Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies (Low Sugar)
I love gingerbread cookies because they smell so warm and cheerful as they bake in the oven, and then it’s so much fun decorating them with icing. However, most recipes include a ton of sugar! Needless to say, all that sugary sweetness is NOT suitable for anyone, especially if you want to prevent diabetes, stay fit, and keep your immunity strong.
And that’s why I’m soooo happy to share this recipe with you! It’s a gluten-free, very low sugar version of the traditional gingerbread.
Ingredients:
300 grams (2 cups) Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour,
OR similar product
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp stevia (green leaf powder, natural version)
Stevia is added because it naturally amplifies sweetness, enabling the reduction of processed sugar in this recipe.)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ ground cardamom
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
¾ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tablespoons firm butter, cut into pea-size cubes
4 Tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 whole egg (pasture-raised is best)
Small amounts of filtered water, as needed
Royal Icing for decoration, if desired.
(Please see my comment on Royal Icing below.)
Directions
In a food processor, combine flour, brown sugar, stevia, spices, baking soda, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix the ingredients.
2. Add in the cubed butter, and pulse a few times until the ingredients look crumbly.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and molasses together.
3. With the processor running, slowly add in the egg/molasses mixture. Then keep pulsing until a cohesive dough is formed. If the dough is not coming together because it looks dry, add in one Tablespoon of water and pulse a few more times until the dough comes together. DO NOT be tempted to add too much water.
If your dough is not quite coming together, turn it out into a non-plastic mixing bowl and gently knead by hand until it comes together.
4. Divide the dough into two even pieces and flatten each into a disc about one inch thick.
Wrap with parchment or waxed paper and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or so.
(Please do not use plastic wrap, unless you want microplastic particles on your cookies.)
5. After chilling, remove one dough from the refrigerator. Keep the other piece chilled. Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into desired shapes, but leave the cookies on the parchment paper. Return to the refrigerator to chill, and repeat with the remaining dough.
Preheat oven to350°FF.
4. After both pieces of dough have been rolled, cut, and chilled, carefully remove the cutout cookies from the parchment sheets using an offset spatula and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. The scraps of dough can be rerolled and chilled for more cookies.
5. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until the centers are firm, about 12 -15 minutes, rotating the sheets about halfway through the baking time. Let cool completely before decorating.
Note on Royal Icing:
Traditional Royal Icing uses a ton of powdered sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice.
For those concerned about the safety of using raw egg whites, you can substitute with meringue powder. Here is one resource I found, which is plant-based, non-GMO, and egg-free: Natural Holiday Icing Mix
Resouces:
Stevia Leaf Powder
I am not affiliated with any suggested products on this recipe.