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Home » Recipes » Gluten Free Cookie Recipes

Gluten Free Skeleton Gingerbread Men

Published: Oct 26, 2021 · Modified: Oct 29, 2024 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

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How cute are these Gluten Free Skeleton Gingerbread Men? They’re just as tasty as any gingerbread cookie, but decorated for Halloween!

gf gingerbread skeleton men on parchment paper.

Gluten Free Skeleton Gingerbread Men were originally posted on October 26, 2021 and have been updated with new pictures, plenty of new tips and tricks, and a video.

Some of the items linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.

I'm not a huge Halloween fan. I guess since my kids grew up, it kind of became something just ho-hum for me. We live in a court kind of off the beaten path so the only trick-or-treaters we get are the kids that live in our court. Because of our dogs through the past several years, we've gone the lazy way and put a bowl of candy out at the curb, asking those kids to take just a few. It's just not the same when you don't have little kids.

But that doesn't mean we can't have fun with the treats, right? I saw these skeleton cookies years ago and just adored them. I decided to give the post a refresh and make a video to show you just how easy it is to make these little cuties. Based on my recipe for Perfect Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies, they're perfect for kids' parties at school OR just to munch on at home.

What You’ll Need to Make These Cookies

ingredients needed for gingerbread cookies measured out and labeled.
  • Kim’s Gluten Free Flour Blend - a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn’t been tested
  • Butter - dairy-free butter may be substituted.
  • Molasses - a normal staple in gingerbread cookies.
  • Baking soda - gives the cookies their puffy texture.
  • Spices - the usual suspects for perfect gingerbread cookies (ginger, cinnamon, and allspice). 
  • Orange zest - the orange zest really brightens up the cookies and gives them a fresh taste.

Making Gingerbread Skeletons

This dough is an absolute breeze to work with! There’s no need to chill it so you can roll it out right after you mix it up. It’s soft, not too sticky, and rolls out beautifully.

whisking dry ingredients in plastic pitcher.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

creaming butter and brown sugar together in stand mixer bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

adding the vanilla extract into the dough.

Add the eggs, orange zest, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

pouring molasses into cookie dough.

Slowly pour in the molasses until fully combined.

adding dry ingredients into cookie dough in glass bowl.

Add the dry ingredients in increments, pulsing so you don't end up with a cloud of flour and spices.

dividing the gingerbread dough in half.

Divide the dough in half. Wrap one in plastic wrap and let sit on the counter while rolling out the other half.

rolling out gingerbread dough.

Roll out the dough to about ⅜-inch thick. Keeping the cookies thick means when they bake, they'll stay soft. If you want a crisper cookie, roll the dough thinner.

cut out gingerbread men in dough on counter.

Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters (I made mine all gingerbread men using this cutter) and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes and remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack. 

Piping Skeletons

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the royal icing per recipe instructions. Then simply fit a pastry bag with a writing tip. You can use whatever size tip you want, but the tip number I used was a Wilton tip 2. I got the idea for doing these skeleton gingerbread men from Betty Crocker’s website here. I thought they were absolutely adorable and definitely wanted to try to make them. But my piping skills aren't what they used to be, so I found an easier version here that worked better for me. If you're a master piper, go for the more intricate ones. If you're like me and can't seem to pipe a straight line anymore (lol!), the simpler piping option might be your choice.

Rather Watch?

Gingerbread Skeleton FAQs

Can I use buttercream instead of royal icing?

Yes, you can use buttercream or a simple powdered sugar icing. However, neither of those will dry hard like royal icing does so don't stack them on top of each other or your designs will smudge.

Can these cookies be frozen?

Yes, they can frozen before decorating or after. Wrap and freeze in ziptop bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.

How can I make gingerbread cookies more crisp than soft?

