Looking for a perfect holiday cookie recipe? These delectable Gluten-Free Gingerbread Men are a must-make treat for the Christmas season!
Jump to Recipe'Tis The Season for Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
It's no secret that gingerbread cookies are a classic Christmas cookie. And rightfully so, as they bring so much joy from their delicious taste! These cookies have the perfect texture and consistency. If you didn't make them yourself, you wouldn't know that they're gluten-free. The only thing better than their texture is their flavor! The traditional molasses combined with maple syrup yields a warm, cozy taste to these gingerbread men.
This simple recipe makes these gingerbread men the ideal cookie to easily bake with family and friends. And at the end, you all get to customize your gingerbread men however you see fit! I've included a fantastic icing to top your cookies with that will perfectly complete them. Then, you'll finally get to enjoy your customized gingerbread cookies! Is there any better holiday activity than baking, decorating and enjoying freshly baked cookies?
The Gingerbread Origin
There's a reason that these cookies are called "ginger bread". First, let's discuss ginger. This underground root originates from Southern Asia and has a rich spice flavor. For this cookie recipe, we'll be utilizing the rice spice flavor of ground ginger to create a warm, cozy flavor profile. Now, the gingerbread cookie itself is said to trace back to the time of Queen Elizabeth l, who made her cooks create caricatures from the pastry to mimic her favorite courtiers. She would often gift her VIP guests with these ginger pastry caricatures.
However, the gingerbread capital of the world is said to lie in Nuremberg, Germany. This is where many bakers would bake countless different variations of gingerbread, but it was often formed in a heart shape with romantic messages written on top. It is here where the oldest gingerbread recipe lives inside the Germanic National Museum. Would you believe me if I told you that this original gingerbread recipe dates all the way back to the 16th century? Hard to believe but it's true!
Today, we are gifted with so many unique variations of gingerbread pastries! It is an easy cookie to re-create and an even easier one to customize to your liking. Many different shapes, patterns, and styles have formed over the years. From gingerbread sandwiches to the classic gingerbread houses, the list goes on and on! In this recipe, we will be sticking with the traditional gingerbread cookie. We will then use a sweet icing to customize our cookies to create the most scrumptious holiday treat.
Making It a Gluten-Free Treat
Now that we know a bit more about the history of the cookie, it's time to dive into how we make our gluten-free gingerbread men. Luckily, all we need to swap is the flour! I like to use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour for the majority of my gluten-free baking. I've found that it yields the best texture for a gluten-free alternative and is consistently reliable! As well, this gluten-free blend already has xanthin gum in it; which, is a thickening agent that prevents the ingredients from separating. Already having this crucial ingredient in our flour helps to ensure we're using the correct amount of xanthin gum every time.
So let's get started on creating our dry ingredient blend. We'll be using a mixture of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. For the spices, you'll need cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. As we've discussed, the ginger is a necessity to make traditional gingerbread men. The cinnamon and cloves pair well with the ginger and help soften the sharp taste with warm notes. You may be surprised to learn that the salt plays a large role in this spice blend. Even though we're only using a small amount of it, the salt helps to enhance the underlying notes of the spices and the overall flavor of the cookies!
Creating the Signature Flavor
After you combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, set it the side. It's time to move onto the wet ingredients! This blend of ingredients is crucial in creating the signature flavor of the gingerbread men. Although the ginger helps to season the cookies, the wet ingredients are where the real flavor comes in! Start by adding brown sugar and cane sugar to a large mixing bowl with softened, unsalted butter. While the sugar blend is made up of 75% brown sugar, adding a bit of cane sugar helps to lighten the brown sugar. As brown sugar is made of molasses and we'll be using molasses later in this recipe, we need to lighten the sugar components of this recipe. The cane sugar helps to do just that!
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter for two to three minutes on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined and creamy. Next, add the room temperature egg to the mixture. Before you mix again, first add the molasses, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Molasses is a key ingredient in our gingerbread men cookies because it yields a comforting, warm flavor and provides the cookies with their signature color. The maple syrup will compliment the molasses as a sweeter component. Mix again on low speed for roughly one minute to combine. This will yield a nice, smooth consistency! Go ahead and set this mixture to the side as we prepare for the next step.
Making & Refrigerating the Dough
This is where we get to form our dough! First slowly add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. I recommend adding ¼ of the dry ingredients in at a time and mixing between on medium-low speed. This helps to ensure that the wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated at the end. Moreover, this helps retain the moistness of the dough and will produce a better consistency! Repeat until all of the dry ingredients have been added and mixed in. At this point, you should have a dough that is slightly wet. Once everything is thoroughly combined and you have your dough, it's time to refrigerate it.
