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Medically reviewed by Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian (RD), BASc.
Holiday baking just isn’t complete without these homegingerbread cookies! Decorating these gingerbread cookies also doubles as a fun family activity to keep the kiddos busy and excited for Christmas.
One of my favourite holiday traditions is baking up a big batch of homemade gingerbread cookies.
It’s hard to tell what I enjoy about it the most – the smell of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven, decorating them with candy, or gobbling them down like I’m Santa Claus. All I know is that its an all around jolly old time that the whole family enjoys!
This year we have a few gluten intolerant folks in the fam. To ensure that everyone can enjoy these delicious holiday treats, we decided to make these homemade gingerbread cookies for everyone to get in on the holiday cheer.
Table of contents
- Why This Recipe Works
- Key Ingredients
- How to Make This Recipe
- Expert Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Recipes Like This
Why This Recipe Works
These homemade gingerbread cookies could not be easier to make, even for a novice baker! They’re soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and a touch of molasses. Are you drooling yet?
To make this recipe gluten friendly, we use almond flour and coconut flour. I love any excuse to incorporate these flours into my baking because they pack a serious nutrition punch while also making these gingerbread cookies naturally gluten free. The almond flour is adds healthy fats and protein, while the coconut flour adds a healthy dose of fibre. Case in point – one of these cookies has 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fibre! Sounds like my kinda snack.
Key Ingredients
Gluten Free Flour – to make this recipe gluten free and to add a nutrition boost, we use a blend of almond flour and coconut flour. Using these flours requires a bit more moisture to get the dough just right, so we wouldn’t recommend swapping the flours for another gluten free flour as they might not turn out the same.
Food colouring – to add a little bit of extra Christmas cheer, we use all natural food colouring for the icing. You can choose to omit the food colouring all together, or play around with the colours you want to use. We went with white and red icing.
Powdered Sugar – to prepare the icing we combine icing sugar with the food colouring and a bit of almond milk. You can also use store-bought icing for this recipe.
Spices – to make the classic gingerbread flavour come together we use a combination of cinnamon, dried ginger, and molasses to flavour these homemade gingerbread cookies.
Butter – We use regular butter for this recipe, but If you want to make this recipe dairy free, you can use vegan or dairy free butter.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Add in half of the almond flour, the coconut flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, salt, and baking soda and mix.
Step 3: Mix in the remaining almond flour. Mix in the egg until a uniform dough forms. Roll the dough into a ball, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
Step 4: After the chilling time, remove the dough from the fridge and roll it between two pieces of parchment paper until the dough is about ¼” thick. Use gingerbread men/women cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Carefully move them to a parchment covered sheet pan. Scrape up any remaining dough.
Step 5: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. Set them aside to cool.
Step 6: To make the icing, whisk together ¼ cup of powdered sugar with almond milk and food colouring until a thick frosting forms.
Step 7: Pipe the icing onto the cookies in your favourite designs or shapes. While the icing is still sticky, sprinkle on any decorations you’d like. We used mini chocolate chips for buttons.
Expert Tips
This recipe made 12 cookies with the cookie cutters I used.
Coconut flour widely varies in absorbancy across different brands. I have only tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill brand coconut flour so that’s what I recommend here. Use a fine blanched almond flour.
All ovens and pans cook a bit differently. Watch your cookies and pull them just when they begin to slightly brown on the underside for a softer cookie. Allow them to brown a little more if you want a crunchier cookie.
Feel free to use your own icing (homemade or store bought) or use this very simple powdered sugar icing. Add any type of flavoring you’d like.
You can taste the dough prior to adding the egg. For a spicier gingerbread, add a bit more of ginger.
Recipe FAQs
Can I freeze the dough?
Definitely! Wrap the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and add it to a freezer bag.
How long do the cookies stay fresh?
These cookies should stay fresh for about 4-6 weeks. Store in an air tight container in a cool dry place like your pantry.
Are these homemade gingerbread cookies dairy free?
