Gingerbread Cookies

Michael Eisenwasser

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A roll-and-cut gingerbread cookie made with a gluten-free flour blend and a measured amount of molasses. Deep warm-spice flavor, sharp edges, and clear serving sizes. Made without honey or wheat.

Prep 30 min

Cook 10 min

Serves 24

Gluten-free

Ingredients

Cookies

• 420 g (about 3 to 3 1/2 cups, depending on blend) gluten-free flour blend — no inulin or chicory root
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 120 g (about 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsulphured molasses — see Tips for the serving size
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (optional)

Royal Icing (Optional)

• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 large egg white, or 1 tablespoon meringue powder plus 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Sprinkles, for decorating (check the label, see Tips)

Makes about 24 cookies. One serving is 1 cookie, which holds the molasses to roughly 5 g per cookie. Having 2 or more cookies in one sitting may push the molasses into a moderate or high-FODMAP serving.

Instructions

Mix the Dough

1. Whisk the flour blend, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg, molasses, vanilla, and fresh ginger, scraping the bowl once. The mixture will look glossy and slightly loose. That's normal.
4. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in two additions. Stop as soon as the dough comes together into a stiff, uniform dough.
5. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a 1-inch-thick disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Chill the dough well. Molasses makes it softer than a plain sugar cookie.

Roll and Cut

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. Roll one disk between two sheets of parchment to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Work quickly so the dough stays cold.
3. Cut shapes with floured cutters and lift them to the sheets with a thin spatula, spacing them 1 inch apart. Gather scraps, re-chill for 15 minutes, and re-roll once.
4. Slide the cut sheet into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes before baking. Cold dough keeps the edges sharp and prevents spreading.

Bake

1. Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway. The edges should look set and slightly darker; the centers will still feel soft. They firm up as they cool.
2. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a rack to cool completely before icing.

Icing (Optional)

1. Whisk the powdered sugar with the egg white (or meringue powder and water) and vanilla in a medium bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, until glossy and smooth.
2. Thin with a few drops of water for flood consistency, or leave stiff for piping outlines and details. Decorate fully cooled cookies and finish with sprinkles.
3. Let iced cookies dry uncovered for at least 4 hours or overnight before stacking.

Tips & Substitutions

• Measure the molasses. Monash lists 1 teaspoon (about 5 g) of molasses as low per serving; larger amounts climb quickly because of excess fructose. The 120 g in this batch divides across 24 cookies to about 5 g each, so keep it to 1 cookie per sitting.
• Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap. Standard unsulphured (light or dark) gives a strong gingerbread flavor at the amounts used here. Blackstrap is more concentrated and bitter, and the tested low serving applies to regular molasses.
• Don't swap in honey or agave. Honey is high in excess fructose and isn't suitable in typical baking amounts during elimination; agave is similarly problematic. Use molasses instead — it's what this recipe is portioned around.
• Chill for at least 2 hours (overnight is fine). Molasses dough stays softer than plain sugar-cookie dough. If shapes soften while you work, slide the sheet back into the fridge for 10 minutes.
• Check your sprinkles. Most standard sprinkles, jimmies, and nonpareils are sugar-based and fine. Skip "sugar-free" or keto sprinkles, which often use mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol, or maltitol.
• If you're avoiding raw egg white, use meringue powder or pasteurized egg white for the royal icing. Meringue powder also dries harder and ships better.
• Dairy-free version. A 1:1 vegan butter stick (Miyoko's, Earth Balance soy-free) works here. Avoid soft tub spreads — too much water for rolled dough.
• Thickness matters. Roll to a scant 1/4 inch. Thinner cookies burn around the molasses sugars before the centers set, and thicker ones stay doughy.

Why This Works

Butter, brown sugar, and egg are low at typical serving sizes. Monash lists butter, brown sugar, and eggs as low at normal cooking amounts. Brown sugar is sucrose plus a thin film of molasses, which the small intestine absorbs fully at these portions; eggs have no FODMAPs at all.

Molasses is the one ingredient to measure. Monash tests molasses as low at 1 teaspoon (about 5 g) per serving, with moderate and high serving sizes above that because of excess fructose (and potentially other FODMAPs depending on the product). Dividing 120 g across 24 cookies keeps each cookie at the low serving size while still delivering the dark, warm flavor that defines gingerbread. That's why this recipe uses molasses instead of honey. Honey is high in excess fructose and isn't suitable in typical baking amounts during elimination.

Warm spices are low at culinary amounts. Ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and fresh ginger are all tested low in the amounts used here, so you can use the usual gingerbread spice mix.

Gluten-free flour does the structural work. The gluten-free flour blend already contains xanthan gum, so the dough rolls and holds shapes without wheat's fructans. Baking soda reacts with the molasses's mild acidity to give just enough lift to keep the cookies tender rather than hard.

Powdered sugar icing stays safe. Powdered sugar is sucrose plus a small amount of cornstarch, both low. Skip honey-based or agave-based glazes, which are high in fructose, and skip "sugar-free" icings sweetened with polyols.

Storage

Store cooled, un-iced cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, with parchment between layers. Iced cookies keep 3 to 4 days once the icing has fully dried. Freeze un-iced cookies in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature before decorating. The wrapped dough disks also freeze well for up to 2 months; thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.