Easy & Awesome Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies (Vegan & Nut-Free)
It’s weird…I’ve never made gingerbread before, and we never once (to my recollection) made it when I was a kid. This was likely because we have an amazing soft molasses cookie recipe in our family that provides very similar flavors.
Check out our family’s amazing soft molasses cookie recipe!
But on my recent trip to Prague I became obsessed with the traditional Czech gingerbread recipe, and recreating the experience once I got home…but with my current dietary restrictions, that meant making the best almond-free, egg-free, dairy-free gluten-free gingerbread.
YEAH I KNOW. And yet, this is definitely a major winner! If I didn’t *tell* you these are everything-free, I don’t think you’d guess.
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This isn’t actually a perfect recreation of traditional Czech gingerbread…I want to try that soon, but they use honey instead of molasses and some very different spices. So I’ve split the difference a bit here.
I’ve largely relied on Minimalist Bakers’ recipe (they’re awesome and reliable, if you don’t follow them), and made a few tweaks. I swapped in tahini for the almond butter, and then added allspice and cloves, and a bit of fresh-ground pepper as well. I really wanted the spices to POP.
I’m more than a little obsessed with all my cute cookie cutters, especially the T-rex 🙂 You’re going to love this gluten-free gingerbread—and just as importantly, so will people without any dietary restrictions!
In a large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer), prepare the flax egg by mixing the ground flaxseed and water, and let rest for 5 minutes.
Add the softened butter, molasses, tahini, brown sugar, salt, spices, and baking soda, and beat on low.
Add 1 cup of the GF flour and stir until well combined. Your dough should hold its shape when pressed, but not feel dry.
Then add more as needed…I found that about 1 1/3 cups total works best for me, but it depends on your flour blend.
Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (preferably overnight…but I did like 3-4 hours).
PRO TIP: Rather than just cover the bowl with plastic wrap, I put all the dough on the plastic wrap and shaped it into a square, then chilled, which made rolling it out a cinch.
Once chilled, preheat your oven to 350 F (176 C).
Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Carefully roll out the dough to a little thicker than 1/8 inch. If it starts to stick, sprinkle with some rice flour or a tiny bit of cornstarch. You don’t want it too thin or they’ll be too crisp.
Remove the top sheet and cut out shapes. Next, lift the parchment paper (with all of the dough) onto a baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes, to firm up. This makes it easier to transfer the dough to the baking sheet, and helps them keep their shape while baking.
Next, use a lightly floured (I used arrowroot) spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Work as quickly as possible and leave a bit of room for spreading.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they appear only slightly browned on the edges. They’ll continue firming up as they sit on the pan. Let them rest on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Or just transfer the entire parchment paper to a cooling rack right away.
They’re pretty delish as-is, but I love giving them a bit of extra sweetness (since the gingerbread itself isn’t super sweet).
You can mix up a quick stiff powdered sugar icing if you want, and pipe or spread it…we were running late getting dinner going so I didn’t want to take a bunch of time, and just did the poor man’s piping bag, with a ziploc sandwich bag.
To make the icing, mix the ingredients together and start with just 1 tablespoon of milk. Add a tiny bit more if needed. You can add a flavoring as well, like orange zest. You want it on the thicker side, so it doesn’t run.
These are also AMAZING sandwiched with apricot jam.
These vegan gluten-free gingerbread cookies have made me a convert! I’m now lobbying to make gingerbread a thing year-round…
Adapted slightly from Minimalist Baker
Other awesome cookie recipes you’ll love:
- Amazing Dark Chocolate Tahini Cookies (GF, vegan, nut-free)
- Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Amazing Intensely Dark Chocolate Sable Cookies
- Addictive 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (GF, DF)
- Whole Wheat Cranberry Pistachio Orange Shortbread (egg-free)
- Best Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies Ever
- Miso Rye Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Cookies
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Delicious Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies (also Vegan & Nut-Free!)
You'd never know that this easy & delicious gingerbread is perfect for dietary restrictions...it's a delicious nut-free, vegan, gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipe that's great any time of year!
Ingredients
- COOKIES
- 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds (to make flax egg)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of water (to make flax egg)
- 1/4 cup of vegan butter (softened)
- 3 tablespoons of molasses
- 1/4 cup of tahini
- 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon of cloves
- A bit of fresh-ground black pepper (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- Between 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 cups of 1:1 gluten-free baking mix (I used Bob's Red Mill & ended up using about 1 1/3 cups)
- Optional: Apricot jam for filling
- ICING (optional)
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, SIFTED
- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract or paste
- Optional: 1 tablespoon of melted vegan butter
- 1+ tablespoons of dairy-free milk
Instructions
- MAKE THE DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer), prepare the flax egg by mixing the ground flaxseed and water, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the softened butter, molasses, tahini, brown sugar, salt, spices, and baking soda, and beat on low.
- Add 1 cup of the GF flour and stir until well combined. Your dough should hold its shape when pressed, but not feel dry. Add more as needed...I found that about 1 1/3 cups works best for me, but it depends on your flour blend.
- CHILL: Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (preferably overnight). PRO TIP: Rather than just cover the bowl with plastic wrap, I put all the dough on the plastic wrap and shaped it into a square, then chilled, which made rolling it out a cinch.
- BAKE: Once chilled, preheat your oven to 350 F (176 C).
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Carefully roll out the dough to a little thicker than 1/8 inch. If it starts to stick, sprinkle with some rice flour or a tiny bit of cornstarch. You don’t want it too thin or they’ll be too crisp.
- Remove the top sheet and cut out shapes. Next, lift the parchment paper (with all of the dough) onto a baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes, to firm up. This makes it easier to transfer the dough to the baking sheet, and helps them keep their shape while baking.
- Next, use a lightly floured (I used arrowroot) spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Work as quickly as possible and leave a bit of room for spreading.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they appear only slightly browned on the edges. They’ll continue firming up as they sit on the pan. Let them rest on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Or, pro tip, just transfer the entire parchment paper to a cooling rack right away.
- DECORATE/FILL: You can mix up a quick stiff powdered sugar icing if you want, and pipe or spread (I did the poor man's piping bag, with a ziploc sandwich bag). These are also AMAZING sandwiched with apricot jam.
- To make the icing, mix the ingredients together and start with just 1 tablespoon of milk. Add a tiny bit more if needed. You can add a flavoring as well, like orange zest. You want it on the thicker side, so it doesn't run.
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