Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (use your favorite blend, or my go-to blend: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine white rice flour plus 7 tablespoons potato starch plus 4-1/2 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch)
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted
- 4 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
In a large bowl, place flour blend, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, brown sugar and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the water, shortening, molasses, honey and vanilla, mixing to combine well after each addition. The dough will be soft and smooth. Turn out the dough onto a floured sheet of unbleached parchment paper. Dust the top with more flour, and top with another sheet of parchment paper. Roll out into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the freezer to chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
Flour a gingerbread man cookie cutter and cut out shapes. Peel back the surrounding dough and place the cutouts evenly spaced on rimmed baking sheets (about 1 inch apart from one another). Gather and reroll any scraps, sprinkling with flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to the paper. Chill and cut out shapes again. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until just lifting off the pan easily (longer for crisp cookies). Remove from the oven and cool completely before decorating.