Gluten-Free Christmas and Holiday baking is one of my favorite things! A family tradition at our house is making gingerbread. Some years we make cut-out cookies, some years, we make gingerbread houses, and some years we mail our creations to a family member or friend living at a distance. Making cutout cookies is a wonderful thing to do with children. Who cares if they are perfect, it is having fun that counts!
If you love Gingerbread, this gluten-free recipe will tantalize your taste buds. When attending a Holiday Party, I usually bring something gluten-free that I know we can have and share with others whether they need to eat gluten-free or not. I am happy to say that on a couple of occasions, I was told this recipe tasted better than the gluten-full versions they had tried before.
Heavenly Gingerbread Cookies – Gluten Free
Course: Snacks, DessertsCuisine: TraditionalDifficulty: Medium
For the very best gingerbread cookies, you have ever tasted! You won’t even have to mention they are gluten-free! These taste wonderful and can be kept in an air-tight container for a couple of weeks or longer. Make sure they are cool and dry before storage. If you have someone you would like to mail gluten-free gingerbread cookies to, this is your very best recipe! I mailed some of these across the country at Christmas with excellent results.
Ingredients with step-by-step directions
Step One: Beat/Cream the following together in a large electric mixer bowl:
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large whole eggs
1 cup fancy molasses
¼ teaspoon Xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (if butter is unsalted)
Add the following for a great traditional gingerbread taste:
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (some people don’t like cloves, so you can omit this if you like)
1 tablespoon Zest of a fresh Orange
1 teaspoon ground dry powdered Ginger
2 tablespoons of fresh Ginger Juice (grate fresh ginger root and strain)
Beat the above ingredients for 2 minutes.
Step Two: Turn the electric mixer speed to slow and add small amounts of the following at a time: Reserve some of the flour mixtures to use to roll out the cookies.
2 1/2 Cups of Trina’s All-Purpose Flour Mix #1 (*1A-1B-1C)
2 cups of Trina’s Pastry Flour Mix #2 (*2A- 2B – 2C)
Note: You can use equal amounts of your favorite gluten-free flour; however, this recipe was made with Trina’s Flour Mixes. You can find charts to make these flour mixes in the Cookbook, Gluten-Free, You Can Do It.
* Refers to different series of flour mixes geared to other food sensitivities.
Directions
- Quick Directions: Cover/wrap fully mixed cookie dough and refrigerate the dough overnight or at least 3 hours (or in the freezer for 1 hour) before rolling and cutting shapes. The dough can remain refrigerated for up to 1 week for baking anytime. Cut out as desired.
- Bake cookies at 350℉– 7 to 10 minutes until done. The cookie sheet should be lined with parchment paper. Cool on parchment paper or remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Ornamental Royal Icing:
Beat together
1 egg white (beat slightly first)
4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup warm water,
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract …experiment with the consistency. (note: artificial vanilla extract is not gluten-free)
Divide icing into small bowls; tint each bowl of frosting with food coloring as desired. Keep all bowls covered to prevent icing from drying out. - If you prefer a readymade Royal Icing, you can try this one made by Chef Alan Tetreault. Global Sugar Art Premium Royal Icing Mix White.
- Place cookies on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets. Decorate as desired. With a small metal spatula or knife, spread a layer of icing over the entire cookie surface of each cookie. Or decorate with your design directly on the cookie. Decorate by filling the decorator tube with icing and forcing it through the nozzle. (If icing is too stiff, dilute it with a few drops of water, vanilla, or beaten egg white.) Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, about 2 hours or overnight. Store cookies in a tightly covered container. Makes about 3 dozen small cookies or several large gingerbread men or women. The recipe can be doubled.
- Gingerbread House Icing
3 cups icing sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or peppermint.
Beat in an electric mixer. - Extended Directions for Gingerbread Cookie Dough:
- Into a large bowl, place Step One ingredients. With the mixer running at low speed, beat ingredients until well blended. Occasionally scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Knead into a ball. Save some of the flour to use when rolling out the cookies. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough overnight or for at least 3 hours (or in the freezer for 1 hour) before rolling and cutting shapes.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. On a well-floured surface, use Trina’s All Purpose Flour Mix #1 or Trina’s Pastry Flour Mix #2 as a dusting mix to avoid the dough sticking to the countertop or rolling pin.
Shape the dough into a ball, and with a floured rolling pin, roll out one-fourth of the dough 1/4 inch thick, keeping the remaining dough refrigerated. With floured cookie cutters, cut dough into any shape you like. Place cookies, about 1/2 inch apart, on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or for best results, use parchment paper. - Bake cookies at 350°F – for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool or leave on parchment until cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Notes
- Tantalize everyone’s taste buds, fill your home with a beautiful spicy aroma, and create memories in your home this Christmas that will become a family tradition. You can also use this recipe to make a Gingerbread House. Complete directions and a template for a Gingerbread House are included in the Cookbook, Gluten-Free, You Can Do It.
for mentions of products, people, places, or businesses mentioned in this post. Image ©Trina, Eggs+Mix+Water=Bread
The following link also has this Recipe in a larger amount and a Template for this Gingerbread House.
Enjoy your holiday baking this year!