We're going to refrigerate our dough for one hour. This will not only prevent the butter in our dough from spreading, which can lead to thin cookies, but will also help to firm up the cookie dough. Refrigerating the dough is a crucial step for creating perfect cut-out and rolled cookies. If the dough is warm and soft it will only make it harder to manipulate. Furthermore, refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate. So trust me, the hour wait is worth it for perfectly baked cookies!
During the last 20-30 minutes that the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Depending on the size of gingerbread men cutouts that you use, you may need another baking sheet. As well, lightly flour a work surface with flour. This can either be a countertop, butcher block, or even parchment paper! You'll also need more flour on hand to lightly dust the dough with before you roll it out. Finally, you'll need a rolling pin and your cookie cutters.
Forming Our Gingerbread Men
Here is where we start to put in the elbow grease! To form our gingerbread men, we must roll out the dough. I like to divide the dough in two and add the first half to the prepared surface. Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until the dough is roughly ⅓"-½" thick. If the dough starts to stick to the rolling pin, lightly dust with a little more flour. This will ensure the dough doesn't stick. Just remember to only add a teaspoon or two of flour at a time. Adding too much flour can dry out our dough over time, or cause certain cookies to bake at a different rate that others.
At last, it's time for the fun part... forming the gingerbread men! Use the gingerbread men cookie cutters of your choice to create the signature shapes in the gluten-free dough. Once you have as many cut outs as you can make from that section of dough, go ahead and transfer the gingerbread men to the prepared baking sheet. I recommend using a spatula to carefully transfer them over. Sometimes, the cookie actually sticks to the cookie cutter; which, makes it easy to place the cookie on the sheet. If you happen to mess up a cookie during the transfer process, no problem! Just add it to the scrap dough for now.
Once all of the cookies have been transferred to the prepared baking sheet, you can roll the scraps of dough together to form a ball. Then, roll the dough out again and repeat the process. Repeat until you have used all of your dough, then move onto the other ball of dough. As I mentioned, it depends on the size of your cookie cutters, but this recipe yields over a dozen cookies! Just remember that if you mix and match the size of your cutters, place the same size gingerbread men on the same baking sheet. Here the size does matter, as the smaller cookies will bake much faster! Separating your sizes will help to ensure that all the cookies are baked to perfection.
Time to Bake the Perfect Cookies!
Now that the hard work is over, there's only one thing left to do. Bake our gingerbread men cookies! Once your oven is done pre-heating, go ahead and place one baking tray at a time on the center rack. While this may sound tedious, it's important not to do more than one baking tray at a time in the oven. Unless the two are side by side, the top baking sheet and lower baking sheet will bake at a different times. As well, you risk the potential of burning your gingerbread men!
If you use a smaller cookie cutter, bake the cookies for seven minutes. For a medium sized cookie cutter, bake for eight to nine minutes. And, if you use a large cookie cutter, then bake for nine to ten minutes. You'll know the gingerbread men are done when the edges are firm but the middle is still slightly soft. The cookies will continue to bake for the first few minutes out of the oven. Once the cookies are done baking, make sure they cool for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to settle and fully develop. Preferably, I would recommend you wait one to two hours to allow the gingerbread men cookies to cool before decorating!
How to Make Icing
When it comes to the right icing for these gingerbread cookies, homemade icing is always best. This icing is the perfect amount of sweet without going overboard. Plus, it's surprisingly easy to make! First, take a medium-sized bowl and sift in your powdered sugar. Next, combine the vanilla extract, corn syrup and water in a small bowl. Whisk together and make sure it is thoroughly combined before adding in the powdered sugar.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, stirring as you go. Use a fork to help break down the sugar and incorporate it into the wet ingredients. Continue to stir until the icing forms. If it's still too thick, add ½-1 tablespoon more water to thin out its consistency. If desired, add your food coloring and stir to combine. Remember that a little bit of food coloring goes a long ways! You really only need a drop of your desired color.
To decorate your cookies, transfer the icing to a piping bag. You may also opt for a ziplock bag! If you cut the very tip off of one bottom corner of the bag, it will act as a piping bag. This is a great hack if you don't have a piping bag in your kitchen. So, using either or, fill it up with icing and begin decorating your cooled gingerbread men cookies! After you decorate, wait at least three hours before stacking the cookies on top of one another. Preferably wait 6-8 hours to ensure the icing has set.
Storing the Gingerbread Men
This recipe yields a good amount of cookies, especially if you use smaller cutouts. If you are left with some gingerbread men hanging around, storing is simple and easy! I would recommend storing them in ziplock bags in a nice and dry spot. No need to refrigerate them as they do just fine sitting out at room temperature. I always like to squeeze out as much air as possible before completely sealing them in the ziplock bag.
