These gluten free gingerbread men cookies are soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced for all your holiday cookie-baking needs—or any time of year. I love how easy they are to put together!
And who can resist the smell of warm cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar dancing around the kitchen? Oh, and as an added bonus, you can even prep this dough ahead of time and leave it in the fridge to work with later.
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Holiday baking with delicious gluten free gingerbread cookies
I have a cookie deadline coming up, and it’s no laughing matter I tell you. There are cookies to be made! Each year, I make a box of Christmas cookies for each of the people on my husband’s team at work.
This year, there are 17 cookie-eaters on the list (there were 18, but one person’s freelance contract was up last week and I’m a terrible person because my very first thought was that maybe I can make about 2 dozen fewer cookies and isn’t that a relief?!).
Since there are just.so.many.cookies.to.make, I scaled down the boxes this year to 4-inch squares. These soft and chewy gluten free gingerbread men cookies are the sort of cookies you put on the top of the cookie box. They’re anything but cheater cookies.
If you’re looking for more soft and chewy gluten free cookies, be sure to check out my recipe for thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies. They’re a true classic, perfect for any cookie plate!
Now these cookies, they’re gingery and cinnamony, and they don’t mind a bit if you bite their heads off. Especially if it’s in service of showing their soft insides.
Gluten free flour blends for the best gluten free gingerbread cookies
My go-to gluten free flour blend for these scrumptious gingerbread cookies (and lots of other recipes) is Better Batter. It's ready to go out of the bag, already containing xanthan gum, and always gives me the best little cookies.
If you don't have Better Batter's original flour blend available to you, you can use my “mock Better Batter” recipe to build your own. For all the information I have on the subject, check out my gluten free flour blends page.
Working with gluten free gingerbread cookie mix
Don’t get upset, but this dough is sticky. I know, I know: It’s not great fun to work with sticky cookie dough, but just follow my directions, and it’ll all be okay.
Simply roll out the dough between two sheets of unbleached parchment paper when it’s still soft (it will roll out nice and easy). Next, cut out shapes with a floured cookie cutter.
Finally, place the dough in the freezer to firm up. That will make the dough easy to roll, and the shapes easy to transfer to the baking sheet. Trust me!
Speaking of trust, I almost feel bad that these little gluten free gingerbread men are so peaceful and trusting. Right up until the moment when they get their heads bitten off.
Or perhaps you start with the arms and legs, before you go for the head. So twisted, yet so delicious. The holidays can be confusing!
Gluten free gingerbread men cookies and more
By the way, if you’re looking for cookie cutters, I seem to find the very best metal cookie cutters in (of all places) my local hardware store. I know! Crazy, right?
While this recipe was designed with cute little gingerbread men in mind, by no means does that mean you can't get a little creative.
Feel free to grab cookie cutters for trees, gifts, hearts, snowmen, stars, candy canes — whatever your heart desires! As long as you roll out the dough to the correct thickness, you can shape your gluten free gingerbread cookies any way you please.
I’m thinking about doing a post with all my favorite kitchen equipment, large and small, what brands I like best, and where I buy everything. Like the baking pantry post, but about equipment.
Decorating gluten free gingerbread cookies
Remember when I mentioned getting creative? There's no better time to flex those imaginative muscles than when it's time to decorate yummy gluten free gingerbread cookies.
If you're going for a basic, traditional look, you don't need anything more than royal icing. If you'd like a splash of color, set up a few icing bags or bottles, and then give your gluten free gingerbread cookies cute clothing, big grins, and tons of accessories.
To really wow the socks off guests, you can pull out all the decorating stops. I'm talking sprinkles, powdered sugar, candy bits — you name it! Just don't add too much, so you don't overpower the delicate and spicy taste of your gingerbread cookies.
Tips for making the best gluten free gingerbread cookies
- Measure out your gluten free flour blend by weight rather than volume to ensure you don't use too much
- If your gf gingerbread cookie dough is sticky and difficult to work with, don't hesitate to chill it as often as you need
- Roll out your gluten free gingerbread cookies dough to the right thickness; otherwise, your cookies may take longer to bake or come out overcooked
- Be sure to set a timer, so you don't overcook your soft, chewy gingerbread man cookies and end up with something crunchier
- Wait until your gluten free gingerbread men are completely cool before handling or icing to ensure they don't crumble
Making gf gingerbread cookies in advance
If you'll be baking your gingerbread men around the holiday season, it makes sense that you might be pressed for time. Well, you're in luck: You can totally put together this gluten free gingerbread cookie mix ahead of time.
Just prepare the gluten free dough as instructed, and then wrap it up tightly in a bowl with plastic wrap. It will stay fresh in the fridge for several days, and when you're ready to get baking, just remove the dough, roll it out, and go.
Storing gluten free soft gingerbread cookies
Assuming you have any gluten free gingerbread men left at the end of the night, I find that they store beautifully inside an air-tight container.
