This recipe for soft and chewy gluten free ginger cookies is the perfect addition to a holiday cookie plate or any time you want something sweet with warm winter spices that's perfectly chewy and so simple to make. You only need some basic baking ingredients, one bowl, and a sharp knife to slice and bake.
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What makes these soft gluten free ginger cookies so special?
These soft gluten free ginger cookies just smell like the holiday season. With these on your cookie plate or gift box, no one will doubt what time of year it is!
Similar to our gluten free snickerdoodles in texture, these peppery ginger cookies are covered in crispy, sparkly coarse sugar for a really beautiful presentation. They never really lose their texture, since, well, they have such a mix of textures: super chewy inside, lightly crisp outside, with those beautiful sugar crystals all over!
They're also easy enough to make in one bowl that you won't hesitate to make just one more type of gf cookie for that holiday plate (or any time!). You can't beat a slice and bake cookie, since there's no rolling and cutting out shapes, but you still get beautiful rounds!
Tips for making the best soft gluten free ginger cookies every time
Make sure your butter is at room temperature
Unless you're baking pastry where you want your butter to be cold, baking ingredients like butter and eggs should typically be at room temperature (as directed in the recipe). For butter, that means that a finger pressed into the center of the butter will make a dent but not come away feeling greasy. If your butter is too warm, even melted, the dough won't hold its shape properly.
If your egg is cold, place it in a bowl of very warm water (not hot) and let it sit for about 15 minutes before breaking the shell.
Use a sharp knife to slice the chilled dough in a smooth motion
After chilling this raw cookie dough, the slice-and-bake log should be firm enough to slice cleanly as long as you use a sharp knife and slice in a single motion, without sawing back and forth. Using a sharp knife is more important than using a larger knife, so I would choose even a very sharp paring knife over a dull chef's knife.
Choose your gluten free flour blend carefully
I make this recipe with my favorite all purpose gluten free flour blend, Better Batter's classic blend. It has the right balance of finely ground ingredients to make cookie dough with the right consistency when raw, and cookies that are chewy and soft when baked.
Chill the raw cookie dough first
The raw cookie dough begins as quite a soft, smooth dough. Chilling it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes makes it easy to slice with a sharp knife, but the bottom of the cookies will still become compressed and flat. This shape doesn't affect the way the cookies bake or taste.
How to get perfectly round soft gf ginger cookies
If you want perfectly round cookies, just press the cookie slices a little here and there with your fingers to coax the raw dough into a more perfect round. Then, continue to shape the dough as you press it gently but firmly into the coarse sugar on all sides.
Substitution suggestions for gf ginger cookies ingredients
Gluten free dairy free soft ginger cookies
To make these soft lightly spiced cookies dairy free, you'll need to replace the butter. It should work fine if you use a coconut oil-based vegan butter like Melt or Miyoko's Kitchen brands. Avoid using Earth Balance buttery sticks, since they have a lot of moisture and your cookies will probably spread way too much.
Gluten free egg free soft ginger cookies
There's only one egg in this recipe, so you should be able to replace it successfully with my favorite egg-replacement, a “chia egg.” To make a chia egg, place 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds in a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mix and allow to sit until it gels.
How to make gf soft ginger cookies without ground cloves
If you were happy enough to make this recipe until you saw that it calls for ground cloves and you don't have those on hand, try replacing that ingredient with half freshly grated nutmeg, half ground cinnamon. You can also replace the cloves with an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice.
Can I make these soft gf ginger cookies without ginger?
You can make these cookies with whatever warm spices you like, but if you leave out the ginger, they're really much more like our gluten free molasses cookies. Maybe you'd prefer those! Those are softer, more pillowy drop cookies, though, more like our gluten free pumpkin cookies, though, in texture.
Can I make this recipe without molasses?
If you don't have unsulphured molasses, and you absolutely can't pop over to a shop to pick some up (it's so useful in holiday cookie baking!), you can replace the granulated sugar with dark brown sugar and replace the 2 tablespoons (42 grams) of molasses with 1 tablespoon extra brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of honey. The cookies won't have quite as much flavor, but the recipe should still work!
FAQs
Do you have to chill this soft ginger cookie dough?
Yes! When you first make the cookie dough, it's too soft to slice into disks with even the sharpest knife. Chilling it in the refrigerator while it's wrapped in parchment paper for between 30 minutes and one hour makes it possible to slice the dough properly.
Can you freeze these ginger cookies?
Yes! These chewy, fragrant cookies freeze really beautifully and rarely break as long as you let them cool completely before you try to move them. They don't even really freeze solid, so you can enjoy them right out of the freezer.