You can easily make these gingerbread cookies dairy free by using vegan butter.
Can I make these egg free?
I have never tried to make these egg free, but you can try using an egg replacer like this one here. Otherwise, you can use a flax egg by combining 1 tablespoon of egg with 3 tablespoons of water and letting it set for 15 minutes before adding it to the dough.
More Recipes Like This
Looking for more yummy recipes like these homemade gingerbread cookies? Here are some of our favourite Christmas cookies to enjoy this holiday season!
- Coconut Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips (Gluten Free)
- Candy Cane Double Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)
- Christmas Cookies with Crushed Candy Canes (Gluten Free)
- Candy Cane Skillet Cookies (Vegan)
- Cookie Cups with Chocolate Healthy Mousse (Vegan)
What gluten free treats are you whipping up for the holidays this year? Have you made homemade gingerbread cookies before? Let me know down in the comments below!
Homemade Gingerbread Cookies | Gluten Free & Healthy Christmas Recipe
Holiday baking just isn't complete without these homemade gingerbread cookies! Decorating these gingerbread cookies also doubles as a fun family activity that you can enjoy for years to come.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Prep Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 217kcal
Author: Abbey Sharp
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter vegan or regular, very soft
- 6 Tbsp. coconut sugar
- 2.5 Tbsp. molasses
- 1.25 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 1 Tbsp. fine almond flour
- 4 tsp. coconut flour
- ¾ tsp. dried ginger
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- Pinch of allspice
- Pinch of cloves
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- 1 large egg
White icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. Almond milk
- 1-2 drops of vanilla extract
Red icing
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. Almond milk
- 1-2 drops vanilla extract
- Red food coloring we used a natural option
Instructions
In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla extract.
Add in half of the almond flour, the coconut flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, salt and baking soda and mix. Mix in the remaining almond flour.
Mix in the egg until a uniform dough forms. Roll the dough into a ball, cover them with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After the chilling time, remove the dough from the fridge and roll it between two pieces of parchment paper until the dough is about ¼” thick. Use gingerbread men/women cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Carefully move them to a parchment covered sheet pan. Scrape up any remaining dough.
Bake the cookies for for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. Pull them out when they are just slightly browned on the underside and firm yet slightly puffy on top. Set them aside to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough until you have used up all of the dough. Allow the cookies to fully cool.
To make the icing, whisk together ¼ cup of powdered sugar with a teaspoon of the almond milk. Add the remaining sugar slowly to prevent lumps. Add the second teaspoon of milk and vanilla and whisk until a thick frosting forms. Depending on the type of milk and powdered sugar you use, you may need more or less liquid.
Repeat the above steps for the colored icing. The amount of food coloring you add will depend on the type of food coloring you use and how deep and rich you’d like the color to be.
Once you have a thick icing, spoon each type of icing into piping bags or a plastic baggie and make a very small cut at the end corner of the bag.
Pipe the icing on to the cookies in your favorite designs or shapes. While the icing is still sticky, sprinkle on any decorations you’d like. We used mini chocolate chips for buttons.
Notes
- This recipe made 12 cookies with the cookie cutters I used.
- Coconut flour widely varies in absorbancy across different brands. I have only tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill brand coconut flour so that’s what I recommend here. Use a fine blanched almond flour.
- All ovens and pans cook a bit differently. Watch your cookies and pull them just when they begin to slightly brown on the underside for a softer cookie. Allow them to brown a little more if you want a crunchier cookie.
- Feel free to use your own icing (homemade or store bought) or use this very simple powdered sugar icing. Add any type of flavoring you’d like.
- You can taste the dough prior to adding the egg. For a spicier gingerbread, add a bit more of ginger.
Nutrition
Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1mg
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Abbey Sharp
Abbey Sharpis a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by theOntario College of Dietitians. She is a mom,YouTuber,Blogger,award winningcookbook author,media coachspecializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications likeHealthlineand on national broadcastTV shows.
