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Gluten free gingersnaps are the ultimate crispy, spiced cookie. They make that snapping sound when you break them in half!
Why this recipe works
These gluten free gingersnaps are so-named because they’re super crisp and crunchy. So they make that “snap” when you break them.
Instead of using a spice blend like apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice, I really prefer a custom-made blend of plenty of ground cinnamon, a bit less ground ginger, and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. The cookies taste warm and comforting, with a little kick.
If you prefer more of a kick, you can add more black pepper. Up to double the amount of pepper would be great if you know your eaters would enjoy that.
Expert tips
There are plenty of ways to make cookies that are crispy—and maintain their crispness for days after baking. We’ll go over all of them, but of course it all begins with the right recipe (scroll all the way down if you want skip to that!).
Use the right gluten free ingredients
If you want your crispy cookies to have that snappy texture, you also need to use the ingredients called for in that recipe. The “ingredients and substitutions section” that I have above the recipe card in every post is a guide if you must.
Remember that each swap you make changes the recipe. The more ingredients you swap out, the further you get from the recipe as written. I provide the alternatives as a courtesy since it’s better to bake differently than not bake at all. But, differences make a difference.
Oh, and please measure by weight, not volume. Volume is entirely unreliable, for all of us. It’s not a matter of skill; it’s a matter of being human and prone to error.
Check your oven temperature
It’s very common to have an oven that runs hot. Mine does, and yours probably does. To ensure a consistent, low temperature of 300°F, you need a simple oven thermometer more than ever (they’re super cheap, and I ignore my oven’s dial in favor of checking the thermometer—and replace them regularly). If your oven is running hot, you will burn the outside of your cookies long before the inside is baked properly.
For the absolute crispiest, snappiest cookies, after you’ve baked them for 20 minutes at 300°F, lower the oven temperature to 250°F. Continue to bake for another 7 to 8 minutes but not longer so they don’t burn.
Keep them crispy
Once you’ve gone through all that trouble to make your gluten free gingersnaps, well, snappy, you want to keep them that way. If they absorb moisture from the air in their environment or from their container after they cool, they will lose their snap.
Homemade crispy cookies don’t have the preservatives of store-bought cookies. The best way to help them maintain their texture is to store them in a sealed glass container, at room temperature.
I have a penchant for mason jars, so I have many of them in my kitchen. They are perfect for cookie storage.
A plastic container like a Tupperware or a plastic bag (even a reusable one) will make your cookies chewy faster than you think. I do wonder if a classic ceramic cookie jar would keep them crispy, but I can’t spare the counter space to test the theory.
If you love gingerbread cookies but you’re interested in perfectly chewy ones, try our recipe for chewy gluten free gingerbread cookies. All the right spices, but with a soft and chewy bite like my gluten free ginger cookies.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
In place of the butter in this recipe, I recommend trying vegan butter. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko’s Kitchen.
I don’t recommend using all Earth Balance buttery sticks in place of butter, as Earth Balance has a lot of moisture and will cause the cookies to spread too much during baking. You could try using half (56 grams) Earth Balance buttery sticks and half (56 g) Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, since the shortening doesn’t have any moisture.
Egg free
There is only one egg in this recipe. You should be able to replace it with one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).
Cornstarch
If you can’t have corn, try replacing the cornstarch with arrowroot.
If you’re using a higher starch all purpose gluten free flour blend, like Cup4Cup (or my mock Cup4Cup blend), instead of 1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch, use an equal amount of your higher starch gluten free flour blend.
Crispy, Crunchy Gluten Free Gingersnaps Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ¼ cup (36 g) cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (73 g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (63 g) unsulphured molasses
- 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, pepper, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar, and mix to combine, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the molasses, honey, vanilla, butter, and egg, and mix until fully combined. The cookie dough will be smooth and soft, and not too sticky.
