These Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies are made with almond flour, molasses and warming gingerbread spices! The dough even holds up to making gingerbread man cookie cutouts. With this gingerbread recipe, no one has to miss out on Christmas baking anymore.
Gingerbread cookies are part of my earliest holiday memories. However, we called them Lebkuchen in Germany. Since I can remember my mom makes a huge batch of an old family recipe once each Christmas season to last for about a month.
This almond flour gingerbread cookie recipe tastes similar to Lebkuchen, but it is gluten free and dairy free to make it accessible to more people (even with food allergies and intolerances) over the holidays.
Ingredients (& Substitutions)
- light brown sugar - or muscovado, coconut sugar or sugar-free alternative**
- blackstrap molasses - or honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup
- egg - or flax egg
- coconut oil - melted
- almond flour - or experiment with a gluten-free flour blend to see how it works
- gingerbread spice mix - such as this homemade gingerbread spice mix
- baking soda
- sea salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Using an electric mixer, beat the wet ingredients together, including the sugar, molasses, egg, and coconut oil, until combined and light in color.
Add in the dry ingredients, including the almond flour, gingerbread spice mix, baking soda, and salt.
Stir until combined. Place the dough on one sheet of parchment paper, shape it into a log, and place another sheet of parchment paper on top.
Roll the dough between the sheets of parchment paper until it is ⅛-inch thick. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Once the dough is chilled, dust a cookie cutter in almond flour, and cut the dough into shapes. Then carefully peel off the parchment
Place on baking sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on their size. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes; then, remove them to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
Hint: Make sure to dip the cookie cutter you use in almond flour periodically to prevent the cutter from sticking to the dough.
Storage
These healthy gingerbread cookies will keep for a long time if stored in an airtight container. You can also chill them in the refrigerator for added freshness if you like. However, for the softest-textured cookie, it is best to consume them within 5 days of making them. If you like, you can also store them in an airtight container or sealable bag in the freezer if you would like to keep them longer. They should stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Variations
This gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipe is wonderful as is and doesn't need anything else done to it in my opinion, but if you like, you can decorate the gluten-free cookies in different ways or even adjust the flavoring if you like.
- Decorate the Cookies with Royal Icing: Simply pipe royal icing onto the baked cookies for an extra festive touch.
- Add Sprinkles or Candies: You can add sprinkles or candies to the cookies before baking the cookies or sprinkle them on top once you have adorned the cookies with royal icing.
- Adjust the Gingerbread Spice Mix: If there are any spices you don't love in your gingerbread, such as ground cloves, nutmeg, or cinnamon, feel free to leave them out. Don't leave out the ground ginger, though, or else it won't be proper gingerbread.
Top Tip
The trick for dealing with the dough, which is quite sticky, is to place it between two sheets of parchment paper, then roll it out with a rolling pin and freeze the dough sheet until it is quite firm.
Then, remove only one sheet of parchment, dip a cookie cutter in almond flour and cut out a shape before putting them on the baking sheet to bake.
FAQ
In this gingerbread cookie recipe, the key is not to overbake the cookies. Depending on your cookie cutter size, bake them until only just set (about 5 minutes). You will get a soft gingerbread cookie with a chewy texture and just a slight crisp on the edges. If you bake the cookies longer they will turn crispy. They still taste great that way and are actually perfect if you enjoy dunking your cookies into hot beverages like tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.
I didn’t actually decorate the cookies that are pictured here at all, but I still think they look great. However, you can definitely go the typical route of piping on royal icing or attaching sprinkles and other candy treats to give them a face, buttons, etc. You can also use nuts, seeds, or dried fruit as healthier decorations for these already healthy Christmas cookies. Press them into the cutout Christmas gingerbread cookies before baking.
These ginger molasses cookies will keep quite a long time if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. However, they may become drier and crisper. For the perfect soft, chewy texture, you will want to consume them within the first 5 days. If you want to store them longer, you can also pack them in large freezer bags as airtight as possible and freeze them for up to 2 months.
You will know the cookies are baked when they have a light golden colour on the bottoms and are starting to become golden around the edges.
Before cutting the dough into shapes, you should dip the cookie cutter in almond flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough. You may need to repeat this step as you cut the dough into shapes if you find the cutter is starting to stick to the dough.
