Gingerbread is a tasty holiday tradition
This recipe has no gluten, no dairy, and tastes great
Baking and decorating gingerbread cookies with my kids has become one of my favourite holiday traditions. I love it just as much as the kids do. They love making this recipe with me. It makes for a messy kitchen, but good memories.
We usually decorate our gingerbread cookies with chocolate chips, sprinkles and some easy icing (not very healthy, but really yummy).
You and your holiday guests will never know that these gluten-free and dairy-free gingerbread cookies are free of anything.
They’re delicious and even Santa will love them – he could use a few healthier cookies on his travels around the globe. Don’t you think?
Teff flour is one of my favourite gluten-free flours. I don’t use it very often, but it is so flavorful and very nutritious. It pairs really well with gingerbread spices (and chocolate, in case you’re wondering). I buy my Teff Flour at The Main Ingredient.
You can actually get everything you need for this recipe at The Main Ingredient – hooray for one-stop shopping this time of year.
I’ve also used this recipe to make a gingerbread house with the kids. Now that was messy!
Gingerbread Men
(Gluten-free and dairy-free)
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 ½ tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp warm water
• 1 ¼ cup teff flour
• 1 ¼ cup quinoa flour (plus more for dusting)
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼- ½ cup unsweetened nut milk
1. Combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, and molasses in a large bowl.
2. Add egg and flax-water mixture.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine flours, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum, and spices.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir.
5. Add 1/4 cup of milk and stir in remaining flour. Add more milk only if necessary. Your dough should be a little bit sticky at this point so use floured hands to roll into a ball and wrap in plastic, alternatively you could scrape down the sides of the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator in the bowl. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment.
7. Remove dough from fridge and divide in half. Roll each half on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes.
9. Place shapes at least 1 inch apart and bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on your oven) at 350 degrees.
Ten minutes will give you a slightly chewy gingerbread cookie, 12 minutes will give you a crispier cookie.
Yield: 3 dozen cookies (depending on size).
I usually freeze half of the batch once baked and save them till closer to Christmas.