Are these gf cookies suitable for shipping?
Yes! These cookies are thin, but they're quite sturdy as long as you pack them closely together in the proper container. Please see our notes on how to ship gluten free cookies for full information!
What kind of coarse sugar is best for these gf ginger cookies?
You don't have to roll the cookie slices in coarse sugar before baking them, but it creates a beautiful crisp crust and adds some extra sweetness, too. Sometimes, I use Sugar In The Raw, which is a brand of turbinado sugar. Other times, I use a mixture of about half clear sugar crystals and regular granulated sugar.
How are these soft ginger cookies different from gingersnap cookies?
These cookies are thin and chewy, lightly-sweet, and packed with warm spices and an ever so slightly crisp edge. What they are not is crispy and crunchy. We'll leave that to our gluten free gingersnaps cookies, which actually snap when you break them open!
Can you make this recipe into gf gingerbread men?
No, these cookies are made to spread in the oven into lovely rounds. If you want to make gingery cookies in the shape of gingerbread men and women, you're in luck! Our wildly popular recipe for gluten free gingerbread men is waiting for you.
Why does this ginger cookie recipe call for black pepper?
The 1/8 teaspoon, or just a dash, of freshly ground black pepper gives these soft ginger cookies a tiny bit of a bite, to go along with the warmth of the ginger and cloves. It doesn't make them taste “peppery,” though. If you'd rather not have that flavor, or you can't have pepper, just leave it out.
Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (42 g) unsulphured molasses
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Coarse sugar for coating
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, salt, ginger, cloves, pepper, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, molasses, egg, and vanilla, and mix to combine. It can be helpful to press the wet ingredients into the dry using the back of the mixing spoon.
- The dough will be very soft but should hold together well and be smooth. Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper and shape into a cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Roll the cylinder tightly in the parchment, rocking it back and forth to create a proper cylinder shape, then twist the ends to seal.
- Place the shaped dough on a flat surface and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 45 minutes or until firm enough to slice.
- Once the dough is chilled, place it on a cutting surface, rock it back and forth to round the bottom edge again, and unwrap the dough.
- Using a sharp knife and a smooth motion, slice the dough by cross-section into 24 equal pieces, each about 1 cm wide.
- Place the coarse sugar in a small bowl, and, working with each slice of cookie dough at a time, press each into the coarse sugar firmly enough for the sugar to adhere to the cookie dough on all sides.
- Place about 2 1/2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until lightly golden brown all over and set in the center, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until firm.
Notes
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Cindy Knowles says
This recipe looks great. Is there any way to reduce and or substitute for some or all of the sugar with honey or applesauce or ???
Nicole Hunn says
No, Cindy, I know that people often say that they do things like that in recipes and that it works great. But that is a different recipe entirely with changes like that, and it won’t taste the same or have the same texture, and I don’t know if it would spread too little or too much. You can’t replace a granulated sugar with a liquid one, and applesauce is not a replacement for sugar. Sugar is also a tenderizer, not just a sweetener.
CJ says
Great flavor, but the cookies spread into one big mass. Disaster! I had to cut them out with cookie cutters while warm, just to make them (it) presentable. I followed the recipe exactly, the dough/batter cut nicely after about 50 minutes in the refrigerator. Everything seemed ok until . . . it wasn’t. Not sure what I did wrong, but I’d be willing to try again if I can figure it out.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid there’s no way for me to know where you deviated from the recipe as written. I’d always look first to ingredient substitutions, whether you used one of my recommended flour blends, and whether you measured by weight, not volume. Ingredient temperature is also very important, especially with respect to butter. If yours was too warm, or even melted, cookies will not hold a shape.
Sandra Farrell says
5 plus actually. I picked up your recipe last week ,saved it and realised I proceeded to make this one from a while back. I wanted something tasty to give to a friend who is GF. I always use cup4cup mixture which I have in pantry. Apart from a bit of practice to get them round, I’m very happy. I put finely chopped crystallised ginger and so pleased. They are truly a success . Only one downsize we are “testing” them, so how many go into a gift jar remains to be seen. Thank you Nicola from New Zealand
Nicole Hunn says
That’s so lovely of you to say, Sandra. You’re such a good friend to make something special for her. I remember when someone would go out of their way to have something for my son, it meant the world.
Ance says
Absolutely delicious, and after making this recipe I certainly would not forego the pepper. It provided a lovely spiciness without actually tasting ‘hot’ or like pepper. I couldn’t believe how much these spread and the different textures were so pleasant. Will be adding this to my favourites. Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad, Ance!
