There's just nothing like a soft, spicy gingerbread cookie at Christmas time. Here at last is an easy recipe that's both gluten free and dairy free, while still holding onto the texture and flavor of the cookies we grew up with.
Last weekend as we geared up for our first big snowstorm of the winter, the kids and I were in full prep mode. Water. Batteries. Candles...COOKIES.
By the time the snow stopped falling the next day, we had no power and were roughing it. Our morning oatmeal was made on the wood stove, and water slowly heated for dish washing.
"Thank goodness, we have cookies!" was gleefully spoken more than once that morning, as the kids played outside, showing up at the door intermittently for dry mittens, snowman carrots, and cookies.
If you've only got one type of cookie while you're snowed in at Christmas time, what better cookie than a soft, squishy, perfectly-spicy gingerbread cookie?
I've been making variations of dairy-free and/or gluten free gingerbread cookies for several years now, but it took me a long time to hit on a recipe that maintained the soft crumb and mouth-feel of the classic gingerbread boys we all grew up with.
You can still find my original paleo gingerbread cookies recipe here. It's tasty, and if you're going strictly paleo, is a good option.
But in recent years I've been on a mission to create a dairy-free, gluten-free doppelgänger for the REAL THING. And in my opinion, this recipe is finally it.
The dough holds up wonderfully to being rolled out and cut with cookie cutters. The molasses flavor shines through just right. And they're soft, without being delicate.
For icing, I always come back to the "Decorator's Icing" in the old Betty Crocker cookbook, which is nothing more than confectioner's sugar, with just enough water to let it pipe nicely from a decorator's bag.
If you need to decorate your cookies in more than one sitting, no worries! Just make sure that your icing is stored air-tight, and it will be fine for several days.
You can put your decorator's bag right into a ziplock baggie, get out as much air as you can, and pop the whole thing in the fridge until you're ready to continue. Just let it come back to room temperature before you start, because the icing gets pretty solid in the fridge.
Another nice detail for decorating classic-looking gingerbread cookies, is to mix up a little cinnamon sugar. (1 teaspoon of cinnamon per ¼ cup of sugar is a good ratio.)
This makes a pleasant little dusting on the iced cookies, and is so much fun to sprinkle on!
I hope you enjoy these CLASSIC, soft cookies as much as we do! Merry Christmas!
📖 Recipe
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- ½ cup non-dairy shortening (I like spectrum palm shortening)
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup cassava flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup rice flour (white or brown)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- Whip together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Blend in molasses, water, flours, salt, soda, and spices. Stir until throughly mixed.
- Cover dough and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Heat oven to 375℉
- Roll dough ¼" thick on surface lightly strewn with rice flour. Cut with cookie cutters, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 1" apart.
- Bake 10-11 minutes, or just until edges are browning and centers barely set.
- Remove from baking sheet and cool. Decorate as desired.
Nutrition
Anna Chesley
Anna Chesley is a freelance writer living a homestead lifestyle, with a special love for family travel, old books, vintage skills, and seaside living. In addition to founding Salt In My Coffee, she runs the website, New England Family Life, as well as The 1800's Housewife, a website devoted to re-creating authentic 1800's recipes.
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