Every year, my family makes Chanukah cookies but this was the first year I decided to take the leap and try making gingerbread cookies for Christmas too! I already built some confidence doing my Halloween cookies and learning how to make and use royal icing.
While I was looking to do some baking in the kitchen with my 5 year old, putting the ingredients together for the gingerbread cookies ended up being more of a solo mission. The mixture is very thick and fairly challenging for a little one to help mix! He did however have a blast cutting out the shapes and decorating the cookies with icing.
To decorate, I put the icing in separate Wilton Decorating Squeeze Bottles, making for a headache free decorating experience and an easy cleanup. I was definitely fearful about seeing my 5 year old with a piping bag, so I’m thankful I had these bottles in the cupboard!
Without further ado, here is our recipe for delicious, gluten-free (and dairy free!) gingerbread cookies!
The Best Gluten-Free (and Dairy-Free) Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups gluten-free Gluten-Free Pantry or King Arthur Flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 2/3 cup Dairy-Free Earth Balance Soy Free Butter
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Use a large mixing bowl and whisk the gluten-free flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon together until combined.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat dairy-free butter on medium speed until completely smooth.
- Add the molasses and brown sugar, then continue to beat on medium-high speed.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined.
- On low speed, slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together until combined.
- The dough will be incredibly thick and sticky. Divide in half and wrap each half separately in saran wrap. Pat down to create a disc shape.
- Chill for a minimum of 3 hours and up to 3 days.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350℉. Line baking pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Using gluten-free flour, pour flour onto the table or counter before rolling out the dough. Roll dough until it is 1/4-inch thick. Rotate dough as you roll to help prevent cracking. If the dough does crack, push it back together using your fingers. It will attach back together easily.
- Cut into shapes and place apart on the baking sheets.
- Repeat until you’re out of dough!
- Bake cookies for 14 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Once completely cool, decorate!
Icing Recipe
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- 7 tbsp water
- food coloring, optional
- Whisk sugar and meringue powder together.
- Gradually add water. You may need more or less depending on the current climate. I added 5 tbsp and mixed until the dry ingredients were wet enough to use the beater. I then added the remaining two tbsp of water when I found my icing slightly too thick.
- If adding color, separate icing into separate bowls, or containers, and add color individually.