- Scoop the cookie dough into teaspoon-sized portions and place about 1 1/2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Roll each gently into a ball between clean palms, and replace on the baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until fully set and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
- For the crispiest, snappiest cookies, lower the temperature to about 250°F and bake for another 7 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. They will crisp as they cool.
- Once the cookies are completely cool, store them in a sealed glass container at room temperature to maintain crispness. If you leave them out, uncovered, for a long time, they’ll soften.
Video
Notes
For best results, use a high-quality all purpose gluten free flour blend with superfine rice flour. I recommend Better Batter original blend or Nicole’s Best with added xanthan gum. If using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, add at least an extra 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum and it should work. For DIY options and a full discussion of my favorite blends and the ones I recommend against, please see my all purpose gluten free flour blends guide.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I found the cookies too sweet for my taste. I also used a larger scoop (1.6T) and baked for 24 minutes at 300. I would bake these longer next time to crisp up more. The pepper was a nice addition. The flavour was nice overall.
I made these cookies per your recipe and my gluten free flour blend. They turned out perfectly and I love them. I will be making more in the future.
Hello Nicole, I posted this review a little over 3 weeks ago and I haven’t seen the update so sending (again?). First, my apologies for not first acknowledging you prior to asking my question. I was too focused on process! I ended up 2x the recipe and 117 cookies later, I appreciated your kind heads up on volume. I did freeze about 2/3 of volume. But as these are now my FAVE gingersnap cookies, baking a few at a time over the winter will be no hardship. I baked when first made, then the following day, then a few days later from frozen. The snappiness did not suffer in any iteration. I also baked for the addl 7-8 min at lower temp as well as only the initial bake time and found texture in both cases to satisfy. I did use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 with the xanthan as suggested and see where my slight confusion occurred in reading the recipe. Thanks much for your excellent recipe and apologies for lengthy (and late?) review. Sharmain
Hello Nicole, I’m reporting back on my experience! First my sincere apologies for not first acknowledging you when I sent my question about the xanthan gum amount. I was a little too focused on process! I ended up doubling the recipe and adding 1 1/2 tsp of the xanthan gum to the Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 flour. I used agave 1 for 1 as didn’t have honey but all other ingredients as listed. Chilled dough for 30~ minutes. I appreciated your guidance in not increasing recipe 3x as I made 117 cookies and chuckling to myself. Good thing I REALLY like these cookies. I baked the first batch ‘fresh’, for 19 minutes then 5 addl at 250 F. Excellent. Next day I baked the second batch from partially frozen, only for the 19 minutes, again Excellent, still very snappy! They really look great in a mason jar and debating on how much I really should give away vs save to enjoy myself! Thank you for your quick response and an EXCELLENT (said a few times!) recipe. Happy Holidays. Sharmain
If using BRM 1 to 1 and adding 1/2 tsp xanthan to batter, when making 3 x the recipe, is it still only 1/2 tsp xanthan to add or does that increase to, say 1/2 tsp per cup of BRM 1 to 1? or some other amount? Or still only 1/2 tsp? Thanks much, Sharmain
Hi, Sharmain, when you’re making a recipe in multiples, you’ll always need to multiply every ingredient by the same multiple. Here, since you’re tripling the recipe, you’ll need to triple the additional xanthan gum per cup if you’re using Bob’s Red Mill. I do want to caution you that tripling this recipe will make an enormous amount of cookies, and it’s very easy to make errors and/or not combine ingredients fully and properly. And also Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 should work here with additional xanthan gum, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t promise results.
Hello, I love your recipes but I always find my products on the dryer side even when to recipe. I use my own blend of White rice flour, buckwheat flour, potato starch (no xantham), and psyllium husk. What should I alter to ensure my cookies come out soft and not crumbly? more liquid, more butters, more starch? I am not sure, I am not experienced but Ive been sticking to your recipes anyways because I know its me, not your recipe!
I’m afraid I’m not able to troubleshoot your homemade blend, Kel, and can only provide my own resources on my all purpose gluten free flour blends page. Creating a blend is a very involved process.