If you think they'll be around for longer than a couple of days, I suggest adding a slice of gluten free bread to help absorb moisture, so they maintain their chewy texture longer.
If you've made way too many gluten free gingerbread men and want to store them to enjoy later, you can also freeze them. Just place them on a lined baking sheet in a single layer, and freeze them.
Once they're frozen, put them inside a zip-top bag, remove as much air as possible, and pop into the freezer. They'll stay good for up to a couple of months, and when you're ready to bite their heads off, just remove them from the freezer and let them defrost on the counter.
Too much dough? You can freeze that too. After all the ingredients have been combined, wrap your gluten free gingerbread cookie mix in plastic wrap, transfer it to a zip-top bag, and freeze.
When you're ready to bake, let your dough defrost fully in the fridge and then pick up where you left off by rolling it out.
Gluten free gingerbread men ingredients and substitutions
It can be difficult to tweak cookie recipes because they tend to rely so much on each of their individual ingredients, but I do have some substitutions below for gluten free gingerbread men that are dairy free, egg free, and more that should work out just fine.
Gluten free dairy free gingerbread men
In place of the butter in this recipe, try using vegan butter. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen.
I don't recommend Earth's Balance buttery sticks vegan butter alternative, since it contains too much moisture. Your cookies won't hold their shape during baking.
Egg free gluten free gingerbread men
To cut out the egg from this gluten free gingerbread cookies recipe, try using a chia egg instead. It's made from chia seeds and water until the mixture takes on a goopy consistency like egg whites.
Vegan gluten free gingerbread cookies
To make these gluten free gingerbread men vegan, combine the above tips for dairy free and egg free, and then switch out the honey for Lyle's Golden Syrup or light corn syrup.
Nut free gf gingerbread cookies
No need to worry about nuts for this gingerbread cookie recipe as there are none. However, if you use a different gluten free flour blend than I suggest, just be sure it's nut free.
FAQs
The most common reason your gluten free gingerbread men dough might be too crumbly is that you've used too much flour. This often happens when you scoop the flour out of the bag and use volume measurements rather than weight (scooped flour can get compacted, giving you more than you actually need).
Don't worry, this is easy to fix: Just add a tablespoon of milk or your favorite dairy alternative and mix. Continue to add milk a tablespoon at a time until the dough is back to being pliable.
As gluten free flour lacks gluten binders, you must use xanthan gum in this recipe if you want to end up with gingerbread men rather than gingerbread blobs.
Remember: Some gluten free flour blend options (like Better Batter) already contain xanthan gum, so be sure to check product labels.
This is something that will require a bit of experimentation. These gingerbread guys rely on brown sugar and molasses to achieve the perfect consistency and shape.
While you might be able to use some granulated sugar alternatives, I would caution about using too many syrups — you might end up with a goopy mess.
Per my gluten free gingerbread men recipe, 8 minutes is right about all you need to bake up these delicious little guys.
However, if you're worried that your oven might be running hotter or cooler, I highly recommend using a simple, free-standing analog oven thermometer. Most ovens are off calibration, including mine, so I always go by the separate thermometer—and replace it often!
You can also try judging when gingerbread men are ready to come out when they're set in the center (not wet or glistening at all). Take them out at that point and give them plenty of time to cool so they retain their shape.
This gluten free gingerbread men recipe is definitely close to what you need to make gingerbread houses, but it's not quite right because the end result is too soft and chewy — houses need more structural integrity! Use my gluten free gingerbread house recipe instead for better results.
One of three things might have happened here: You left your cookies to bake too long, your oven is running hotter than it should and your cookies overbaked, or you rolled your dough too thin and your cookies baked faster than expected.
If your gingerbread men have spread too much while baking, it could be that your dough needs more time to chill before baking or your oven isn't hot enough so your cookies are “melting” before they have a chance to set and bake.
You might also face this problem if you add too much baking soda, so be sure to measure carefully.
Soft and Chewy Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Recipe
Gluten Free Gingerbread Men Cookies | Soft, Chewy, Perfectly-Spiced
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
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (84 g) unsulphured molasses
- 1 tablespoon (21 g) honey
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temperature, beaten
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Royal Icing for decorating (optional)
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, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and whisk again to combine, working out any lumps.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, molasses, honey, egg and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a large sheet of unbleached parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment and roll into a rectangle about 3/8-inch thick (more than 1/4-inch, less than 1/2-inch). If you are concerned that the dough will be difficult to handle, place it in the refrigerator or freezer after you roll it out to allow it to firm up.
- Pull back the top sheet of parchment paper, dip a gingerbread man cutter in all purpose gluten free flour or cornstarch, and use it to cut out shapes from the cookie dough. With each cut, jiggle the cutter back and forth to create a neat shape.
- Place the dough on a flat, portable surface like a cutting board and place in the freezer until firm (about 10 minutes).
- Once the dough has chilled, peel back the rest of the dough from around the cut-outs and gather the scraps. Then carefully peel off the cut-out shapes and place them, about 1 1/2-inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough until you have used it all.
