Gingerbread Cookies with Gluten-Free Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies with Gluten-Free Ingredients
Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies
These festive gingerbread cookies are delicious without all of the processed ingredients of a store-bought cookie. They are chewy versatile as a gluten-free cookie.
This recipe for gluten-free gingerbread cookies, isn’t technically gluten free as I have it spelled out in this recipe. The element that isn’t gluten free, is the rye starter. Some people have an easier time with rye, so I tried it in this recipe. Therefore, just have to say, the cookies are delicious. However, you can substitute the almond and quinoa flour for 3 cups of regular flour of your choice. My suggestions an substitutions are at the end of this blog.
About the Sourdough Starter
If you do not have one, and would like to make your own, I highly recommend the lazy sourdough guy, Ben Starr. I first developed a wheat sourdough with Farmhouse on Boone. She is great also, but, Ben touched on some details that really helped me. And I love his snarky voice. Seriously though, both are great resources on how to get started.
I have had my first starter about 4 years, and my rye starter about years. I did just start adding rye flour to my starter to make it a “rye starter” but I don’t recommend that. It was just easiest for me at the time. The process involves mixing flour with water and letting it sit. The next day, remove half and “feed” the starter another batch of flour and water. It can be tedious which is why I recommend going to these sources first. Then, with a good understanding, my recipe will make more sense to you. Maybe at some point, I’ll create a video on it. But then again, why? The chef does an excellent job. I also talk more about sourdough on my rye bread recipe.
Making Gingerbread Cookies
I like to make my cookies kind of rustic and simple, so pictures I have, are with circle cookie cutters. Feel free to be creative with using this recipe to make a gingerbread house or gingerbread man cookies! I also like pockets of little chunks of butter. That is what you might see in some of my photos.
- Cream sucanat (or sugar) and slightly softened butter together.
- Add dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together.
- Add egg, creamed sucanat & butter mixture, and sourdough starter together. You may substitute with a little more liquid and gluten-free flour to omit the sourdough.
- Mix just until your dough is smooth and pliable.
- Wrap in a beeswax wrap and place in fridge overnight. I would refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- After 6+ hours, preheat oven to 325*F.
- Let dough sit out for 15 ish minutes to soften. Then, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/4 in thick.
- Use cookie cutters or form into shapes.
- Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use the Pampered Chef Stoneware pan.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. Gingerbread cookies tend to look just barely done or you risk burning them.
- Transfer to a cooling rack then decorate and enjoy!
Shopping list of ingredients
- Molasses
- applesauce (optional, but helps make it more moist)
- Grass fed or organic butter, room temperature
- Ground Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Allspice (you can buy it, but this link helps you make your own-easy!)
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Salt – Celtic
- Sucanat or light brown sugar
- Brown rice flour
- Quinoa or almond flour
- Sourdough rye starter, that has been in fridge for a week (not gluten-free, but may work for some people)
- Beeswax wrap (optional)
- parchment paper (optional)
- Pampered Chef Stoneware
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These festive gingerbread cookies are delicious, without all of the processed ingredients of a store-bought cookie. They are chewy and versatile even though they have gluten-free ingredients. Note: I use a rye starter to give it a little more tang. It may not be suitable
Ingredients
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp all spice
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 cup sucanat or light brown sugar
1.5 cups of brown rice flour
1.5 cups of quinoa or almond flour
⅔ cup sourdough rye starter, active & bubbly OR discard (You may substitute with a little more liquid and gluten-free flour to omit. It may not turn out as chewy. Feel free to comment and let me know your experience.)
Instructions
Cream sucanat (or sugar) and butter together.
Add egg, creamed sucanat & butter mixture, and sourdough starter together.
Add dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together.
Mix just until your dough is smooth and pliable.
Wrap in a plastic wrap and place in fridge for 6 hours or overnight. If you have beeswax wrap, that's even better! Then the dough won't taste like plastic.
Allow to sit in refridgerator, at least 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 325*f.
Let dough sit out for 20 ish minutes to soften. Then, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/4in thick.
Use cookie cutters to form into shapes.
Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. Gingerbread cookies tend to look just barely done or you risk burning them.
Transfer to a cooling rack then decorate and enjoy!
Prep time: 20
Cook time: 15
Total time: 1
Servings: 16
Serving size: 1 Cookie
Meal type: Breakfast, Sidedish, Sourdough
Special Equipment needed: stoneware such as a pizza stone or baking pan, cookie cutter, rolling pin, parchment paper