Soft Gingerbread Cookies
2½ cups flour or 2½ cups Trader Joe’s All Purpose GF flour or 2½ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour or 2½ cups of your favorite GF flour blend + ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour already contains) (See Notes)
2 tsp baking soda
½ tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, at room temperature
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
1 tsp GF vanilla
¼ cup coarse or white sugar (See Notes)
Coarse sugar on left & regular sugar on right
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, & salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, cream together butter & sugars on medium high until light & fluffy – about 2 minutes.
Add egg & beat until incorporated.
On low speed, add molasses & vanilla until well combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients & beat on medium speed until just combined.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap. (I put in a smaller bowl, but you can use the mixing bowl if you prefer)
Chill for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight. (See notes)
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread coarse or white sugar in flat bowl.
Using 1-2 tbsp of dough, shape into ball (about 1 inch), roll in sugar, then place on baking sheet. (The cookies spread a little, so make sure they are at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet) (See Notes)
Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set.
Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Then remove to wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes:
This recipe is based on one from www.aheadofthyme.com/soft-and-chewy-ginger-cookies. Thanks Sam & Dan!
I tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill & Trader Joe’s flours – both had a good flavor. The Trader Joe’s were a little lighter & spread out more while baking, so were just a little thinner, but still soft in the middle. The Trader Joe’s batch was a little stickier when rolling into balls, but still very manageable. Both flours worked well, it’s more about your preference for how thick (or thin) you like your gingerbread cookies!
Trader Joe’s flour on left & Bob’s Red Mill Flour on right
Trader Joe’s flour & coarse sugar on left & Bob’s Red Mill Flour & regular sugar on right
Dough with GF flour can get VERY stiff when it is chilled. Once you take it out of the refrigerator, if you find it difficult to work with, just let it warm up a little bit by leaving it out on the counter until it is soft enough to handle.
Both regular & coarse sugar works to roll the cookies in. I think the coarse sugar looks a little nicer, but there really is not a difference in the taste. If you can’t find coarse sugar in your local grocery store, you can order it on amazon. It is a little more expensive than regular sugar. It all depends on your budget & how particular you are about how the cookies look.
Coarse sugar
Regular Sugar
Cookies made with some GF flours don’t spread as much as those made with regular flour. Sometimes, they don’t flatten enough to have a crinkly top. You can gently flatten with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon as soon as you take them out of the oven for the crinkle top look. But if that doesn’t matter to you, just leave them as they are!
These cookies freeze well in an airtight container or ziplock bag.