Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

3 ½ cups gluten free 1:1 flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon ginger

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon clove

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

6 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil, cooled

¾ cup coconut sugar

1 egg

½ cup unsulphured molasses

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Icing Ingredients

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 - 3 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any milk you prefer)

Preparation

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), add the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, and egg. Mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the molasses, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix on low speed until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and smooth. Dough will be sticky.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Pat the dough down to about 1 inch thick disks. Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours or overnight.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Remove one disk of chilled dough from the refrigerator. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and lightly dust it with gluten free flour. Place the dough onto the parchment paper then lightly dust the top of the dough with gluten free flour. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to an even ¼ inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes (re-roll scraps until all dough is used, refrigerating for a few minutes if needed). Place cut out cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart, and pop the entire sheet into the freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining disk of dough.

Once cookies have chilled, remove baking sheet from freezer and place directly in the oven. Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

Icing

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a little more almond milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Transfer icing to a piping bag or a ziplock bag (with a very small hole cut out of the corner) and pipe the icing onto the cookies, decorating however you desire.