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Decorating gluten free gingerbread cookies is one of my favourite Christmas pastimes.
Whether you’re young or old, there’s something super fun about getting out all the icing and sprinkles.
Most people stick to a classic gluten free gingerbread man but I love making these little gingerbread houses to sit on a mug of hot chocolate.
Whatever shapes you choose to make, my gluten free gingerbread cookies recipe is the perfect fit.
Table of Contents
- What do I need to make gluten free gingerbread?
- How to make mini gluten free gingerbread houses
- A step-by-step guide to making your gingerbread house
- Making gluten free gingerbread men
- How do you do flood icing?
- So how do I make gingerbread men as beautiful as yours!?
- My gluten free gingerbread cookies recipe
- Need some more gluten free Christmas inspiration?
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
What do I need to make gluten free gingerbread?
There’s a full printable recipe card with the method below, but for the shopping list you’ll need:
- 100g light brown sugar
- 75g butter
- 55g golden syrup
- 300g plain gluten free flour
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
I use light brown sugar because it adds a lovely caramel taste and colour to the gingerbread.
You could use caster sugar instead but the gingerbread won’t be so golden in colour.
In terms of spices, I like to use 3 teaspoons of ground ginger, which gives a lovely warm spice.
If you want it to be a little bit more fiery, you could add an extra teaspoon to suit your taste.
The recipe itself is very simple – all you need to do is melt the butter, sugar and syrups together, add to the dry ingredients with an egg and mix.
Once the dough is then chilled, you can roll and re-roll it to create all sorts of fun gluten free gingerbread shapes!
How to make mini gluten free gingerbread houses
Although I do love a gingerbread man, making these miniature gluten free gingerbread houses is a super fun activity!
To make them you will need a template for the shapes – I used these handy cutters from Amazon.
However, I’ve also created a PDF with the template on too so you can cut out your own shapes and then cut the dough around them.
Download your mini gluten free gingerbread house template right here!
Once you’ve cut out all of the shapes and baked them (you’ll need two of each shape per house) it’s a case of gluing them all together with royal.
To make it easy to explain this, here’s a little photo demonstration to show you how the pieces go together:
A step-by-step guide to making your gingerbread house
First you want to ice the edges of the house-shape pieces, to create the walls of the house.
Then place the small rectangles between them and gently push them into place – the icing should be fairly strong and hold it all together.
Once the walls are in place, ice the top triangle edges of the house-shaped pieces and gently place the two, larger rectangles on them so they meet at the top.
You can use the icing to then fill any gaps, and add your decorations to the roof.
Place these in the oven on the lowest heat (around 30-40’C) to dry for about 15 minutes before you add any decorations to the side of the house.
This should be enough for the roof decorations to set so they won’t smudge when you decorate the side.
Finally, ice on any decorations to the side of the houses and place back in the low-heated oven for around 20 minutes until the icing is completely set. Your houses are then done!
Making gluten free gingerbread men
Making gluten free gingerbread men is super fun, no matter how good your ability to ice them.
Full disclosure: I have zero icing skills so I am going to pretend from here on that these gluten free gingerbread men were iced by a small child.
You can create these gluten free gingerbread men in a variety of shapes and sizes – I used a larger cutter similar to the one in this pack.
You’ll need to adjust the cooking times depending how big or small the cookies are, but this is all detailed in the recipe card below.
To decorate them I – errr, I mean, a small child – has used royal icing but you can also use all sorts, including sprinkles for their jumpers or scarves or Jelly Tots as buttons.
You can use a flood icing technique as I have (attempted to) with the little dude pictured below, or you can draw on patterns and swirls instead – it’s completely up to you.
For something a bit different, if you turn the gingerbread men upside-down you can ice them as reindeer instead!
Just use the arms as ears and the legs as antlers and you’ll have your very own gingerbread Rudolph.
How do you do flood icing?
To decorate my gluten free gingerbread cookies, the best thing you can do is to make some royal icing.
To do this is really simple, all you’ll need is:
- 10g egg white powder
- 330g icing sugar
- 60ml cold water
To make the icing, add the water, egg white powder and icing sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for around 4-5 minutes until it is around the consistency of toothpaste.
If you want different colours, this is the point to then divide the icing into separate bowls and add your colours to each one – make sure you mix them in well.
This thick icing (the line icing) can be used to pipe the outlines or your decoration or to ‘glue’ your gingerbread houses together. You won’t need to worry about the ‘flood’ icing for the houses.
You can also use the line icing to pipe on patterns to your gingerbread shapes.
