GLUTEN FREE GINGERBREAD DOUGH FOR HOUSES & COOKIES

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I decided to make a GF Gingerbread House this year.  I had never made one before from scratch.   I used to buy the ready made kits (before I learned that I could not eat wheat), but I have not seen any gluten free ones yet.  I never made any gingerbread before.  I found a recipe on food.com that had great reviews so I converted it to a gluten free recipe. 

     I love this recipe for several reasons.  It tastes and smells great.  The dough is super easy to work with.  It does not stick to you or anything else.  You do not have to chill or allow the dough to rest, just make it and it is ready to use.  The baked cookies and house parts were very sturdy and easy to form into a house.

     I think I made my dough a bit thicker than the ¼-inch.  The cookies were sturdy with a soft not crispy bite.  If you like crunchy cookies make sure you roll the dough thin enough and or bake them a bit longer until they are to your liking (but be careful not to burn them).

     I suggest that you watch a video on Youtube on how to construct a gingerbread house before you start to put the house together.  This was my first try and I was so happy that I watched the video first or my house would have been very lopsided.  As it was I waited to watch the video until after I baked the cookies and cut outs.  I had already put windows on the roof (hidden by icing) and roof tiles on the sides of the house (that look like stonework of sorts) and then had to made icing windows. I had no idea how fancy some of those houses could be.  I got some ideas from the videos and made icing icicles along the roof.  The possibilities are endless.  Just have fun.

GLUTEN FREE GINGERBREAD DOUGH FOR HOUSES & COOKIES

Makes one house (6”x5”x6”) and about 12  2-inch men

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups	Sorghum Flour
1 cup	Tapioca Flour
½ cup	Chickpea Flour
½ cup	Coconut Flour
¾ tsp	Xanthan Gum
2 tsp	Baking Soda
1 ½ tsp	Ground Ginger
1 tsp	Allspice
1 tsp	Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp	Ground Cloves
1/2 cup	Butter or Margarine If using unsalted butter add ¼ tsp sea salt
1 large	Egg
1/2 cup	Sugar
1/2 cup	Unsulphured Molasses

DIRECTIONS

1)     In a medium bowl add the flours & xanthan gum and mix well.  Set aside.

2)    In a 5 quart saucepan heat the sugar, molasses & spices to boiling, while stirring occasionally.

Molasses, sugar and spices getting mixed and heated on the stove.

Molasses mixture starting to boil.

3)    Remove from the heat and add the baking soda.  It will foam up and then subside.

Molasses mixture off of the heat after the baking soda was added.
Note how it foamed up.

4)    Stir in the butter or margarine until melted.

5)    With a fork stir in the egg.

Molasses mixture after butter was mixed in with egg ready to be mixed in.

6)    Then add the flour and stir in.  Knead the flour in until the dough is smooth and well mixed.

Mixing the flour into the molasses mixture.

Kneading the flour into the dough on a silicone cutting board.

Dough with all the flour kneaded in until smooth.

7)    Preheat the oven to 325 ℉.  Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.  Set aside.

8)    Divide the dough in half.  Wrap ½ in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

Dough cut in half with one half wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out,

9)    With a rolling pin roll out the other half of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap until it is about ¼ inch thick.

Rolling out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap.

10) Cut the dough with cookie cutters or use a pattern to cut out the dough with a knife to make a house.  Carefully transfer the cut outs to the baking sheet.  If you want perfectly straight edges on the house you can cut the dough out on the baking sheet and remove the excess dough or roll out the dough on a baking sheet and freeze it until hard before removing the cut outs to the prepared pans. The dough will stretch out a bit when you move it unless it is frozen.

Dough cut out and transferred to the baking sheet.

I used the Wilton Gingerbread House cookie cutters to make the house shapes.

11) Bake at 325 ℉ for 12 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Cut outs after baking. 

Cut outs after baking.

GLUTEN FREE GINGERBREAD DOUGH FOR HOUSES & COOKIES Makes one house (6”x5”x6”) and about 12 2-inch men INGREDIENTS 1 ½ cups Sorghum Flour 1 cup Tapioca Flour ½ cup Chickpea Flour ½ cup Coconut Flour ¾ tsp Xanthan Gum 2 tsp Baking Soda 1 ½ tsp Ground Ginger 1 tsp Allspice 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 1 tsp Ground Cloves ½ cup Butter or Margarine If using unsalted butter add ¼ tsp sea salt 1 large Egg ½ cup Sugar ½ cup Unsulphured Molasses DIRECTIONS In a medium bowl add the flours & xanthan gum and mix well. Set aside. In a 5 quart saucepan heat the sugar, molasses & spices to boiling, while stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the baking soda. It will foam up and then subside. Stir in the butter or margarine until melted. With a fork stir in the egg. Then add the flour and stir in. Knead the flour in until the dough is smooth and well mixed. Preheat the oven to 325 ℉. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside. Divide the dough in half. Wrap ½ in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. With a rolling pin roll out the other half of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap until it is about ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough with cookie cutters or use a pattern to cut out the dough with a knife to make a house. Carefully transfer the cut outs to the baking sheet. If you want perfectly straight edges on the house you can cut the dough out on the baking sheet and remove the excess dough or roll out the dough on a baking sheet and freeze it until hard before removing the cut outs to the prepared pans. The dough will stretch out a bit when you move it unless it is frozen. Bake at 325 ℉ for 12 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.