Gingerbread Men Recipe

Gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, egg-free.

THIS RECIPE FIRST APPEARED IN MY 2016 ADVENT CALENDAR.

Gingerbread Men Recipe

(gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, egg-free)

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Not only are these gingerbread men delicious and nutritious (when made with this recipe), but they are so much fun to make with the little ones. They make excellent end-of-year gifts for the teachers and if you thread some string through them, they can even be used as decorations for the Christmas tree (although they probably won’t last that long!)

With the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger… they just smell and taste like Christmas!

Mila's Meals gluten-free Gingerbread Men

Key: gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, egg-free, paleo, vegetarian, for adults too

Makes 40 gingerbread men

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Baking Time: 12 minutes

INGREDIENTS

(t. = teaspoon; T. = tablespoon, C. = cup)

DRY INGREDIENTS

WET INGREDIENTS

125 ml Blackstrap Molasses
1/2 C. Maple Syrup
250 ml Coconut Oil, melted

METHOD

Turn your fan oven on to 160°C (320°F).
Line 4 baking trays with baking paper (alternatively, bake the gingerbread men in batches – I used 2 trays and did two batches of baking)
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the wet ingredients (the molasses and the oil don’t really combine well – but give them a good stir.)
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mix and stir stir stir. You may need to get your hands in there to make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed in well. You will be left with a soft, sticky dough.
Cover the bowl and allow to cool in the fridge for half an hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and break into 4 pieces/balls. Knead the first ball to make it malleable. (Return the remaining 3 dough balls to the fridge while you work with the first one.)
Place the dough ball between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to ± 4mm thick.
Cut out the gingerbread men shapes, placing each one on the prepared baking trays.
Gather the remaining dough, roll out again… and repeat until all the dough has been used.
Repeat this whole process with the remaining 3 dough balls.
Place the trays in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays.
If you want to ice them, do so once they are completely cooled (see icing recipe below).
Store in a sealed container.

Coconut Icing Recipe

This recipe is taken from my book and makes an excellent icing for cupcakes too.

The quantity made here is for cupcakes, so for the gingerbread men you could easily half this recipe.

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Key: gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, grain-free, egg-free, paelo, vegetarian, vegan, raw, for adults too

INGREDIENTS

(t. = teaspoon; T. = tablespoon, C. = cup)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C. Xylitol, ground in a coffee grinder (optional – I find the cookies are sweet enough without adding extra sweetness in the icing)
1 t. Tapioca Flour
1/2 C. Coconut Oil, solid
1/2 t. Vanilla Extract
3 – 4 T. Coconut Milk

METHOD

In a small mixing bowl, mix the xylitol and tapioca flour.
Using a mini-blender or electric beater, beat the coconut oil until smooth.
Add the xylitol mix and vanilla extract and beat again.
Add 1 T. of coconut milk at a time, blending in between, until the icing reaches a spreadable consistency.
Scoop the icing into a piping bag.
Allow to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes, then ice the gingerbread men.

If your gingerbread men are not going to be eaten up in a couple of days, store them in the freezer to prevent them from becoming “soggy”.

Ready for the oven.

You know what they say, “waste not, want not”! When there’s not enough dough left for a gingerbread man, roll it into a “snake” and cut off mini round cookies.