If you love gingerbread, this gluten free gingerbread linzer cookie recipe is one you won’t want to miss! These deliciously good gluten free gingerbread linzer cookies also make great cut-out cookies so you can use your favorite holiday cookie cutters!
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The holiday season is coming so fast. Am I the only one who is still wondering where fall went? This year has just flown by! There is one special thing leading up to the holidays that I love… cookie-making!
Want another delicious gluten free cookie? Try these AMAZING Gluten Free Christmas Cookies!
What are Linzer Cookies?
Have you tried linzer cookies? Linzer cookies have a pretty exciting history! Believe it or not, these cookies were originally a torte that originated in Linz, Austria. Linzer is said to be the oldest cake recipe there is. Over the years, the recipe was adapted into a “cookie-sized” version.
If you love filled cookies, you will definitely want to try my other gluten free linzer cookie recipes like these Gluten Free Nutella Stuffed Linzer Cookies.
You can just barely see the powdered sugar falling onto these cookies! I adapted my linzer cookie recipe even further by giving these cookies a fun gingerbread flavor for the holidays. These cookies are perfect for holiday gatherings, cookie exchange parties, and just eating for fun :-).
These cookies are so easy to make! (And I know this is a linzer cookie recipe, but this dough makes killer gingerbread men!!)
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Use a whisk to blend all of the ingredients.
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale.
Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: Add pure vanilla extract to the wet ingredients.
Step 3: Mix the wet and dry ingredients together to make a semi-stiff dough.
Step 4: Chill the dough for 30-45 minutes so that the cookies will hold their shape when baking.
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Step 5: Roll the dough between two pieces of wax paper to flatten.
I rolled this gluten free gingerbread cookie dough to 1/4 inch thickness. You can do a little thinner if you prefer a thinner linzer cookie or gluten free cut-out cookie.
Step 6: Make your tops and bottoms with a linzer cookie cutter (or gingerbread man cookie cutter!). Here is the full disclosure…I wouldn’t say I like the red linzer cookie cutters I have. The dough sticks to them, and getting the middle section out is a pain.
I plan to buy these linzer cookie cutters soon. They have good reviews. If you have a linzer cookie cutter you like, please send me a note or add a comment and let me know which you use.
Step 7: Bake the cookies at 350º F for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool on a cooling rack, then add your favorite filling.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Frosting, jam, or Nutella…because who doesn’t love chocolate and gingerbread combined?
You can easily make these cookies dairy-free by using vegan butter.
These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Optional: Dust your linzer cookies with powdered sugar and holiday-colored sprinkles.
Cookie baking tips:
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs. I know that it sounds crazy to use butter and eggs at room temperature, but it dramatically helps how your cookies will turn out. You’ll thank yourself later if you try it.
- Take special care to measure correctly. If you add in too much gluten free flour or other ingredients, it can mess with the cookies as they bake. If they don’t have the proper ratios of ingredients, you may end up with a disaster.
- Chill the dough when possible. I know you are probably ready to eat your cookies right now, but taking a few minutes to chill the batter makes them less likely to spread.
- Your oven temperature may be off. Periodically, check your oven temperature to make sure it’s right. Otherwise, the cookies will, for sure, spread if it’s not accurate.
- Use a cooled
cookie sheet when baking. Don’t take a hotcookie sheet and put the batter on it, or I promise the cookies won’t turn out. They start baking immediately, and it messes with the shape of them. Use a couple of sheets and rotate them out when making large batches of cookies. - Don’t let the cookies sit on the pan too long. After they have baked, only let them sit on the baking sheet for up to 5 minutes. The pan will still be hot; continue baking them otherwise.
I have a lot of cookie tool suggestions. I have a huge list of my favorite cookie-baking tools that make cookie-making easier.
More Delicious Gluten Free Holiday Cookie Recipes:
- Gluten Free Eggnog Crinkle Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Gluten Free Molasses Cookies
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Biscotti
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Gingerbread Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, add 2 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Use a wire whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup unsalted butter (partially melted), 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, and 1 large egg. Whisk to blend.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix into a workable cookie dough. Every gluten free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio, which affects moisture. My rule of thumb is if your batter or dough is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Chill cookie dough 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Lay out a piece of wax paper and put the dough on top. Cover the dough with another piece of wax paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough.
- Use linzer cookie cutters to cut out the tops and bottoms of the cookie shapes.
- Place the cut out cookies onto parchment paper. Move the paper to a cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Do not frost them until they are cooled.
- Make frosting or use store-bought frosting, Nutella, etc., to frost the bottoms of the cookies, and place the cutout top cookie on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
(*Note, this post was updated from a 12/2016 post.)
In the recipe it calls for 3/4 cups brown sugar twice, is this an error? Please explain.
Hi Kim. Happy New Year. You are right, the brown sugar is there twice. I recently switched to a new digital recipe card and sometimes this happens. I am sorry I missed it when I was reviewing the transferred recipes. It is fixed now. Thank you.
Trying these today as gingerbread men. They sound great
Awesome Jacque. Please add liquids gradually if you are using a different flour blend than I did. Another reader tried a different flour and the dough was wetter, making it sticky. (I am not sure if their flour had xanthan gum, if yours doesn’t contain it, add 1 teaspoon.) Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Hi,
I was wondering how many grams a stick of butter is. One of my resources said 240g but my dough was like a wet cake mix. I’ve added a lot more flour but I’m not sure how they’ll taste.
Helen (Australia)
It should be about 113 grams according to a calculator I used. One stick is 1/2 cup. I hope this helps.
i always wanted to try this
I hope you like these Carol 🙂