Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookie Recipe
Our children have so much fun cutting out and decorating these lovely gluten-free Christmas cookies! Just look at these photos, what is not to love? This time of year takes me back to baking gingerbread and sugar cookies with my mother. My brothers and I would decorate dozens of cookies with beautiful colored sprinkles and bright white icing. I wanted to share that experience with my own children, only with a healthier, gluten-free version. Thus, this recipe was born! It uses coconut sugar as the main sweetener, along with a powdered coconut sugar icing. Although coconut sugar is definitely a low-glycemic sweetener, it is still sugar, and these cookies are to be considered a sweet treat.
My recipe below calls for sweet rice flour. This type of white rice flour is made from sticky rice, or glutinous rice. It helps hold the cookies together without the use of gluten flour or gluten-free binders. I prefer to use this superfine sweet rice flour. Superfine flours are ground so finely that they lack the grittiness typically found in other types of rice flours.
You can follow my blog post for How to Make Powdered Coconut Sugar if you would like to use a more nutritious sugar in the icing. We like to decorate these cookies with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. You can definitely get creative here with the toppings.
Gingerbread Hazelnut Cut-Out Cookies
These gluten-free cut-out cookies are fun to make with your children during the holidays! I use a powdered coconut sugar icing, which has a rich caramel flavor. You can refer to my blog post on How to Make Powdered Coconut Sugar in order to make this icing. Use currants, raisins, sliced almonds, natural sprinkles, or anything else you can imagine to decorate them. I find the dough is best if it is refrigerated overnight. You can make the dough after your children are in bed and then bake the cookies with them in the morning.
I use Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal Flour. It works beautifully in baking. You can check your local health food store for it or buy it on Amazon.com.
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Coconut Sugar Icing
cookies:
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate, smaller bowl beat with an electric mixer (or vigorously whisk) together the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and mix together.
- Form into a ball, cover, and place into the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.
- When the dough is firm and chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Place a large piece of parchment or waxed paper down onto a clean, flat work surface. Lightly flour the paper with sweet rice flour.
- Take part of the dough and roll it out to a little less than 1/4 inch of thickness. Put the remaining dough back in the fridge to keep it chilled.
- Cut the dough out using your favorite holiday cookie cutters. Carefully peel away the dough around the cut-outs.
- Then take a thin spatula and lift the cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet (or parchment-lined cookie sheet).
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on how crisp you like them. A few more minutes of baking makes them crispy. Just watch them so they don't overcook.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Then repeat with remaining dough.
- Let cook completely before frosting.
Coconut sugar icing:
- Place powdered coconut sugar in a small bowl, whisk in the milk and vanilla.
- Use to ice cooled cookies.
- You might need to make more depending on how much icing you like on your cookies.
Use this recipe in our Meal Planner
About the Author
Ali Segersten
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
Email updates.
Add Comment
Comments
Another great recipe & I love... love...love gingerbread! Can't wait to try it!
Thanks!
Last post was me: pilatesnan. nanci.patch@gmail.com. Off to share on both my Facebook pages. :)
I am always so excited to see what you will post next. I especially love your passion for eating healthy...it seems like a joy to you, not a restriction. This really inspires me. Thanks for sharing yourself with us.
I follow you on twitter @seasideliz
I follow you on Facebook @Liz Schnurr Martin
I can't wait to try the coconut sugar powdering icing recipe, this is always a hard one for me around birthdays!
Thank you for another delicious recipe. Your website has made such a huge difference in my life. I suffered from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia for a long time because I did not want to take a bunch of pills with adverse side effects that may or may not help. I went to a well know doctor who advised me that I could improve my health drastically if I simply stopped eating processed foods. I honestly thought he was a quack, but I had nothing left to lose. He gave me directions for a detox diet and I was disheartened thinking there was nothing I was going to be able to eat. I attempted this 6 week diet last January and after 2 weeks fell of the wagon so to speak. While I noticed I lost weight and was feeling somewhat better meal prep and ideas were too hard and/or boring. I wasn't able to complete the six week detox diet until I suffered a total mental and physical breakdown in June and found your site through Google. It was honestly like the clouds opening up and there was heaven. Here was all the foods prescribed in my diet, ways to prepare them, and looking so deliciously appetizing. Better yet, They tasted delicious! I no longer suffer from fibromyalgia, and do still have some fatigue, but that is due to the fact that I still eat processed food at times despite knowing that it is the worst thing for anyone to do. Thanks for sharing your passion, educatingpeople, and sharif valuable links to others who have the same knowledge. You've made such a difference in my life and no doubt of so many others! Leah Harwell @ harwell_leah@hotmail.com
I have been looking for a gluten-free christmas cookie option and this one looks wonderful. I love all your recipes!
