These vegan gluten free gingerbread men are the perfect fun and festive cookie to make this holiday season. Sweet, spicy, and tender, these cookies are sure to be a favorite!
Are you in a festive mood? Have you baked any holiday cookies yet?
We start our holiday baking pretty early over here. Since my boys aren’t crazy about Thanksgiving desserts, I like to make these gluten free gingerbread men for them the morning after Thanksgiving as a special treat.
Gingerbread cookies are fairly easy to make gluten free, vegan, and allergen free. Vegan buttery spread, a good gluten free flour blend, molasses, sugar, and spices are really all you need.
Of course, you can customize these gingerbread men if you like – you can frost them, you can add chocolate chips for eyes, you can give them a dusting of powdered sugar if you wish.
They are just delicious plain, and so fun when pressed with these funny cookie cutters from Tovolo. My boys thought these were extra fun and silly. No matter what cookie cutters you use, these will be absolutely delicious!
If you love this type of festive baking, be sure to check out my homemade gluten free gingerbread house recipe.
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Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – My go-to gluten free flour blend is Namaste Perfect Flour Blend. It’s easy to get at most grocery and health food stores, and it works very well for baking cookies.
- Molasses – Molasses is a key ingredient for rich tasting gingerbread cookies. Molasses is gluten free and vegan. It’s made from refining sugar cane or sugar beets until they become a dark, sticky syrup.
- Spices – Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg give these cookies their classic spicy flavor.
- Applesauce – Applesauce works as an egg replacer in this recipe. If you can’t have apples, try pumpkin puree or pear puree instead.
Working with Gluten Free Dough
This cookie dough is easy to work with, so don’t be afraid. Sometimes gluten free dough can be difficult – it might be very delicate or rip. That’s not the case here.
It might seem a little wet after you mix it, but once it’s chilled, the texture is just perfect for rolling. You’ll need to dust your rolling pin with some gluten free flour, but this dough is very forgiving. Don’t roll it too thin – about a quarter-inch thickness will be about right.
Step by Step Instructions
- Mix the wet ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients, and mix on medium low speed until combined.
- Pat the dough into two discs, and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for two hours. Roll the dough out to a thickness of ¼ inch.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, then place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 11 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving them.
Storage
I recommend storing gluten free cookies in an airtight container. You can put a piece of gluten free bread inside to help the cookies stay fresh. They should stay fresh for up to a week if stored properly.
Learn how to make the best, most delicious holiday cookies with these easy recipes. This is a great way to simplify your holiday baking! LEARN MORE…
Freezing
You can freeze this cookie dough if you like. Just wrap the discs of dough in waxed paper and then store in a freezer bag. The dough should stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Holiday Desserts
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Recipe
Vegan Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies.
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan buttery spread I used Earth Balance Soy Free
- ½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 5 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- â…› teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Place the vegan buttery spread and the brown sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth and combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the molasses and unsweetened applesauce and continue to mix. Reduce the speed to low and add half the gluten free flour blend. Mix until combined.
- Add the other half of the gluten free flour blend, baking soda, salt, and the spices. Mix on low speed until smooth and combined.
- Divide the dough into two portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Pat into discs, and chill in the freezer for one hour, or the refrigerator for two hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper.Â
- Line a surface with waxed paper, and dust lightly with gluten free flour. Place a chilled disc of dough on the waxed paper. Dust a rolling pin with gluten free flour and roll the dough out until it reaches a thickness of about a quarter-inch (¼″).
- Cut out the cookies using a gingerbread man cookie cutter. (Or if you prefer, a gingerbread girl cutter).
- Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet before removing.Â
- Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 20 gingerbread men cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December 2017. It has been updated.
Heather Thongvong
Thank you for this amazing recipe!! My little guy has food allergies and LOVES these cookies! – and so does everyone else! Perfect gingerbread :)
Kristen
Can I use coconut flour?
Kelly Roenicke
I have not tried that. The texture would probably not be great – coconut flour works best in recipes that contain egg.