Yes, you can substitute molasses with alternatives like date syrup, honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup. However, keep in mind that this may slightly alter the taste and texture of the cookies.
Absolutely, you can easily make these cookies vegan by using a flax egg or chia egg as an egg substitute.
For a healthier option, consider using nuts, seeds, or dried fruits as decorations. You can press them into the cookie cutouts before baking to add a touch of natural sweetness and texture.
This recipe has been specifically developed with almonds flour. You can experiment with a gluten-free baking blend but good outcomes aren't guaranteed. Keep in mind that different flours may alter the texture and taste slightly, so adjustments may be needed.
Related
Looking for other gingerbread recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar muscovado, coconut sugar or sugar-free alternative**
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses *
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice mix
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoons sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine muscovado sugar, molasses, egg and coconut oil with an electric mixer until fully combined and lighter in color.
- Add almond flour, gingerbread spice mix, baking soda and sea salt. Stir until everything is fully combined.
- Prepare two sheets of parchment paper. Add the gingerbread cookie dough in on sheet of parchment. Shape it into a log with your hands, then cover with the second sheet of parchment.
- Roll the dough between the parchment paper to about ⅛-inch/3mm thickness. Transfer the cookie dough sheet to the freezer and freezer for about 30 minutes until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350° F/180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once chilled, remove one parchment paper sheet. Dip a cookie cutter in almond flour, then cut out shapes. Carefully peel the parchment from the back and move the cut out cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
- Depending on the size of cookies you cut out, bake them for 5-10 minutes until the cookies are just set. This will produce semi-soft cookies. Baking longer will results in crispier cookies.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
- Store these healthy gingerbread cookies in a covered container for about a week.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for later?
S
I couldn't find blackstrap bolasses and had to pick up regular molasses instead. I know they're not the same thing, so what can I do to substitute for the blackstrap?
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
You should be able to easily substitute one for the other. The main difference is that blackstrap molasses is more mineral-rich than regular and has a more bitter flavour and darker colour whereas regular molasses is a little sweeter and amber in colour.
Kelly
I can't wait to try this recipe. My little girl has bee begging to make gingerbread cookies.
I've tried clicking on the "gingerbread spice" link in the ingredients and it isn't taking me anywhere. What is the gingerbread spice??
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Kelly, thanks for pointing that out! I have updated the link in the recipe. Happy baking! 🙂
Tiffany
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!! I’m allergic to almonds - do you think cashew flour would work in this recipe? Looking forward to making this with the kids tomorrow!
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Hi Tiffany,
Yes, cashew flour should work well as a substitute! Let us know how you and your kids fare with making the cookies.
Erin
We just tried to make these, following the recipe exactly, but using coconut sugar, and there was no way this made 10 gingerbread men, unless they were teeny tiny. Definitely multiply the recipe. We only got three average size men shapes and then a few small round globs However, the dough was so soft, even after an hour in the freezer, that in the time it took to cut out just three men, the dough was too soft to cut and pick up a fourth, even using extra almond flour on the spatula and cookie cutters. I just had to scrape it up with my fingers and press it together into the glob shape and my hands were a mess. The taste is good, but the dough is not easy to work with at all and my kids couldn't help. If you have any tips to make it work better, please share.
Regina | Leelalicious
Hey Erin, I am sorry to hear the recipe wasn't working out for you. It sounds like several things went wrong here. I am not sure why you wouldn't have been able to get around 10 cookies. How big is your cutter? Mine is about 3 inches long.
I don't understand why your dough wasn't firm even after freezing. Could it be you didn't have enough flour? Or extra large eggs?
One way to make stickier dough work out better is to roll out on parchment and then cut your shapes but leave the cookie in place. Then only remove the extra dough between the cut outs using a pointy knife or toothpick. This dough doesn't spread a whole lot, so the cookies can be fairly close. Then transfer that parchment paper sheet to a baking tray and bake. After baking the cookies should be much easier to handle and remove from the parchment.
Repeat with the extra dough
Lauren
We love these cookies! Making them for a second time this Christmas season and it’s only December 2!
Regina | Leelalicious
Yay! So happy to hear this recipe is part of your holiday season
Melanie | Melanie Makes
Love how you've made this classic cookie clean and nearly guilt free!