The gluten free ginger cookies are soft and chewy. They have the perfect balance of flavor, spice and soft texture. These easy holiday cookies take 20 minutes to make and are a popular cookie option!
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These gluten free ginger cookies are made with molasses and a blend of baking spices for the perfectly flavored ginger cookie. I absolutely love these cookies because of their texture- they are soft, chewy and melt in your mouth. These cookies remain soft even a few days after baking them!
Ingredients Needed
- Sugar: white granulated sugar is recommended.
- Butter: Use salted butter. It should be softened, but not melted. This recipe works well with regular butter, and has not been tested with other butter substitutes.
- Molasses: Choose either light or dark molasses.
- Egg: helps to bind the ingredients together
- Flour: Select a gluten free flour that is a measure for measure baking blend. It must contain xanthan gum. This flour
is the exact brand that I used. Another alternative if you are not concerned about making these cookies gluten free is to use regular, all-purpose flour. The cookies will turn out just as well. - Baking Soda: helps the cookies rise.
- Salt & Spices: Ginger, cinnamon & cloves: These all provide a classic gingerbread flavor to the cookie.
is the exact brand that I used. Another alternative if you are not concerned about making these cookies gluten free is to use regular, all-purpose flour. The cookies will turn out just as well. 
How To Make Gluten Free Ginger Cookies
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add in the molasses, mix with mixer. Add in the egg, mix until combined.
Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, before adding to the wet ingredients.
Mix wet and dry ingredients until just combined.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar and then place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a cookie rack and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
How Do I Make These Cookies Soft and Chewy?
There a couple tips to making these cookies soft and chewy:
- Do not overcook the cookies! The cookies will look slightly doughy when they come out of the oven, and that is normal. I would set the timer for 8 minutes, check them, and then continue to bake in 1 minute intervals if they are not fully cooked.
- Roll the cookies into balls before cooking them. Do not flatten the cookie dough ball. Flattening them before cooking will create a more crispy cookie.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container, such as Tupperware or a large gallon sized zip lock bag. You can also add a piece of bread (gluten free of course) to the airtight container; the cookies will absorb moisture from the bread, which helps keep them soft.
What Type of Molasses Should be Used?
Light Molasses: Light molasses is a lighter and sweeter flavored molasses. It will create a lighter cookie. Use either light or dark molasses for these cookies.
Dark Molasses: This is thicker than light molasses and will provide a stronger flavor than light molasses. It will also create darker cookie. Either dark or light molasses will work best in ginger cookies.
Black Strap Molasses: This is the darkest type of molasses. It is often known for it's health benefits. This type of molasses is the most bitter version and works best in recipes that specifically call for black strap molasses, as it may affect the flavor.
Variations
Icing: Drizzle a colored frosting over the top of the cookies once they are cooked and cooled.
Colored Sugar: Roll the cookies in a red or green sugar prior to baking.
Sprinkles: Add some festive sprinkles immediately to the cookies right after baking!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do I Need To Refrigerate The Dough Before Cooking?
The dough does not need to be refrigerated before cooking. If you do find that the dough is very sticky and hard to work with when rolling it into balls, you can refrigerate it for about 10-15 minutes prior to rolling it into balls.
Can I Freeze The Cookies?
These cookies can be frozen for 2-3 months in the freezer. Store them in an airtight zip lock freezer bag for best results. You can also roll the dough into balls and freeze the raw cookie dough. When going to cook the dough, there is no need to defrost; just increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes.
Can I Adjust the Spices?
Yes! If you prefer a gingerbread cookie that has less spice, simply use less ginger and less cinnamon. Use caution when increasing the amount of spices (ginger and cinnamon)- a little goes a long ways!
Gluten Free Ginger Cookies (Soft & Chewy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter (1.5 sticks), softened
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour baking flour see note below
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cloves
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add molasses, mix until combined.
- Add in the egg, mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix together until evenly combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat with electric mixture until all ingredients are combined.
- Roll the cookie dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in granulated sugar.
- Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. (Check at 8 minutes; cookies should look slightly doughy. Do not overcook). Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and finish cooling on wire racks.
Notes
- King Arthur's Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour.
Recommended Products
Here's my favorite items used to make these gingerbread cookies!
Yay! A gluten free ginger cookie. A holiday favorite at my house! Thank you!