- Place the cut-outs on the baking sheets in the refrigerator or freezer until firm (about 20 minutes in the refrigerator, or just 5 minutes in the freezer). This will help them keep their shape during baking.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until just set, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Decorate the completely cooled cookies with royal icing, if desired. Allow the icing to set for 24 hours before stacking the cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
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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!
Renee says
The best gingerbread cookies, make them every Christmas! Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
So glad you love them, Renee! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and I’m honored to be a small part of your holiday traditions!
Don Whittemore says
The flavor is outstanding! When I baked them, however, there was such spread that the shapes became unidentifiable (a Christmas tree became a triangular blob). I followed the recipe exactly (really appreciate the weight measurements). Any suggestions?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Don, that sounds like it’s most likely an issue with the flour blend you used and/or if you made any other ingredient substitutions. Measuring by weight is great, but if you’re not using one of my recommended blends, I’m afraid the recipe won’t perform as expected. I wish there weren’t such an issue with many of the most available blends!
Erin Lowery Baerwaldt says
These!!! These are SOOOOO good! Soft and melt in your mouth! Hard to not eat all of them. Awesome job, Nicole!
OurOwnFlavor says
Thank you! This saved Christmas. :) My old gluten ones were soft and chewy and I couldn’t find a soft and chewy gluten free recipe. So grateful that you provided one!
Brenda says
I would love to see a post about your favorite kitchen equipment!
Viv says
Can I leave the molasses out?
Carole says
My all time favorite cookie with a nice cup of hot tea. Thank You ever so much.
Alli says
We have egg allergies in our home… and normally just drool at the yummy pictures you take and dream over your recipes.
However, these cutie cookies are sooooo adorable, that I just had to write and ask if you think they will work just as well if we swap in the equivalent of 1 Energy Egg Replacer powder egg for the chicken egg? if yes, should we weight the liquid and powder together to get 60 grams, or just go with the instructions on the box for 1 egg substitute?
Or- should we use something else entirely as a chicken egg substitute here…?
And would agave work just as well for the honey? It’s all we have on hand…
It would be so super duper amazing if you could offer specifically tested egg replacer substitutes for each for each of your recipes.
As you are the absolute “Gluten Free on a Shoe-String” queen :D I’m sure you understand our family’s financial challenges while trying to experiment with which egg replacer idea would work for every recipe we want to try and eat.
It used to be a mind numbing game of make, bake and repeat, alternating with flax gel, or applesauce, or egg replacer powder or more baking powder, chia seeds, etc., etc. etc…..We also needed to tinker with the ratio of all the rest of the recipe ingredients with our chosen replacer in order to get the proper texture and flavor for the cake, cookie or dish we were trying to create…
Boy, was it exhausting. Financially and emotionally for my family…We were wasting so much money experimenting with egg replacing last year, that I eventually had to stop baking in order to keep within our food budget..
You are so super creative. We hope you have a space in your heart and your blog for recipe ingredient alternatives for your allergic to eggs readers. :)
Thx!!
Davonne Parks says
Alli, we have a lactose intolerant person in our home and I’ve found that using dairy-free substitutes for Nicole’s recipes works without any trouble at all if I weigh the ingredients! I bet that using an egg replacer would work just fine if you weigh it. There are some great tips for that in this vegan gingerbread cookie recipe: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food-52/vegan-gingerbread-cookies_b_2317363.html
Michelle says
I heart you Nicole! I have all of your books in kindle and hard copy! (and a pre-order for the next one) THANK YOU so much for sharing all these great recipes on your blog!!
Mare Masterson says
Love all your posts and look forward to the kitchen equipment one! I am not a Christmas cookie baker. If I do them, are they able to withstand being shipped to family across the country? Are there specific ones that can be shipped?
Donia Robinson says
Yes, would love a kitchen equipment post!
claire says
A tip that comes from years of creating with gingerbread. Turn your cookie sheet upside down and roll the dough out on that side. Yes, I mean the bottom of the cookie sheet. There are no sides to get in the way. Cut out the cookies and remove the unwanted dough. Bake in this position. Works every time. I have never found that gingerbread expands so much that it spreads into the neighbouring pieces.
Nicole Hunn says
Claire, that’s an interesting tip, thanks for that. But this recipe definitely does spread, as these are soft and chewy gingerbread men. If you don’t have any space between them, they will bake into a mass!
Jennifer S. says
Yes please – that would be an awesome post!
These are so cute. I may have to add them to the list! :) Thankfully now putting in the freezer means popping them out in the garage to me! :) lol!
Lucy says
Yes, I’m also making cookies for gifts this year!
I have made up a bunch of knitted mug cozy’s and filling each mug with GF Christmas cookies. The cookies have to be small round ones in order to fit in the mug!
I love the thought of your favorite baking equipment post. I have a huge Rubbermaid tote full of cookie cutters! We have fun deciding which ones to use :)
Carol Sampson says
I’m going to have to make these asap. BTW I’d love a post about your favorite kitchen equiptment!