Packing the gingerbread cookies up this way makes for an easy snack or treat to grab throughout the coming days! I can guarantee you that all the kids, and adults, will be coming back to those gingerbread men. One by one, the cookies will disappear right before your eyes! These cookies are pretty addicting, so I am sure you won't be left with much after the first day. Maybe the second day if there's no kids or adults with sweet tooths around!
Other Cookies You'll Love!
If you are in the cookie spirit and looking for more options to bake up this holiday season, I've got just the recipes for you! All these recipes are gluten-free, easy to make and perfect for the Christmas festivities! Here is a list of some my favorite cookie recipes on the blog:
- Gluten-Free Soft Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies: These Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies are so soft and delicious that you won't even be able to tell that they're gluten-free! These gluten-free cookies have an irresistible consistency with a slight crisp around the edges and a pillowy middle. Not to mention, the nuttiness of the brown butter adds so much flavor to this sweet treat!
- Paleo Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies: If you're looking for a paleo dessert that is easy to make and delicious, this cookie recipe is for you! These thumbprint cookies are dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar free. Plus, they feature a homemade raspberry jam and a dark chocolate drizzle to create the perfect bite. This recipe is very straight forward and yields a result so delicious that friends will be shocked that there's no refined sugar or butter!
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies: It wouldn't be Christmas without sugar cookies! This gluten-free recipe makes the BEST sugar cookies with a truly unbeatable consistency. Usually store bought gluten-free sugar cookies are dry, crumbly, and often disappointing. I am proud to say that this recipe has none of those qualities and are soft, flavorful and delicious!
Test out your baking skills and try all four of these cookie recipes to create the perfect holiday dessert box! This makes for the perfect sweet treat to bring to white elephant parties, family gatherings, or to hand out during caroling! These four recipes guarantee that there's at least one- if not all four- cookie recipe that each person will fall in love with.
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Men with Maple Syrup
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy16
servings30
minutes10
minutes1
minuteThis gluten-free gingerbread men recipe features a blend of molasses and maple syrup to create the perfect cookie!
Ingredients
- Ingredients for the Cookies
2 ½ cups of gluten-free baking flour
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
¼ teaspoon of salt
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup cane sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons of molasses
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Ingredients for the Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 tablespoons water
1 drop food coloring of choice, optional
Directions
- Instructions for the Cookies
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, baking powder, cloves, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and mix together. Then, set to the side.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter for 2-3 minutes on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined and creamy.
- Next, add the egg, molasses, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix again on low speed to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add ¼ of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing between on medium-low speed to incorporate. Repeat until all of the dry ingredients have been added.
- Chill for one hour, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After the allotted time, dust a coutertop or cutting board with flour. Divide the dough in two and add the first half to the prepared surface. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour.
- Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until its roughly ⅓-1/2" thick. If the dough starts to stick to the rolling pin, lightly dust with a little more flour.
- Use the gingerbread cookie cutters to cut out the dough. Transfer the gingerbread cookies to the prepared baking sheet using a spatula. As you go, you can roll the scraps of dough together to form a ball, then roll out again. Repeat this process until you've use all of the dough.
- Bake one baking sheet at a time on the center rack for 7-10 minutes. If you use small cookie cutters, bake the cookies for 7 minutes. Bake 8-9 minutes for medium and 9-10 for a large cookie cutter. To ensure no cookies are overcooked or burnt, place the same size cutouts on the same sheet.
- Once the edges of the cookies are firm with a slight crisp and the middles are still slightly soft, remove from the oven. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating, but preferably wait one to two hours.
- Instructions for the Icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl.
- Next, combine the vanilla extract, corn syrup and water in a small bowl. Whisk together to combine.
- Slowly, add the powdered sugar and stir as you go. Use a fork to help break down the sugar.
- Continue to stir until the icing forms. If it's still too thick, add ½-1 tablespoon more water to the bowl.
- If desired, add your food coloring and stir to combine. To decorate your cookies, transfer the icing to a piping bag or small ziplock bag with the top cut off.
- Decorate your cookies as you please. After icing, don't stack the cookies on top of each other for at least three hours. Preferably wait 6-8 hours to ensure the icing has set.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Store in an air tight container at room temperature up to six days.
[…] Gluten-Free Gingerbread Men with Maple Syrup: Looking for a perfect holiday cookie recipe? These delectable Gluten-Free Gingerbread Men are a must-make treat for the Christmas season! These cookies have the perfect texture and consistency. The only thing better than their texture is their flavor! The traditional molasses combined with maple syrup yields a warm, cozy taste to these gingerbread men. […]