The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies


High Altitude Christmas | Published November 28, 2023 by Mimi Council

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These are absolutely the best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies you can make this holiday season! Soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced, these cookies will impress even your friends who eat gluten!

If you are looking for more naturally gluten free treats, check out some of my other favorites like The Best Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Honey Vanilla Marshmallows, or my Eggless Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies.

the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies
the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Soft & Chewy: These Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly soft and chewy without the wheat! Gluten plays a big role in chewy cookies, and removing gluten can make dough less springy, therefore harder or crumbly as opposed to soft and chewy. But, with the combination of molasses, pumpkin, and cashew butter combined with almond flour and coconut flour, these Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies are both soft and chewy!

Perfectly Spiced: These Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly spiced with my favorite combination of gingerbread spices: cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Naturally Gluten Free: Many of my recipes have a note to substitute gluten free flour. I do test those recipes using what I believe is the best all purpose gluten free flour for an easy substitute, the Organic Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. But there is something to be said for developing a recipe to be specifically gluten free because you can use different amounts of different gluten free flours to get the best absolute balance for a specific recipe, and that’s what I have done with these Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies.

the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

Ingredients

Organic Valley Salted Butter

Wholesome Organic Cane Sugar

Homemade Organic Dark Brown Sugar

Wholesome Organic Blackstrap Molasses

Simply Organic Vanilla Extract

Farmer's Market Organic Pumpkin Puree

Organic Cashew Butter

Food to Live Organic Almond Flour

Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon

Food to Live Organic Coconut Flour

Frontier Co-Op Organic Ginger

Baking Soda

Frontier Co-Op Organic Cloves

Frontier Co-Op Fine Sea Salt

Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar

Organic Valley Grassmilk

the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

Tools Needed

Digital Food Scale

Stand Mixer

Baking Sheet Half Sheet Pan (use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off my favorite stainless steel sustainable bakeware!)

Parchment Paper (get my favorite nontoxic parchment paper and get 10% off with MIMIBAKES)

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the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Step 2

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined.

Add the pumpkin puree, cashew butter, almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined into a smooth dough.

Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets at least 1-inch apart. Flatten them slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter.

Step 3

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are slightly cracked and dry around the edges. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).

Step 4

To make the icing: In a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar and milk and whisk to combine into a smooth glaze.

Using a butter knife, frost the cookies with the icing and place back on the baking sheets.

the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

Baker's Tips

  • Make sure your butter is soft. The best way to do this is to allow butter to soften on the counter at room temperature. If you must microwave it, only microwave for 10 seconds per ½ cup. If you have to do multiple intervals, that’s okay, but this will help prevent it from melting portions of the butter. But the best way is to plan ahead and soften naturally!
  • If you would like to make these cookies vegan, you can easily use vegan butter in place of butter and you can use coconut milk in the icing! My favorite options for this are Miyoko's Vegan Butter with Sea Salt and Real Coco Coconut Milk.
  • I use pumpkin in this recipe, which is completely necessary for a soft and pillowy texture! It’s also a great way to use up leftover pumpkin from Thanksgiving!
  • I use cashew butter in this recipe as it has the most neutral flavor. I believe coconut butter will also work, but I haven’t tested this.
  • Coconut flour is a must for this recipe to be successful! Don’t substitute it for anything else as coconut flour is very unique when used in baked goods.
  • The icing on the cookies needs to set, but the cookies need to stay covered to keep their soft and chewy texture. The best way to do this is to ice all the cookies, place them back on the baking sheet and then place the baking sheet in the freezer overnight. This is my top trick for setting cookies with icing! The following day, you can remove from the freezer and then the cookies may be stacked in an airtight container.
the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

FAQ's

Can I make these with regular flour?

If you are not gluten free, then check out my recipe for classic Frosted Gingerbread Cookies that is made with regular all purpose flour.

Can I make these vegan?

Yes, just replace the butte with your favorite vegan butter. My top recommendation is Miyoko's.

How should I store cookies with icing on top?

Cookies with icing on top are tricky because you have to allow the icing to set before storing them. And, these cookies are soft and chewy so you can't leave them out while the icing dries, or they can dry out! My trick for allowing the icing to set while preserving the quality of the cookies is to place all the cookies on a sheet pan after they've been iced and place the whole pan in the freezer overnight. This will set the icing and the cookies are fine if they are frozen and they will be protected from the dry air. You do have to remove them the following day and package them up, do not leave in the freezer like that, even if you plan to freeze them as leaving them uncovered can cause freezer burn. So remove cookies and place in a tupperware or cake dome out on the counter to enjoy for the week. You can store the tupperware in the fridge and they'll last longer and in the freezer even longer.

Craving More?

the best gluten free frosted gingerbread cookies

The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies

Mimi Council
Soft, chewy, and full of holiday spice! These naturally gluten free gingerbread cookies are covered in a sweet icing.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Makes 24 cookies
Calories 227 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Dough

Icing

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined.
  • Add the pumpkin puree, cashew butter, almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined into a smooth dough.
  • Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets at least 1-inch apart. Flatten them slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter.
  • Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are slightly cracked and dry around the edges. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
  • To make the icing: In a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar and milk and whisk to combine into a smooth glaze.
  • Using a butter knife, frost the cookies with the icing and place back on the baking sheets.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Notes

Vegan — Replace the butter with vegan butter and the milk in the icing with coconut milk.
High Altitude — Bake at 375°F for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and bottom.

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 111mgPotassium: 82mgFiber: 2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 492IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg
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2 responses to “The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies”

  1. Sean Black says:

    5 stars
    I’ve been looking for gingerbread recipe ever since I went gluten-free a few years ago and this one definitely scratched that itch! Really great flavor and texture. Make it, you won’t be disappointed!

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