Gluten Free Ginger Bread Men

560 grams All-Purpose Flour Mix
40 grams almond flour
3 grams xanthan gum
2 grams guar gum
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
230 grams (2 US sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh gingerroot


Combining the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, almond flour, xanthan gum, guar gum, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, kosher salt, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper in a large bowl. Whisk them all together to combine and aerate.

Combining the wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer (if you have one), mix the butter and sugar together until they are well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the brown sugar, molasses, egg, vanilla, orange zest, and fresh ginger. Run the mixer on low speed until everything is combined thoroughly, about 2 minutes.

Finishing the dough. With the stand mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients, about ¼ of it at a time, mixing in between until the flour has disappeared entirely into the dough. Continue this until all the dry ingredients have been added. The dough will be a little sticky to the touch. Don’t worry.

Refrigerating the dough. Divide the dough into four pieces. Wrap each in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. Chill the discs in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Baking the cookies. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Put one of the discs of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll out the dough, through the parchment paper, to about 1/4-inch thick. (I like the cookies a bit thicker, so I made them about ½-inch thick. It’s your preference that matters.) Cut out the cookies using your favorite gingerbread man cookie cutter. Gather up all the scraps into a ball and roll the dough out one more time. (After that, toss the scraps. Or, if you’re like me, throw the random shapes onto the baking sheet and eat them later.)

Bake the cookies until the centers are firm to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

We found that the cookies taste even better the next day, so save at least some of them for frosting the day after you bake them. A couple of them, however, you’re going to want to eat right away.