Gluten free gingerbread men

  Over the years, I have made gingerbread cookies, doodling and dabbling with different recipes to come up with the best gluten-free gingerbread cookie.  This year I think I may have found it. I completed a recipe, adapted from the Joy of Baking and it came out beautifully. This cookie is actually more a bread than a cookie, a little less sweet but that works out nicely because once we begin to decorate them with royal icing and sprinkles, it would make them extremely sweet.  This is the perfect balance.  This year my husband and I made the dough together and our 12 year old daughter, Autumn rolled out the dough, cut out the gingerbread men, and decorated them.  Quite the talented little chef.

The gluten-free cookie flour recipe we use was given to us by our dear friend and gluten-free mentor, Amy Radbill. Amy teaches gluten- free cooking classes  at the Davis Food Co-op. The sorghum Featherlight flour mix is Amy's adaptation of Bette Hagman's Featherlight flour mix using sorghum flour instead of rice flour.  The sorghum flour has a nutty flavor, more protein and without the gritty texture of rice flour.  This gluten-free flour mix is so amazing because you can use it 1 for 1 with ANY wheat flour cookie recipes, with the addition of xanthan gum.  I mix up this flour mix and have it ready in the fresszer so that whenever my family has a hankering for cookies we can make them just as easily as we could with our former wheat cookies.

Gingerbread Cookies:


3 cups gluten-free cookie flour (recipe to follow)

1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup unsulphured molasses (We use Brer Rabbit)

*Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non-stick vegetable spray (like Pam).

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups confectioners
(powdered or icing) sugar, sifted


or

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup warm water

Food Coloring (I use Gel Pastes)

Amy’s Featherlight Sorghum flour Mix aka:  Gluten-free Cookie Flour Mix 


1 part sorghum flour

1 part tapioca flour

1 part cornstarch (arrowroot starch if allergic to corn)

1 tsp. potato flour (not starch) for each cup of flour not starch

Rule of thumb for gluten-free cookies is 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of cookie flour in ANY cookie recipe.

Gingerbread Cookies: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.


In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.