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Vegan Cassava Flour Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies (GF)

Perfect, scrumptious gluten-free and vegan cassava flour gingerbread cut-out cookies ! They are naturally grain-free, Paleo, and easy to make, too.

These are the best gingerbread cut-out cookies I have ever made. The texture is perfection–subtly crisp, yet tender– and easy to bake with consistent results for the entire batch. And the flavor? Gingerbread heaven, if I do say so myself.

They are made with one flour, and one flour only: cassava flour.

Introducing my Vegan Cassava Flour Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies. You are going to love them!

Recipe Benefits

  • Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
  • Gluten-free
  • Grain-free
  • Nut-free
  • Seed-free
  • Refined sugar-free
  • Quick & easy to make
  • No chilling required

Ingredients for the Cookies

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Vegan Cassava Flour Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies

Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.

Making these cookies is as easy (no, make that easier) than traditional versions. The first steps are familiar.

Step One: Preheat Oven & Prep Baking Sheet

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step Two: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

Whisk the cassava flour, baking soda, salt & spices in a medium bowl until blended.

Step Three: Beat the Shortening and Sweeteners

Beat the shortening (I used a non-hydrogenated, organic vegetable shortening; I have options for other fats in the recipe notes) with the coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla (I have notes for the sweetener options in the recipe notes, too).

Beat on medium speed, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice, until light and fluffy.

Step Four: Add Dry Ingredients to Moist Ingredients

Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture. I like to stir this in by hand, but you can use your mixer, if you like. It will look very dry at first, but will quickly come together into a smooth, soft dough.

No Chilling Required

There is no need to chill the dough! Once mixed, it is ready to be rolled out, cut and baked.

Step Five: Press & Roll the Dough

Using your fingertips, roughly press out half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper

Top the dough with a second piece of wax paper or parchment paper and roll out to 1/8-inch thickness.

Notice there is no sprinkling of extra flour needed! It is so much faster and easier to roll out than traditional dough (and no messy clean-up, either).

Plus, because the dough is both grain-free and gluten-free, it can be rolled and re-rolled as much as you like (it will never get tough).

The dough is fast and easy to roll (because there is no gluten and no chilling), but that also makes it a little bit harder to transfer the soft cut-outs to the baking sheet

Not to worry! I have a method for achieving perfect shapes, with ease:

Cut out a shape but leave the cutter in place. Using your fingers, remove the dough around the edges of the cutter. Slide a metal spatula under the cutter and cut shape and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Remove the cutter. Done!

Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about an inch or so apart on the cookie sheet

You can use any size or style of cookie cutter, but bake shapes that are all similar in size. I was able to get exactly two dozen cookies using a ginger person cutter measuring about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide.

Step Seven: Bake the Cookies

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes (for medium cookies; more or less time, depending on size).  The cookies will be light golden brown and just set (the surfaces should look dry).

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

The cookies are somewhat delicate while still warm, but will firm up to a crisp-tender texture once completely cooled.

These are SOOOOOO good!!! 

Enjoy decorating the cookies, or keep them perfectly plain.

These are going to make many holiday dreams come true, I guarantee it!

FAQ

How Should the Cookies Be Stored?

Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or the freezer for up to 6 months.

What Can Be Used in Place of the Shortening?

An equal amount of plant-based butter (e.g., Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) can be use din place of the shortening. I have not tested the recipe with coconut oil, nor dairy butter, but softened versions of either will most likely work.

Can Other Sweeteners Be Used?

An equal amount of brown sugar can be used in place of the coconut sugar. For a darker, richer cookie, use molasses (not blackstrap) in place of the maple syrup. You can also use 100% sugar (i.e., 1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar, no syrup or molasses). The cookies will be slightly crisper.

Can I Use Tapioca Flour in place of Cassava Flour?

No. Cassava flour and tapioca starch are both made from the roots of cassava plants, but they are not equivalent ingredients. The latter cannot be used in place of the former in this recipe.

Happy baking!

Vegan Cassava Flour Gingerbread Cut-Outs {gluten-free}

Vegan Cassava Flour Gingerbread Cut-Outs {gluten-free}

Yield: 24 2 to 3-inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Perfect gluten-free & vegan gingerbread cut-out cookies, made with cassava flour! They are naturally grain-free, vegan, Paleo, gluten-free, and easy to make. No chilling required!

