Classic Gingerbread Men cookies made low carb and gluten-free. Perfect for decorating with your kids and giving as a healthy holiday gift.
Like most little kids, my children love decorating cookies. I can’t say I feel the same myself. I think much of it has to do with the finicky nature of working with royal icing. My hands, so steady in other times, tend to shake a little as I squeeze the piping bag. Lines I mean to be straight end up wobbly and crooked. Lines that should be curved just end up looking ragged and uneven. I simply do NOT understand how people get those beautiful cookies all perfectly even and filled in. I feel a little like a kid who can’t stay in the lines when colouring at school. I’d much prefer just to dip the whole lot in chocolate, thank you very much. Simpler, faster and it satisfies that primal urge for all things chocolate.
But my kids love doing the whole cookie decorating thing, so every year around the holidays I set aside some time for this arduous task. This year I decided I wanted to make the perfect low carb gingerbread men. As always, I let my kids decorate their cookies with some sprinkles and candies. And as always, I had a heck of time finding the smaller candies that are just right for cookie decorating. Why do mini M&Ms abound when you don’t need them, but when you do, they are nowhere to be seen?
I don’t know about you, but I like my gingerbread cookies to have a little tenderness to them. I didn’t want these to be super-crispy or rock hard, and I wanted them to have just a little chewiness upon biting into them. So I decided to make them with Kelapo coconut oil instead of butter, knowing that coconut oil typically makes baked goods more tender. At first, the dough was a little too soft and overly-fragile, so I added just a bit of coconut flour to make it hold together. And I was careful to take them out just a bit on the early side, to keep them softer. But if you are the sort who prefers your gingerbread cookies crispy, you can also bake these longer at a lower temperature, and they will crisp up nicely.
In the end, the kids and I had a ball decorating. The sugar-free royal icing recipe from the Swerve website is really quite good (I simply substituted arrowroot for the corn starch), and I gave each of the kids their own little piping bag for decorating. I let them almost have free reign with the sprinkles and candies for their cookies, knowing that the cookies were small enough, they could really only fit on a few anyway. I myself worked hard at making my cookies look like classic gingerbread men. And gingerbread trees, just to shake it up a little. Most of them didn’t turn out half-bad, but by the end I was quite literally drizzling the icing on in a random, abstract-art way, just to be done.
And my son, who had been bemoaning the “boring” weekend we’d been having, had such fun that he declared it the best day ever. Oh, to be so easy to please!
Apparently my kids inherited my cookie-decorating skills!
Looking for the best low carb holiday cookie recipes?
Classic Gingerbread Men – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Classic Gingerbread Men cookies made low carb and gluten-free. Perfect for decorating with your kids and giving as a healthy holiday gift.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 4 cups almond flour (Honeyville)
- 1 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup Coconut flour
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup Kelapo coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 1/2 lb powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tbsp meringue powder
- 1 1/2 tsp arrowroot starch OR 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water (more if needed to thin out)
Instructions
- For the cookies, preheat oven to 275F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and cloves.
- Stir in eggs, coconut oil, molasses and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
- Divide dough in half and turn out first half onto a large piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out out about 1/4 inch thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and gently loosen and lift with an offset spatula. Place onto prepared baking sheets.
- Gather up scraps and reroll until too little is left to roll out. Repeat with second half of dough.
- Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the royal icing, in a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sweetener, meringue powder and arrowroot starch or xanthan gum.
- Add water and stir until smooth. Add more water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Pipe icing onto cooled cookies and let set 30 minutes or longer.
- *For crisper cookies, bake at 225F for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. They will crisp up as they cool
Recipe Notes
Makes about 50 cookies. Each cookie has 4 g of carbs and 2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2 g.
74 Calories; 6g Fat (68.1% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 47mg Sodium.
Ok, the police line-up made me laugh out loud. I love it! Tell your kids that I think they did an awesome job. I have the same problem with making icing lines. They’re never straight or look anything remotely professional. And, like you, my hands don’t normally shake, so I don’t get it. 🙂
Ohhh, I want to make these today! I guess the meringue powder is a necessity?
It might not be a full necessity but it certainly helps stiffen the royal icing once it’s on the cookie.
Gotcha, thanks!
Can I use egg white instead, and leave out or decrease the water?
Do you mean for the royal icing? I suppose you can try…
Hi 🙂 how do i print without the photo? Thanks!
Cut and paste.
And as for decorating, for the kids’ birthday cakes I have finally resorted to store bought cake toppers and then writing a message on an index card and laying it on the cake. That’s how bad MY decorating skills are!
You gotta do what you gotta do! 😉
Hi, I just love your recipes and have made several! Yum, yum… I was wondering if this could be made without the molasses or do you have a recipe for sugar-free molasses? Thank you
You can make it without molasses but they won’t have as much gingerbread flavour or colour.
Hi Carolyn
I just keep making these over and over! I’ve used coarser almond flour than Honeyville and they still turn out. For the molasses, I’ve substituted 2 tsps of instant coffee mixed with 3 Tbsp liquid that’s a combo of hot water and a brown da Vinci syrup (it doesn’t really matter what flavour)
All the best for the holidays!
