. Almond flour is an entirely different type of flour that contains a lot more fat than gluten free 1:1 flour and absorbs liquids differently. Unfortunately, the two aren’t interchangeable. I hope this helps!