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cups (192 g) cassava flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2/3 cup (128 g) non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (see notes for options)
  • 1/4 cup (36 g) coconut sugar (see notes for options)
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup (see notes for options)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the cassava flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
  3. Place the shortening, coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla in a large bowl. With an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, stir with a wooden spoon until completely blended.
  4. Divide the dough into two portions. Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper on a flat surface; place half of dough on it and roughly press it out with fingertips. Cover with a second piece or wax/parchment paper. With a rolling pin, roll to 1/8-inch thickness.
  5. Cut out one shape; peel/nudge away dough outside of cutter. Keeping cutter in place, slide a metal spatula under cut-out and cutter (this keeps the dough in shape) and move to prepared cookie sheet. Remove cutter.
  6. Repeat with remaining dough. The dough can be re-rolled many times (it will not compromise the dough, at all). Space the cookies about 1 -inch (2.5 cm) apart on sheet.
  7. Bake one sheet at a time in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes until set and golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before (carefully) transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. The cookies are somewhat delicate while warm. They will be perfectly firm once completley cooled! They are crisp-tender and about as close to perfect as a gingerbread cookie cut-out can be!

Notes

Storage: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Alternative fats: An equal amount of plant-based butter (e.g., Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) can be use din place of the shortening. I have not tested the recipe with coconut oil, nor dairy butter, but softened versions of either will most likely work.

Alternative Sweeteners: An equal amount of brown sugar can be used in place of the coconut sugar. For a darker, richer cookie, use molasses (not blackstrap) in place of the maple syrup. You can also use 100% sugar (i.e., 1/2 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar, no syrup or molasses). The cookies will be slightly crisper.

Tip: Note that cassava flour and tapioca starch are not equivalent ingredients. The latter cannot be used in place of the former in this recipe.

Nutrition Information
Yield 24 cookies Serving Size 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving Calories 93Total Fat 5.8gSaturated Fat 2.7gCholesterol 0mgSodium 49.9mgCarbohydrates 10.9gFiber 0.5gSugar 4gProtein 0.3g

Did you make this recipe?

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Rachel

Sunday 3rd of December 2023

Can you explain why not black strap molasses? It's what I have, and curious.

Camilla

Monday 4th of December 2023

Hi Rachel! Blackstrap molasses is removed in the final stages of the sugar boiling process, and is darker, with a very robust, bitter taste that is not ideal for baking (because it is less sweet, and more bitter). Cooking molasses is a blend of both fancy and blackstrap varieties--sweeter, much less bitter.

Lauren

Monday 27th of November 2023

Thank you for this wonderful option at holiday time! They came out great.

Sarah

Sunday 18th of December 2022

I had to add quite a bit more shortening to make the ingredients stick together to form a dough. The dough with the recipe as it is was like sand and so far from being able to stick together. I don’t know how much extra shortening I ended up using as I didn’t measure it but it was quite a lot. The cookies tasted great though with the crunchiness that I would expect from a gingerbread cookie.

Camilla

Monday 16th of January 2023

Hi Sarah, Quick question: did you weigh the flour or use dry cups to measure? It sounds like you had too much flour )hence the need to add more shortening). Cassava flour is really tricky to measure with dry cups (it is so powder-y; it is easy to add almost twice as much flour when measuring by cups). I am glad you were able to make it work, though, and that you liked the results!

Tina

Tuesday 11th of January 2022

These are absolutely amazing! I am in the UK and I used a TREX block which is a mix of palm and rapeseed oil for baking. I have made these five or six times by now but just tonight did it properly and mixed the dry ingredients into the wet and suddenly the dough wasn't crumbly but nice, pliable and smooth! Amazing! Thank you so much! I have also added chocolate chips and dried blueberries since I cannot have any other cookies at the moment.

Kirk

Friday 10th of December 2021

why can't Blackstrap molasses be used?

Camilla

Sunday 12th of December 2021

You could use it , but blackstrap molasses is not very sweet, and it is bitter. It will not provide enough sweetness to the cookies.

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