So glad you like them!
Do you think this recipe could be adapted to make a gingerbread house?
Have you tackled a rolled butter cookie … or a spritz … yet? I really do miss the tradition of making Christmas cookies. My mom and I used to bake a different cookie every weekend day starting after Thanksgiving.
Hi Susan. I do have a rolled, cut-out sugar cookie recipe. Is that what you are looking for? I have yet to try spritz cookies.
Ah, yes, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. I searched your site for it, but didn’t see it. Can you point the way? Thanks!! And I was thinking that a spritz cookie might be a good low-carb makeover, since you don’t need to roll it, and the dough can stay soft. They’re lots of fun for kids to make (or at least I enjoyed it when I was a kid), once they get the hang of the cookie gun/press.
Also, I’ve been tooling around the low-carb web and noticed a recipe to make almond paste from almond flour, egg white, powdered sugar-substitute and almond extract. Have you tried it? I’ve been hankering for Italian Pignoli cookies, which are really just an almond meringue cookie, and will probably give it a go this holiday season. Almond paste opens up a lot of delicious pastry options, if this really does work.
Anyway, I really appreciate all your work with these recipes. It’s really great not to feel deprived!
Here’s the holiday sugar cookie recipe (I made mine for Halloween but obviously you can make them for any holiday) https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/10/cut-out-sugar-cookies.html
I think making almond paste would be easy. I actually made frangipane tarts (similar idea) but have yet to post about them. You should definitely try it!
Thanks! I’m really looking forward to trying both the gingerbread and the butter cookies. Nothing like a plate of cookies and a cup of tea over Christmas. And, really, we do want to help Santa with his blood sugar!
Carolyn, these are absolutely adorable! Who doesn’t love gingerbread men for the holidays!
These look wonderful! Sharing tomorrow on FB for sure!
Thank you thank you! I was just feeling a little blue about the Christmas cookie thing and then I saw this–perfect! Feel that Christmas spirit coming back.
There are lots of great options for low carb Christmas cookies!
dear carolyn..love your recipes, they all look so delicious..here is my question…have had bad luck on two i tried. being allergic to swerve and xylitol i have made them with cocnot sugar or even eval. cane..do you think that changes the outcome? thanks.jill
Hi Jill… Yes, it probably affects them a little. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts moisture. Erythritol and xylitol are non-hygroscopic, so I have to adjust the liquid content to account for that in my recipes. What recipes did you try with these? For most, it wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but for some recipes, it would make a difference.
it was a bread-y thing..sadly i can not remember which…but would like to make the snowballs,gingerbread men, maybe some cake desserts. really, almost everything you make is so appealing. and i like using almond flour. i could use coconut syrup or honey if that would add enough moisture.
No, the problem here is too much moisture, not too little. Coconut syrup or honey would make that worse. I actually think for these cookies, coconut sugar would be just fine. But if you find the dough too sticky, add another tbsp of coconut flour to firm it up and dry it out a bit. That always helps.
So glad to be back here. My book is finally done and I have time to bake! And now I need to go check out how you managed to make the cardamum cookies sugar free – I’m thinking that’s the Mexican wedding cake recipe, right? I wish I could get the swerve powdered sugar.
What book? Clearly I haven’t been to your blog in a while!
Can you substitute gluccomanon for xanthan gum? I don’t want to make one more trip to the grocery store. 😉
I have absolutely no idea because I’ve never used gluccomanon. However, I think it’s worth a try if you’re dying to make them. I don’t know how much you’d put in though.
I am sitting on a Jury will make the “Police Line-up” perfect, all 13 of us will enjoy.
Dipping in chocolate sounds good to me – they could have boots, gloves, and a little beanie hat. Ganache would make great shorts and buttons, too. I think dark chocolate goes great with gingerbread.
Next time, fer shur!
Hi Carolyn,
I was wondering if you have ever used or heard of Whey Low. I have been using it as a sugar sub and really like it, but I think it is higher in carbs than Swerve. Ehat is your opinion. Thanks, Carolyn M
I have heard of it but never used it myself. Sorry I can’t be more help!
I just made these….OMG!!! What can I say other than thank you from the bottom of my piggy little low-carb heart!! I put more ginger in than recommended (as I am a ginger freak) and I subbed half of the molasses for ricemalt syrup (so the molasses wasnt too overpowering). I am in love with these biscuits (cookies)!
Glad you like them! I actually put in what I thought was a lot of ginger so you must REALLY like it.
I LOVE IT 😀 I realise it (ginger) is relatively high carb, but I am trying to up my healthy carbs a little due to a thyroid issue.
great healthy cookie!
OH wow these are SO good!!
The police line-up made cracked me up C, and this is a great recipe for GF gingerbread Man cookies. Pinned!
Ha, I’d forgotten about that picture. Thanks!
I’m wondering what your thoughts would be for making a thicker, chewy ginger cookie using this recipe–higher heat and shorter bake time? Thanks!