So how do I make gingerbread men as beautiful as yours!?
If using this line icing to outline a large area for filling with more icing, make sure there are no gaps in the line – otherwise the flood icing will just pour out.
Once you’ve drawn your outline, leave this to dry for around 5-10 minutes until it is slightly firm to the touch.
To fill the outlines, mix a tiny amount of water to the icing until it is a slightly runnier consistency (flood icing).
Pour this icing into a piping bag and then fill the outline, using a cocktail stick to make sure the flood icing goes all the way up to the edges.
Place the iced biscuits on a baking tray and pop in the oven at around 40’C (or the lowest possible setting) for around 30-40 minutes until the icing is glossy and set.
Your biscuits will then be ready to enjoy – the icing should be nice and hard and your gingerbread houses should be sturdy!
My gluten free gingerbread cookies recipe
So now you’ve got the basics in hand, it’s time to make my gluten free gingerbread recipe!
Don’t forget if you’re making a mini gingerbread house, you’ll either need a set of these cutters or you can download my rough-and-ready PDF to cut the shapes from here.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!
And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
Use my easy gluten free gingerbread recipe to make cute little gingerbread houses, gingerbread men or edible Christmas tree decorations. This recipe can be used to make gingerbread creations of all shapes and sizes! Download my handy templates for mini gingerbread houses here!
Ingredients
- 100g light brown sugar
- 75g butter
- 55g golden syrup
- 300g plain gluten free flour
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
For the icing:
- 10g egg white powder
- 330g icing sugar
- 60ml cold water
Instructions
- Add the light brown sugar, butter and golden syrup to a large saucepan and place on the lowest heat. Stir until melted and combined and then remove from the heat - don't let it boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the gluten free flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, xanthan gum and bicarbonate of soda and stir to mix together.
- Pour in the melted butter/sugar/syrup mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it starts to clump together. Add the egg and continue to mix until it forms a sticky dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least one hour.
- Once the dough is completely chilled, preheat the oven to 180'C / 160'C Fan / Gas Mark 4. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper and set to one side.
- Place a sheet of baking paper on the worktop and dust with flour. Pop the dough in the middle of the paper and then cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper. Roll the dough between the sheets to around 6mm thick.
- Peel back the top sheet of paper and using your cutter of choice, cut the shapes from the dough. Use a fish slice to transfer them carefully onto the lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between them.
- Re-roll the dough and continue to cut out shapes until all the dough is used up. Place the baking sheets in the oven for around 8 minutes (for small shapes around 2-3 inches or less) or 10-12 minutes for larger shapes (such as gingerbread men). You want them to be golden brown, so you can judge the correct cooking time by checking the colour of them as they near the end of the bake.
- Once baked and golden, remove the tray from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
For the flood icing:
- When you're ready to decorate, add the water, egg white powder and icing sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for around 4-5 minutes until it is around the consistency of toothpaste. Divide up and add food colouring if using.
- This thick icing (line icing) can be used to pipe the outlines or your decoration or to 'glue' your gingerbread houses together. You can also use the line icing to pipe on patterns to your gingerbread shapes. If using this line icing to outline a large area for filling, make sure there are no gaps in the line. Leave to dry for around 5-10 minutes.
- To fill the outlines, mix a tiny amount of water to the icing until it is a slightly runnier consistency (flood icing). Pour into a piping bag and then fill the outline - use a cocktail stick to make sure the flood icing goes all the way up to the edges.
- Place the iced biscuits on a baking tray and pop in the oven at around 40'C (or the lowest possible setting) for around 30-40 minutes until the icing is glossy and set. Cool completely before storing or eating.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 298Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 1gSugar: 37gProtein: 4g
Need some more gluten free Christmas inspiration?
If you’re after some more gluten free Christmas classics then make sure you check out my Gluten Free Christmas ebook
From sticky toffee pudding and mince pies to bread sticks and cheese crackers, there’s something for everyone.
You can have a look at my Gluten Free Christmas ebook and purchase it here.
Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free baking recipes on the blog? Give some of these other gluten free recipes a try!
There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple to get you going:
- My sparkly gluten free prosecco cupcakes
- Gluten free chocolate yule log recipe
- Easy gluten free Christmas shortbread recipe
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
Oh – and don’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletter where you’ll know about all my latest posts and competitions first!
Like this Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies recipe?
Make sure you pin the recipe cards below for later!
mill of medical equipment
is there a xanthan gum substitute for this recipe? thanks.
hi can these ve frozen before decorating please?