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
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Comments
I am new to the gluten-free world and my life has changed for good, I am not feeling sick anymore!! Your recipes and books have helped me a lot! Now I got the cookie cutters to prepare this recipe with my son, Thank you! Merry Christmas
These look so good!
fufi_nini02@yahoo(dot)com
I shared on facebook!
I shared this giveaway on FB.
Arlee- fufi_nini02@yahoo(dot)com
I shared this on facebook.
I absolutely love your recipes! Thanks for sharing them with us ... can't wait for your new cookbook!!
Jenny
jennifer.gehman@me.com
Perfect timing! We are newly GF and my girls were just asking to make a gingerbread house like we did last year. So happy to have this recipe fall in my lap today. Thanks!
Great prizes today and a great recipe! I'd love to win these books, especially the Kosher cookbook
I shared on Facebook, too.
paulab at montrose dot net
Thanks for the great recipe! I am looking forward to making these with my family. We visit your blog and book almost daily for recipe ideas and inspiration. Thank you so much for all that you do!
dessertkatherine@gmail.com
Thanks for the great ideas! I also posted on FB. jtand4@juno.com
Teri M
I am looking for a gluten free gingerbread cookie recipe this year. Thanks so much!
Posted on facebook twice, via personal profile and business page. :)
(wishes_521 at yahoo.com)
These look like the perfect gluten free cookie to make with my grandkids!
paulab at montrose dot net
Thanks for the recipe, it sounds great.
OHHHH I WANNA WIN!
I LOVE your website and all your recipes. I share them all the time in my newsletters. If I had a vitamix, I could actually make all the flours you suggest in your recipes. :)
(wishes_521@yahoo.com)
Can't wait to try them and add them to Christmas gifts. Would love to win the book (s) kimcolwell@hotmail.com
Wow - all those books look great!
So excited to make these cookies with my nephews! My sister-in-law freaks out at the idea of how 'hard' gf baking is, so will be so pleased to show her how easy it is instead! Thanks, Ali!
Shared on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DucktorWho82/status/142296318210080768
Awesome! We LOVE gingerbread cookies and hadn't found a recipe yet that would make the cutouts. I'm so excited! Thanks...
I shared on FB. https://www.facebook.com/#!/uhdoy/posts/309859799032673
These look so yummy! Can't wait to try them! Thank you!
These cookies look delicious. I'm going to have to pick up some hazelnut flour.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Can't wait to try these! Thank you!
the recipe looks divine. love this site anyway - i am always here....nice to see you participating in the giveaway project... came off the 28 day elimination diet about a week ago and it was and is a pretty amazing experience. staying gluten free and very low dairy. i love it. thank you.
Shared this on Facebook and Twitter!
Thanks again, I love your recipes!
I can't wait to try these out!
I can't wait to make these! One more week of finals for school and my time is mine to make a million little gingerbread GF people!!
Shared the cookies on facebook!
These look yummy! Thanks for the giveaway!
"shared" your post on facebook.
My daughter is going to love making these! We were both diagnosed earlier this year with celiac disease and I've been overwhelmed with what to bake in the way of treats and cookies and this is a nice healthier alternative.
This recipe looks amazing! I was just talking with a friend about trying to find a good Gingerbread recipe to try for the holidays :) Just out of curiosity is it possible to bake these cookies into large flat squares and use them to make gingerbread houses?
Definitely going to share this! Thank you <3
These look so yummy! Can't wait to make them and more! Your cookbook and blog rocks, thanks for all your efforts and happy holidays to you and your family!
These look yummy!!! I am happy to have found your website! :) Hoping to win the giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity!
Thanks for posting this recipe, the recipe for making the powdered sugar and all the cooking/baking hints. Love your site!
I love gingerbread cookies and look forward to making them with my boys! Thanks for the chance to win!
I'm excited to make this and really excited to win a VITAMIX woo woo
Such a wonder ful website! My daughter is 4months old and I'm excited that there is another family I can learn from as we start to introduce foods to her.
I look forward to a time when I can use coconut sugar more often. I love gingerbread cookies.
Wow, I have never heard of Hazelnut meal. I'll have to try that one!
I love gingerbread cookies and these really fit the bill. Thanks for the recipe. Maggie
Already liked you on Facebook!
I've never tried hazelnut flour -- thanks for the yummy looking recipe and chance to win!
love the recipe - esp the frosting! Tweeted on Twitter
moriah cameron
I also shared this recipe on facebook.
Thanks. =)
Great recipe - esp the frosting. Tweeted on twitter.
Moriah Cameron
Ali, your blog has been SO MUCH help to me since we started our journey of trying to find out what foods my son is allergic to. We used many of your recipes in our elimination diet, and now that he eats GF and LF I find myself checking your blog often for inspiration when I'm making my menus. THANKS!