Hmmm, good question. Obviously cut them thicker. I don’t think you’d want a higher heat but yes, a shorter bake time.
Can I use Stevia for swerve? I am so looking forward to making these. Thanks so much!!
You can probably do so in the cookies but it won’t work in the royal icing.
Just made these, thumbs up from myself and miss 8! I didn’t do icing but will for Xmas I just did a trial run today with 1/4 of the recipe. Thank you they are fab and I have shared them in my low carb group https://www.facebook.com/groups/787764711261211/permalink/920218541349160/?comment_id=920285964675751&offset=0&total_comments=16¬if_t=group_comment_reply
I can’t see the post in Facebook because I am not part of the group. Thanks for sharing!
the 74 calories, is it per cookie or for two gingerbread men?
how much fat per cookie also?
It’s all per cookie and it’s all right at the bottom there. 74 cal, 6g of fat.
Thanks for the recipe. Can I sub the xanthum gum for something else or can I leave it out altogether as I can’t tolerate it too well ?
You can leave it out. Dough will be a tad more fragile.
i made these tonight with my DF and GF son, i didnt have enough almond flour so i subbed a cup of flax meal and they turned out good!! very yummy, also i didnt have meringue powder so i just used two egg whites whipped really good. the frosting was yummy too [other than the obvious fact that it was swerve and not sugar…bleh cooling effect] but i still ate 3! 🙂
These are sooooo good! I’m a cookie monster on a low-carb WOE and this is the first cookie I’ve found that doesn’t have a weird sweetener taste. I use powdered erythritol with some powdered stevia mixed in. I didn’t even decorate them and they’re delicious. Thank you so much.
So glad to hear it!
Made these today. Added a little white pepper and cardamom for extra spice. Made the crispier version without icing. Came out very tasty! I’m thinking about experimenting with molasses powder to cut down on sugar. Thanks for the great recipes.
Hi Carolyn 😀
I was wondering if you would give me permission to use your recipe in a Murder Mystery book I am publishing(I would reference you blog and credit you for the recipe of course) I would be ecstatic if you would allow me to do this, this is my first novel and I am self publishing 🙂 but if not, I understand completely. 🙂
I am intrigued. Can you tell me how it’s going to fit into the story? And you are using just this recipe?
Well, my book is called ‘Murder Mystery and the Gingerbread Cookies’
I would be using your recipe for the cookies in the cover-art, and I would like to put the recipe in the back of the book.
There is a cookie exchange in the book as well as the cookies appearing at the crime scene 🙂
Hopefully, I will be able to put my regular Gingerbread cookie recipe in the book as well(But I am still talking to the lady who created them) But it would just be your recipe and hers if she agrees. If not, then just yours 🙂
I’m on the Keto diet and thus I found your wonderful recipe for my cover-art and eating needs 😀
That is really cute so I say…why not!?! Thanks for liking my recipe so much to want to include it.
Omygoodness! Thank you so much! 😀
I will be sure to let you know when the book comes out, so you can see your contribution 😀
Again, thank you! 😀
You know you will have to send me a copy, right? So I can share at least on social media?
Of course! 🙂 just give me your email address, or if you don’t want people seeing it on the comments you can email me at the email address I used to comment 🙂 I am releasing the e-book first, then in a few months the paperback 😀 So I will send you a free e-book when published 😀
alldayidreamaboutfood@gmail.com. I don’t mind leaving it in comments because it’s easy to find my contact info on this blog! 🙂
Okiedokie 🙂 I will be sure to send you a copy within the first week of publication 😀
Hi Carolyn!
I have sent you a copy of my book, Murder Mystery and the Gingerbread Cookies via my professional email, Tiffany@TiffanyMichele.com
I hope you enjoy it!
I got it, thank you! Haven’t yet had a chance to look. 🙂
You’re welcome 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Do you think this dough could be made ahead of time and chilled? I’m having some friends over and this would be fun to do.
Yes, that should be fine.
If I make these with butter and NO coconut oil, will they be crispier? I prefer my gingerbread cookies crispy.
To get them crispy, simply bake longer at a lower temperature.
There are times when I wish you’d post pictures of the recipe process and not just the finished product. I had trouble getting the dough to “come together.” My dough was very crumbly and there was no possible way I’d be able to roll it out. I had to add more egg and coconut oil to make it “come together” and even then it kept falling apart. In the end, I took small sections of dough and flattened them into rounds on the cookie sheet, still fighting against the dough wanting to crumble. But if I had a picture of what the dough was supposed to look like, I’d be better able to tell where I had gone wrong instead of guessing that I got close to where it should be.
The cookies turned out fine, I guess. The flavor seemed off. Maybe the spices should be stronger.
Can I use hazelnut flour or for the gingerbread men if I run out of almond flour or would that change the taste and texture of the cookie
It’s a little less finely ground than good almond flour like Honeyville. Your cookies might be a bit more crumbly.
Thanks Carolyn, I will definitely wait till I get more almond flour I want my cookies to be perfect.