Roll them out thinner when cutting, and bake them at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. If the recipe calls for them to be baked at 350 F, bake them at 325 for 5-10 minutes longer.

stack of undecorated and decorated gingerbread skeletons on orange cloth napkin

more gluten free cookies

  • Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe with Endless Variations
  • Gluten Free Butter Cookies Five Ways
  • Gluten Free Biscoff Style Cookies
  • Gluten Free Thin Mints
  • Gluten Free Stollen Bars
one gingerbread skeleton on parchment with bite taken out of it.

Who says gingerbread cookies are just for Christmas? We can make a Halloween version of the traditional cookies with these Gluten Free Gingerbread Skeleton Men, and everyone will love them just the same (maybe more).

gf gingerbread skeleton men on parchment paper.

Gluten Free Skeleton Gingerbread Men

Kim
How cute are these Gluten Free Skeleton Gingerbread Men? They’re just as tasty as any gingerbread cookie, but decorated for Halloween!
4.50 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine German
Servings 24 large thick cookies or 40 smaller thinner cookies

Equipment

  • Kitchenaid stand mixer
  • Rolling Pin
  • parchment paper
  • black edible marker
  • meringue powder
  • stainless steel half sheet pans

Ingredients
 

  • 1¼ cups (283g) butter, at cool room temperature (dairy-free butter may be substituted)
  • 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at cool room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup (210g) molasses
  • 5¾ cups (805g) Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend (a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1½ tablespoon ground ginger
  • 4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • zest of one orange

Royal Icing

  • 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoon meringue powder
  • 5-10 tbsp (75-150g) water, room temperature (amount varies depending on the consistency you desire)
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add orange zest, vanilla, and molasses and beat until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Turn mixer down to low and add flour mixture, a little at a time, pulsing to combine, until all the flour mixture is incorporated.
  • Divide mixture into two and place one half on plastic wrap. Wrap it tightly and let it sit on counter while you roll out the other one.
  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll out half of the dough on lightly floured surface to about ⅜ inch thick. Cut out cookies with cutters and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the other half of dough.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, until slightly puffed. Remove from the oven and leave on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring cookies to cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

  • Place all icing ingredients (beginning with 5 tablespoon water) in large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk on high for 2-3 minutes. Check consistency by lifting up head of mixer. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. For piping and writing, a thinner consistency is best.
  • For skeletons, pipe an oval head and then fill in with white royal icing. Add some arm bones, rib bones, and leg bones. Let dry completely before adding facial features with a black edible marker.

Notes

Cookies can be made ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or can be frozen, decorated or undecorated, for up to 3 months.  
Keyword Gluten Free, skeleton gingerbread men
Tried this recipe?Tag @letthemeatglutenfreecake on Instagram so we can see!

Inspired by Betty Crocker’s Gingerbread Skeletons recipe

More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes

  • heart shaped chocolate sugar cookies with pink hearts in the middle on wire rack.
    Gluten Free Chocolate Sugar Cookies
  • several french butter cookies on parchment paper.
    Gluten Free French Butter Cookies (with Chocolate)
  • stack of 4 cookies on brown parchment paper.
    Gluten Free M&M Cookies
  • star and square sugar cookies on wire rack with icing and sprinkles on half.
    Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Comments

  1. Kenny says

    November 06, 2024 at 9:39 pm

    These came out pretty good, but maybe the zest of one orange is too much. There was far more orange than gingerbread taste in my batch

    Reply
    • Kim says

      November 09, 2024 at 2:22 pm

      Maybe your orange is very large then because we've never had this problem.

      Reply
  2. Tina says

    December 17, 2021 at 10:19 am

    Do you fresh or ground ginger?

    Reply
    • Kim says

      December 17, 2021 at 3:15 pm

      Ground 🙂

      Reply

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Hey there, I'm Kim!

I won't let a celiac diagnosis stop me from enjoying my passion for baking and cooking, so stick with me and I'll show you how to make the BEST EVER gluten-free renditions of the food we used to know and love 🤗

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