Gingerbread cookies that are Gluten free

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Gingerbread cookies were one of my favorites growing up. And was one of the few things my family did over Christmas time. My family never really celebrated Christmas but we did exchange gifts and would enjoy coming together to eat delicious food.

Before I get to the recipe I want to warn you that I am in the mood for a little rant. If you would rather skip by all means hit “Jump to Recipe” I completely understand and have been in your shoes too. But if you have some time and feel like reading a little antidote, read on dear reader.

But during this time of Thanksgiving and coming together, I was reminded recently to be thankful. Thankful not only for the good things but also the things that we don’t like or agree with. Such as a job we wish we didn’t have, maybe even an illness.

Turning the bitter waters sweet

There is a verse in Exodus where the people are wandering around for 3 days in the dessert without any water. And when they do happen to find water it is not even drinkable. It is a bitter water. And this in turn caused the people to grumble to Moses, asking “what can we drink?”

And this caused Moses in turn to call out to God. Who showed him a piece of wood that he threw into the water and those waters that were bitter were now sweet and good to drink.

What this means practically is eventhough our situation sucks or is bitter, we can instead be thankful for the situation. And though our situation doesn’t change we can feel more better and will actually be thankful for all the other good things we do have in our life.

And that’s where my train of thought is today. Amidst lots of hardships and many tired nights, I am thankful right now for this moment. A moment that I dreamed of a little over 10 years ago of being a mom and baking with my child.

It was a simple dream but it was mine. And I am greatful and thankful that I have the time to do this right now with my child. And I can’t ever forget that there was a time when I didn’t even know if this moment would even be possible.

The Miracle of Life

I married my husband in January 2013, almost 10 years ago now. And it wasn’t till May 2015 that I became pregnant. And unfortunately it was a miscarriage in July. It was a very difficult time for me and I asked God over and over why? We weren’t in a great financial place we still aren’t in the greatest spot but back then we didn’t even have health insurance.

So from a practical standpoint point I guess there was a relief that the baby hadn’t made it to full-term but that didn’t take away the loss of what could’ve been. What was more worse was the promises that I would have another soon because I had been pregnant and my body would know what to do.

But they were wrong at least with how quick it would be. It actually took four more years. By this point I believed I must be barren and wasn’t supposed to have kids. Now I know it had a lot to do with my thyroid. Hypothyroidism can make you infertile and eats the SAD diet with all its gluten certainly did not help.

But in May 2019 I did become pregnant once again. Almost a month after my husband’s mother died. His mother had always wanted grandchildren and we would sometimes speculate if she went to Jesus himself and made it that I could bear a child. Maybe it was one of her last prayers? We will never know, but it is wonderful to see glimpses of her in our children.

So I am thankful and also sympathetic for those who are in the situation that I was in back then. Yearning for a child to love and nurture. We are poor, we are not financially stable but somehow we were given this wonderful gift in our kids.

The Importantance of being present

Ultimately I just want to remember moments like these, days like these. There’s so many things to get done in a day, but only so much time we can spend with the people we love. What’s more important that everything is spotless or that you took a bit of time to read to your child, take them outside. Putting your phone down and actually listening to your spouse. Just be in the moment. This is how we should be living.

Obviously work needs to get done but we can’t forget to care and nurture and then do what we need to do. There will always be dishes, there will always be laundry. But that moment with your child, your spouse your parent or friend it’s right in thar moment. Cherish it.

And enjoy your time together with these delicious gluten free Gingerbread cookies! Happy Holidays Everyone!

For more sweet recipes for your holiday dinner, check out my dessert page.

Gingerbread cookies that are Gluten free

2 cups gluten free flour blend (add more if the dough feels too sticky)

1 Tbsp chia seeds

3 Tbsp water

½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tso ground ginger

¼ tsp salt

½ cup coconut sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

4 Tbsp unsulphured molasses

1 egg

8 ozs Dark Chocolate

8 ozs White Chocolate

1.Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mat.

2.Grind chia seeds in a coffee grinder till it resembles a fine meal. Mix the ground Chia seeds in a small dish with 3 Tbsps water, set aside for 15 minutes.

3. In a large bowl add the gluten free flour,  baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the coconut sugar and whisk again till combined.

4. Add melted butter, molasses, egg and vanilla, mixing well after each addition. The dough will be quite sticky, if two sticky add about 1/4 cup gluten free flour till dough resembles play dough.

5. Transfer the dough to a baking mat or parchment paper, cover with another sheet of parchment and roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

6. You can put the dough in the fridge to help firm it some, but for rolling again I have found this step is not generally necessary.

7. Pick your cookie, cutters and cut out your cookies, space them apart on your baking mat or parchment paper about a couple of inches a part.

8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. A few more minutes if your cookies are more thicker.

9. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Leave your cookies for 30 minutes to an hour to cool.

10. When your cookies are cool to the touch, work on your melted chocolate topping.

11. In a double boiler or using a metal bowl on top of a pot with water, turn your burner on high to heat the water.

12. Add chocolate to the top pot on double boiler or your bowl. Start to stir when you notice your chocolate start to melt.

13. Turn heat down when the water is boiling and continue to stir till all the chocolate has melted. Repeat with white chocolate.

14. Add food coloring to white chocolate if desired or leave as is. Design how you would like and enjoy!