Tim
Is this sturdy enough to try and make ginger bread houses with?
Kelly Roenicke
I have a gingerbread house recipe right here: https://theprettybee.com/vegan-gingerbread-house/
Joy Van Boening
Is it OK if the gingerbread dough feels pretty wet still?
Kelly Roenicke
Add a bit more gluten free flour – this dough should be thick and not too wet.
Poornima
I made these last evening for my 6 year old who has a gluten allergy and egg sensitivity. He is devouring them! I used butter and substituted half of the molasses with maple syrup (to adapt to his still developing palate). Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it’s a keeper! You just about saved Christmas for us!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for letting me know! :) Happy New Year!
Kathy
Do these freeze well if I made ahead and cut out, baked and then freeze them? I will
Probably bake about a week and half before everyone comes for Christmas.
Maureen
Wow, my daughter and I made these gingerbread cookies today and they turned out fantastic! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have been on an elimination diet (dairy, gluten and egg) for the past two months so scouring the internet for good recipes and this one is at the top of my list! Delicious!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them! Thank you for letting me know!
Caitlin
Hi, I couldn’t find any unsweetened apple sauce in my local shops. Was wondering if it will be too sweet and whether I could put less Brown sugar, or will that affect the texture? Otherwise is there a substitute for the apple sauce?
Nicole
Can this dough be made into a gingerbread house instead?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes! I actually just published a gingerbread house recipe and it uses the exact same dough.
Jonathan
I made this recipe last year for a Christmas party. My girlfriend is gluten and dairy free and figured I’d give this a shot. Turned out to be not only the best thing I’ve ever baked, but the best gingerbread cookie I’ve ever had. Amazing recipe! Making a batch this weekend!
Melissa
Can this same dough be pressed into a ginger bread house silicone template? To make an allergen free gingerbread house?
Thanks!
Kelly Roenicke
I have not tried that yet. I am going to try to do a gingerbread house this year – I don’t know if the recipe will need to be modified or not. Stay tuned!
Emily
We have used this recipe to make gingerbread houses twice with no issues!! And it I actually tastes delicious, unlike the store bought ones! We are not gluten free so we do use all purpose flour. I have found it is better to bake them the day before we assemble the houses. Thank you for such an amazing recipe!! We bake these all year round.
Jane Metcalfe
Can i substitute coconut oil for the vegan butter spread?
Maureen Albee
Can’t wait to try this
Anne
I am on my fourth batch since Xmas 2018
Easy ..foolproof..delicious.
violingirl
Hi–my GF flour blend contains no xantham gum as yours do. Suggestions as to how much xantham to add please?
violingirl
I added 1/2 tsp xantham gum, and used butter–cookies were fabulous and easily worked with the right sparkling of flour!
Thank you for the great recipe!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
Susan Karr
I want the same cookie cutters you have! Where did you get them?
Kelly Roenicke
They are made by Tovolo. I have seen them on ebay recently!
Gerry Gee
Lovely recipe! I substituted apple sauce for flax egg and molasses for a good maple syrup. Are these biscuits good for freezing?
Melissa
Do these cookies turn out crunchy or soft?
Kelly Roenicke
They are not crunchy, but not super soft…somewhere in between. If you want to keep them softer, shorten the baking time by a minute.
Kortney
Your cookie cutters are so cute!!! Good tip about chilling the dough – I find it helps with most doughs that will be cut out.
Kay
Can you use regular molasses?
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your site! I have enjoyed making many of your recipes for my 4 year old grandson who has many food allergies. You are a true blessing to our family!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m not sure what the difference is…this is the brand I use: http://www.grandmasmolasses.com/ (of course you should use the brand that works for your allergies and dietary needs). Thank you so much for reading, I am so happy that I can help! :)
Tracy
Do you mind sharing what brand of spices you use? I have a hard time finding some that seem to be safe from cross contamination. Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
I use McCormick with the red lids (not the organic). But you should contact them to find out about your specific allergies: https://www.mccormick.com/contact