Talia Sampson says
Very yummy and everyone in my family loves it.
Nicole Hunn says
Excellent, Talia!
Dorie says
This is a great cookie recipe I used fresh ginger used 3 tbsp they were just delicious 😋
Sharol Cutrell says
These are wonderful cookies. Just the right amount of spice, and superior directions. I used the Miyoko’s Kitchen vegan butter (I’m not vegan, but dairy gives me hives). I baked them a little longer. I think the oven was a tiny bit low when the first batch went in because the second pan was better (crispy edges and a bit firmer) and they were cooked for the same time. Thanks for that suggestion, and I’ll do better next time.
Other than the butter, it is as originally written and has earned a slot in my keepers list.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Sharol, and thanks for sharing that Miyoko’s Kitchen vegan butter worked well for you. It’s such a good product!
Patricia says
Nicole, I love your recipes, and this one is OUTSTANDING! It took longer to “mash” the butter into the dough than I expected, but the dough came together, chilled beautifully and cutting was a breeze. The cookies are perfectly crisp, soft and spicy. Thank you for bringing delight to gluten-free baking!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad, Patricia! I really appreciate your sharing your experience, and the kind words.
Rebecca says
Excellent! This is such a quick and easy recipe and perfectly spiced. I make it using coconut oil since we are DF and GF. It works great. I do reduce the sugar by a couple tableapoons since coconut oil has a sweetness to it already.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Philip G says
I am experiencing baking after retirement. As an engineer It’s great fun. This recipe is terrific but for my taste I prefer a bit more spice, eg: pepper, ginger or cayenne. My observation is, a 1 1/2 inch log produces (2) 12 inch long rolls; approx. I cut them and get about 16 cookies per log. FYI, The video produces one log but is much larger in diameter.
The dough spreads nicely for these smaller cookies. They are great.
Kristi says
I made these over the weekend and they were so good! I have been asked for the recipe 3 times and my non-GF husband loved them. Thanks Nik!
Beth says
So I made these last night – super easy to make. But due to the late hour, I didn’t get to try them before wrapping them up in the gifts I was handing out today. I didn’t worry about it, as these are from Nicole – I knew they would be super. All morning, I have received rave reviews to the point where I’m going to have to go home and make more to make sure I have enough to give out to my family! And everyone (wheat eaters and GF’ers alike) have asked for the recipe. I just direct them to the website. Thank you so much, Nicole!!!!!!!
Ann C says
I made these tonight and can’t stop eating them! Thanks for another great recipe!!
Nicole Hunn says
That’s awesome, Ann! These really are some of my favorites. Something about a thin and chewy ginger cookie with that sugar crust. Mmmmm….
taita J says
hello all the way from australia :-) was wondering if these will easily work into gingerbread men? the last recipe i tried was a disaster, the dough kept getting soft and i just gave up by the end of it because i’m too old to be rolling out doughs that break, melt and stick :-/
Nicole Hunn says
Please use the search function on my blog for “gingerbread men” cookies taita. I have a recipe for crunchy gingerbread men cookies and one for “soft gingerbread men.”
Beth says
Hi Nicole,
Would you freeze the dough or the baked cookies? I tend to do my baking on the weekends and with Christmas on a Friday I need hints on how to keep the cookies fresh….. Thanks for all you do!
Nicole Hunn says
You could freeze either, actually, Beth. I’ve frozen the dough, and sliced and baked when it was still frozen (you might need to add a minute or two to the baking time), and frozen the cookies themselves. Both work beautifully!
Nima says
Hi Nicole! I’m going to be making these today. I’m behind on making MY Christmas cookies! I’m wondering, though, if it’s possible to remove the ad that’s right in the middle of the recipe? It prints with the recipe, causing huge space gaps on the page. I had to copy and paste into Word to get rid of the ad. It’d just be handy to print from your beautiful site! Which I LOVE by the way! (And of course, I have your cookbooks. Trying to convince my daughter gluten-free isn’t all that bad, haha.)
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Nima, when I click on the print icon at the top or bottom of every page, I get a page like this, which doesn’t have any ads. Are you clicking the print icon for the printer-friendly version? There aren’t even any photos on that printer-friendly page, unless you click “toggle photo,” and even then it’s just a recipe photo.
Nima says
Hi Nicole – Right now on this page, there is an ad between “Ingredients” and “Directions.” Yesterday, when I clicked on the print icon, that ad also carried over into the recipe print screen, taking up a lot of space. But today, the ad doesn’t show up on the print screen. Maybe it was just a temporary glitch! Seems to be okay now. Thanks for the reply! :)