Thanks for having such a great site!
Juniper
Awesome!
Can't wait to try this - thank you!
I can hardly wait to make these with my granddaughters! All I need to sub is vegan butter and Ener-G egg replacer for vegan, gluten free goodness. Thank you for the recipe!
I love your website and recipes and would love a chance to win! Happy Holidays!
Stephanie
steph.serafim@gmail.com
I retweeted this on twitter !
I shared this on Facebook !
Thanks for all the great data you give us. The glycemic index coconut sugar is a very useful.
Sunvegan@gmail.com
Hmmm...don't think my first comment worked but anyhow:) I am so excited to have some Gf gingerbread!
This is so exciting! I thought I would not have any gingerbread this year!
Looks like a crowd-pleaser, as always. Thanks for your beautiful book and website. Recommend it all the time!
I love all the smoothies you have written about but my old blender is starting to sag and spin its wheels! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone --
Shirley
sprenger.lange@gmail.com
My neighbor made these and shared them with me. So yummy!
alexialuvly@yahoo.com
Yum, thanks!
Oh and I forgot to say I shared your link on FB too!
Michelle: fungus20@hotmail.com
I love your website and recipes! You and others like you have helped make gluten free be a positive with great foods instead of feeling deprived. Signed up for blog and liked you on FB.
Michelle: fungus20@hotmail.com
Thanks for the holiday cookie recipe! The coconut powdered sugar is a great idea.
Love the blog - new recipe twists on old favorites is the best! Love the gingerbread with coconut powdered sugar icing .... can anyone smell Christmas?! :)
Thank you for your website and for sharing so many of your recipes. boswell5131@comcast.com I am not gluten sensitive but I love healthy foods and have tried many of your recipes. We have never been disappointed.
I can't wait to try this recipe, I have a gluten-free, dairy-free, healthy sugar cookie exchange coming up soon - I think this will be perfect! Thanks for making healthy baking yummy and do-able!
Monique
I just ordered hazelnut flour from Azure today, will be making these next Wednesday night!!
womderful recipes! thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you! I will have to give this a try,
--Amy
anngie_bouiver2@frontier.com
Hazlenut flour sounds so yummy - never heard of it before!
scout_31 @ hotmail (dot) com
Shared web site on Facebook.
JudyG
Judy.Grasso@ymail.com
Shared on FB
Love your recipes! Will have to try this one with my kids.
Your recipes have added so much JOY to my GF daughter's life! Thank you! She uses your cookbook all the time. We are going to bake the cookies and some of her favorite treats from a very worn, dogeared and splattered cookbook for Christmas :}
Shared this on facebook.
Nancy
neko191@msn.com
Love you guys!
Amy.m.york@gmail(dot)com
Oh, I'm excited to try this recipe!!! You've never disappointed =). I'm eager to try the hazelnut meal and appreciate the no x-gum. Thanks for all you do!! Truly appreciated!
Nicole27202 at Frontier dot com
Love the site and the cookbook is great. We actually bought 2 of the books (1 for home & 1 to drag around town). We came across your site through Whatcom Locavore.
Judy.Grasso@ymail.com
I'm excited to try this recipe out. I've never been disappointed by anything from you yet! :)
What a fantastic giveaway! I'll keep my fingers crossed!
These cookies are so cute! Can't wait to make them with my girls. Every recipe of yours is amazing. Thanks for another one!
morgzigg@yahoo(dot)com
Just shared the link on Facebook as well!
zanne10000@yahoo.com
Thank-you so much for sharing so many delicious gluten-free recipes on your blog and in your book. I feel so much better since eliminating gluten from my diet 3 years ago, and I know a lot of other people would (and do) benefit as well. You make it easier to enjoy good food!
Rebecca
rebecca@rebeccacates.com
Shared on facebook. Thanks for a great giveaway
I cant wait to try these! Your recipes never disappoint!
I LOVE gingerbread, thank you so much!
Can't wait to try these! hilaryanne @ sbcglobal(dot)net
How cute! I first discovered Nutella and hazelnuts when I was in Austria in college. What a great way to introduce my son to gingerbread cookies, which I promised him we'd make this year. Thanks for the recipe!
zanne10000@yahoo.com
Love this recipe, and all your gluten free recipes! Can't wait to make these cookies with my celiac daughter!