Gluten Free Molasses Spice Cookies

I’m so happy the semester is over. Graduate school is pretty challenging at times. Now I have a break and will do some traveling to be with friends and family. I also have time, finally, to catch up on some of the baked good recipes I’ve been experimenting with. This cookie is from my favorite cookie book, Got Milk? The Cookie Book. This is the perfect Holiday cookie, with lots of the season’s best spices: ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

I used Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Free Biscuit & Baking Mix for the cookies in the photo. They flattened out a lot. When I make them with my simple homemade GF flour (instructions below) they turn out much thicker, more cakey. Either way they come out delicious! I get a lot of requests for this recipe from friends and family. These are also easy to make.


The Following gluten-free flour recipe was adapted from the book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast And Healthy by Bette Hagman.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

• 3 cups white rice flour
  
• 1 cup potato flour
  
• ½ cup tapioca flour
  
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
  

Molasses Spice Cookies Ingredient

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces
  
• 1/4 cup dark unsulphured molasses
  
• 1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 egg lightly beaten
  
• 2 cups gluten free flour
  
• 2 tsp baking soda
  
• 2 tsp ginger
  
• 2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/4 tsp cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp salt

1) Melt your butter over low heat in a medium size saucepan. Remove butter from the heat and stir in the molasses and vanilla. Put to the side to cool.

2) In a medium bowl whisk together the flour with 1 cup of the sugar, the baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

3) Once the butter mixture is cooled, add the beaten egg and mix well. Take a rubber spatula and fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the mixture is firm enough to form balls (around 15 minutes).

4) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

5) Put the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1-inch ice cream scooper, or using a spoon, scoop out mixture and then roll into 1-inch balls. Throw the balls into the sugar and coat completely. Place the dough balls on ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

6) Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the center no longer appears uncooked. 12- minutes will produce soft and chewy cookies, whereas 15-minutes will produce crispy cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for around 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool. They'll last in an airtight container for a couple of days, or freeze them and they'll last a few weeks.