Vegan & Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies

I am starting to feel the effects of winter: I haven't worn pants that don't have an elastic waist since October. I have guiltily watched more than one (or two, or three) made-for-TV holiday movies and felt comforted by the soft jingling of bells between painfully cheesy misunderstandings and roof decorating accidents. I came dangerously close to popping a coffee bean in my mouth, mistaking it for a rogue chocolate left out on the counter. And, I've spent many hours in the kitchen covered in flour and sugar.

Speaking of sugar... I have perfected my very first gluten-free vegan gingerbread recipe! It was kind of like a Goldilocks moment. The first version was an experiment with oat flour, which proved very difficult to roll and cookie-cut, had a chunky texture and melted into one giant blob on the pan. The second version was adapted from a Chatelaine magazine using gluten-free flour and looked good, but was much less tasty. The third version was a combination of the two, with the flavour of the first version and texture of the second. Surprisingly, it was totally successful! They're so soft and delicious. I have been eating them for breakfast. Please look beyond the lack of decorating finesse... I am aware that your children have more skills here than I do.

Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Cookies    

Ingredients    

2 cups gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose mix)

1 cup oat flour (ground GF oats)
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup molasses
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water)

Icing recipe: 1 cup powdered sugar (see below for corn-free alternative) + 3 tbsp dairy-free milk of your choice

Directions 

• Mix the dry ingredients well in a large bowl 
• Make your flax egg: stir the flax and water and let it sit at room temperature or in the fridge until the texture is gooey 
• Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or room temperature and combine with flax egg, molasses and vanilla 
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and knead with your hands until you have formed a well-mixed ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 
• Once your dough has refrigerated, I highly recommend rolling out your dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4" thickness
  
• Cookie cut! 
• Use a spatula to lift them off of the parchment paper as they're a bit sticky, and give them 2-3" of space on the pan 
• Bake for 10 minutes 

• Make your icing while they cool. I made corn-free powdered sugar by mixing a cup of white confectionary sugar with a tbsp of potato starch in a coffee grinder. Note: sprinkles are not usually corn-free, so be sure to read the ingredients for anyone with a corn allergy. You could also use natural alternatives like coconut, dark chocolate, pistachios etc. Mix the sugar and dairy-free milk together until smooth. 

• Put the icing in a Ziploc bag (or fancy icing machine if you've got it) and cut a tiny hole to make your beautiful designs. (side bar: this icing hardens quickly, so it's good to do a patch, and then immediately add the sprinkles to make sure they stick.) Once cooled, the cookies can be stacked on top of one another without damaging the icing
• Voila!