Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Step 1

In a large bowl, whisk together the dark brown sugar, caster/superfine or granulated sugar, oil, molasses, egg and vanilla until well combined. Whisk until the mixture is noticeably paler in colour, but it doesn't have to be very fluffy (don't use a stand or a hand mixer for this, just whisk it by hand using a large balloon whisk).

Step 2

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, and add them to the wet ingredients.

Step 3

Mix with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until you get a smooth, fairly soft and sticky cookie dough, it'll be almost batter-like. Tip: Don’t panic when the texture of your initial cookie “dough” is very soft and sticky, like a thick cake batter. That’s how it should be! And while you might be tempted to add more flour: resist that temptation, as it would make your cookies far too dry and they wouldn’t spread correctly in the oven.

Step 4

Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours before proceeding to the next step. You can also keep it in the fridge overnight if you want to bake the cookies the next day.Tip: In addition to firming up the cookie dough into something you can actually handle and shape into balls, chilling also ensures that the cookies won’t melt into puddles during baking.

Step 5

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.Tip: You'll bake the cookies in two batches, so you can line 2 baking sheets if you have them on hand. Otherwise, just re-use the same baking sheet, but make sure to cool it completely before you place the next batch of unbaked cookies onto it.

Step 6

Use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out a portion of the cookie dough and roll it between your palms to shape it into a ball.Tip 1: The cookie dough will still be slightly soft and sticky, even after it's been thoroughly chilled. You can dip your spoon in some powdered/icing sugar first, before scooping. This prevents the cookie dough from sticking to the spoon and makes the whole process easier and faster. Tip 2: If the cookie dough sticks to your hands as you go to roll it into a ball, you can lightly dust your hands with a bit of powdered/icing sugar as well. This will prevent sticking.

Step 7

Roll the cookie dough ball first in granulated sugar and then in powdered/icing sugar until it's fully coated.Tip: Rolling the cookies in granulated sugar first prevents the powdered/icing sugar from melting into the cookie dough in the oven, resulting in much prettier cookies, with a lovely white coating of powdered sugar that cracks to give a beautiful random pattern.

Step 8

Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough, you should get 24 cookies in total.

Step 9

Place the cookie dough balls on the lined baking sheets, at least 1½-2 inches (4-5cm) apart. The cookies will spread and expand slightly during baking.Place the baking sheet with the cookies that you won't be baking straight away in the fridge until needed.

Step 10

Bake one baking sheet at a time at 350ºF (180ºC) for 8-11 minutes or until the cookies have risen and expanded into little rounded mounds with cracks in their sugar coating. The cookies are done when the cracks no longer look wet or shiny.Baking the cookies for 8-9 minutes will give you softer cookies with a slightly underbaked, almost fudgy centre but they will collapse slightly in the middle. Baking them for 10-11 minutes will give you cookies that are fully baked through and that keep their round shape perfectly. They’ll still be deliciously tender and moist, but they won’t have that soft, slightly fudgy centre.

Step 11

The cookies will be very soft and delicate immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 12

The gingerbread crinkle cookies keep well in an airtight container in a cool dry place for about 1 week.