The chewiness and burst of ginger in these Ultimate Gluten Free Ginger Cookies make them the most irresistible cookies ever! And they're so easy to make!!
What are your favorite kind of cookies? Do you like them soft, crunchy, crispy, or chewy? Vanilla, chocolate, nuts, no nuts? Me, I like ALL kinds of cookies, but I do seem to gravity towards soft and chewy.
It would never dawn on me that a ginger cookie, though, could top my most favorite cookies list. I mean, when you have a really great chocolate chip AND sugar cookie recipe, how could ginger beat both of those?
Believe it or not, these cookies are insanely good! They have some of the same flavors of a gingerbread cookie (like my gf gingerbread cookies), but that's where the similarities end. If you were to put an entire batch of these cookies in front of me, I cannot say with certainty there would be any left within an hour!
I saw this recipe years ago when Ina Garten made them on Food Network. They looked so good and I told myself I would make them one day. What in the WORLD was I thinking waiting so long to finally do it?? These dangerous little cookies will always be on my Christmas cookie baking list. Always. In fact, I made one batch and Scott and I loved them so much, I had to make another double batch because we ate all of them before any landed on our cookie trays!
Gluten Free Ginger Cookies Ingredients
To make these cookies, you'll need the following ingredients:
- Kim's gluten free flour blend -- or any gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum. Cup4Cup is a great alternative.
- Baking soda -- helps keep the cookies soft and chewy.
- Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger -- the perfect spice blend for ginger cookies.
- Salt -- acts as a flavor enhancer.
- Brown sugar -- boosts the molasses flavor.
- Vegetable oil or canola oil -- makes for a soft and chewy cookie.
- Molasses -- you can't make a ginger cookie without it.
- Egg -- acts as a binder.
- Chopped crystallized ginger -- this is what makes these cookies so chewy and irresistible.
How to Make Ginger Cookies
These cookies are very easy to make, but follow the instructions when it comes to beating times.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the speed down to low, add egg and beat 2 minutes on medium.
- Turn the speed back down to low, slowly add the dry ingredients and increase speed to medium. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
- For larger cookies, scoop with a medium to large scoop. For smaller cookies (which is what I prefer), scoop with a small scoop.
- Roll into balls between both hands and roll each ball into a small bowl filled with granulated sugar.
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and using fingers, press cookies to flatten slightly.
- Bake larger cookies for 13 minutes exactly and smaller cookies for 10 minutes exactly.
- Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
I suggest you just go right ahead and make a double batch of these cookies because once you taste one, you'll want to eat the whole batch. And you'll have none left over to share with your family and friends. And you have to share them so everyone else can taste how wonderful they are, too!
Ultimate Gluten Free Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (or any other flour blend with xanthan gum)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) molasses
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups (6 ounces chopped crystallized ginger
- granulated sugar for rolling the cookies (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat brown sugar, oil, and molasses until smooth and lightened, 5 minutes on medium.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the egg, and then beat on medium for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture and then beat on medium for 2 more minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
- For smaller cookies (my preference), use a small spoon or scoop and scoop the dough. For larger cookies, use two spoons or a large scoop. Roll the dough into balls and then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart and flatten slightly with fingers.
- Bake smaller cookies for exactly 10 minutes and larger cookies for exactly 13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperate for about a week, or freeze well wrapped for three months.
Adapted from Ina Garten's Ultimate Ginger Cookie Recipe
allan besner
I made the ultimate Gluten free ginger cookie for my holiday rotation. These cookies are awesome! I won't have to make a regular version of these ginger cookies because no one will be able to tell these aren't GF! I used your GF flour mix and I love. It! I made 15 pounds for this seasons bakes and several of my cookies I made exclusively gluten free because they turn out so good! I increased the spices by 0.25 and added candied orange peel in addition to the candied ginger. These qer a treat and I recommend your blog to everyone I know who needs or wants to learn about gluten free baking. Thank you!
Cyndi in NC
I love Ginger cookies so I'll be making these as well as the Peanut butter Blooms and Snickerdoodles to take to VA Beach to my daughter for Christmas!! Yummy!
Kim
These cookies are so good, Cyndi! I hope you have a wonderful visit with your daughter. Merry Christmas 😍
Sarah
I made these tonight... The brown sugar, molasses and oil never lightened up. I beat for over 5 minutes and it just got sticky and stuck to the side of the bowl. I added the egg and it loosened up a little and then got really stiff. Added the flour and had to scrape the bowl several times to get it to incorporate. I mixed the ginger in by hand... It was nearly impossible to mix them in. The dough was really tight. I knew I would not be able to scoop it out so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and chilled it for a couple hours. The dough relaxed in the fridge and I cut it into chunks and rolled them in sugar. They came out good but I feel something went awry.
Kim
Hmmm. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe your measurements were off, especially with the molasses? This is originally Ina Garten's recipe and the only thing I changed is the flour to gluten free flour. You do have to scrape down the sides of the bowl because it is a thicker mixture at first, but it will loosen up as you add the egg. Watch Ina's video on foodnetwork.com and see how the texture is supposed to be. Maybe that will help you figure out where things went wrong.
Shari
Kim, thank you for this awesome recipe. Just like my Grandmas Gingersnqps made with wheat flour I use to make at Christmas always a family favourite. The only difference is the addition of crystallized ginger which I love. My kids will love them.
Kim
Thanks so much, Shari!! I'm now addicted to crystallized ginger in cookies. I love the chew it offers 🙂