Celebrate #nationalcookieexchangeday on December 22 by baking this delicious gluten & dairy free gingerbread!
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One of the best parts of the holidays is all the fun food! Gingerbread has always been one of my favorites because it has the flavors of fall but the excitement of winter. Growing up, I remember building gingerbread houses with friends and family each year. It’s such a fun, and often tasty experience.
December 12 was National Gingerbread House Day, so I decided it was time to whip up my own recipe! I scoured many sources and then altered them a bit to create a recipe of my own. Twelve recipes later, and I finally had one of my own. As with other recipes that are tweaked to be gluten and dairy friendly, the details are really what make this recipe come out great. Be sure to read the entire recipe and understand the steps if you want the recipe to come out as desired.
Keep in mind that this recipe doesn’t have molasses, which makes it easier to produce in a pinch. It also means that these cookies may not have the brown hue you are used to in a gingerbread. For many this isn’t an issue, and can be fixed with a little decorating with the icing. The best cookies, in my opinion, are the ones that aren't just used for decoration but can be enjoyed and eaten! This cookie can function as both. You'll also be amazed at the texture of the icing. I've made these cookies on repeat the last few weeks because they are just so good! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Want to print this recipe? Click Here👇🏼😍
Gingerbread & White Glaze Recipes
Gluten-free | Dairy-free | No Molasses
Ingredients
Gingerbread
For cookies or gingerbread men
1 ½ cups Gluten Free Flour with xanthan gum (+ a bit more for rolling out the dough)
4 Tbsp arrowroot starch*
¾ tsp baking soda*
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
5 Tbsp unsalted plant-based butter-like spread (at room temp or spreadable)
5 Tbsp honey (or molasses)
1 egg
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
For houses
*Add ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch, ½ tsp baking soda, and 6 Tbsp unsalted plant-based butter-like spread instead of the quantities listed above for each of those ingredients.
Follow instructions regarding rolling thickness exactly. If they are not rolled out properly they will not be hard enough to provide enough strength for the house structure and may be too gooey to bind without breaking.
Slightly Lemon White Icing Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
2 ½ tsp lemon juice
5 Tbsp lukewarm water
Instructions
For the Gingerbread
In a medium-large bowl, mix together the GF flour, arrowroot starch, baking soda, spices and salt.
In another medium-large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the sugars and butter-like plant-based spread together until no large clumps are visible. Next, add in the remaining ingredients (vanilla, egg, honey) to the sugar-buttery mixture and mix with hand-mixer until blended evenly.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a hand mixer. The dough can get a little clumpy, so you may prefer to mix it by hand with a rubber spatula.
Once evenly mixed, set in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325℉.
Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, remove it from the fridge and place it on a parchment sheet that has been dusted with GF flour. Shape into a ball and then place another sheet of parchment on top of the dough ball.
Using a rolling pin (some sort of cylindrical can like a spray oil or tomato paste can will also work in a pinch), roll the dough out until flat and even. FOR SOFT COOKIES: Roll until about ½ inch thick. This will help keep the cookie soft. FOR HOUSES/GINGERSNAPS: Roll until about ¼ inch thick. Thinner cookies will have more of a gingersnap “crunch” to them.
Using a cookie cutter or other shaping device, cut the desired shape into the dough. Collect scraps in a nearby pile, and use your hands or a spatula to place the gingerbread onto a parchment lined pan. (If the dough is too sticky or did not chill for the appropriate amount of time, use kitchen shears to cut around the cookie shape and transfer it to a lined sheet for baking.)
Repeat steps 7 & 8 with the remaining dough until the dough has been used up.
Bake for 9-12 minutes. Soft cookies should pass the “toothpick” test (toothpick inserts and removes relatively clean) and hard cookies should be slightly browned.
Allow cookies to cool completely before adding the icing/glaze.
For Slightly Lemon White Icing Glaze
Mix all ingredients together adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
Glaze cookies by drizzling icing with a spoon across the top (or using another desired method). This icing also works for houses as well!
Allow for at least 30 minutes for icing to set before stacking, moving, or otherwise manipulating cookies (icing may smudge or droop if manipulated too much before being allowed to set).
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