Gluten Free Gingernut Biscuits (2024)

These gluten free gingernut biscuits taste just like the classic ginger biscuits we know and love. They’re packed with rich flavour from ginger and golden syrup, and have that great crunchy texture, perfect for dipping in your cup of tea or coffee!

If you have Coeliac disease or are gluten intolerant, chances are you haven’t had a proper gingernut biscuit in years. The gluten free supermarket options tend to be crumbly and turn to mush if you try to dip them in a hot drink.

You’re in luck now though, these delicious homemade gluten free gingernut biscuits have that perfect hard, crunchy texture that makes them perfect for dunking because they won’t disintegrate into your cuppa.

Just like a classic gingernut, they have that rich, warm ginger flavour, and as an added bonus, they are really easy to make!

I’ve been wanting to make gluten free gingernuts for a while but procrastinated on starting because I felt like it was going to take a long time to get right. But when I got an email from a reader called Sam asking if I had a recipe for these, I suddenly… finally… snapped into the zone to give it a try.

I knew it would need plenty of ginger and likely plenty of golden syrup to get that proper crunchy texture, so I scribbled out what I thought would be a starting point recipe and tried it. To my surprise, instead of taking multiple tweaks to get right, I pretty much nailed it on that first try!

Full disclosure, I then tried a bunch of tweaks, because I can’t help myself, and then basically went back to that first recipe 😂

The only real hiccup I had was once I came to testing this with a supermarket gf flour blend instead of my homemade blend, and I’ll talk about that more below in the ingredients.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and printable gluten free gingernut recipe, or keep reading for ingredient tips and process photos.

Gluten free plain flour – This is one recipe where I really encourage you to use my homemade gluten free flour blend – it gives results far closer to a real gingernut than you can get with any of the supermarket blends.

I tested this with Edmond’s gluten free flour, and the results are good – you still get a nice gingery biscuit, but they stay chewier and they don’t look quite as much like a real gingernut biscuit. This is due to the fact that, like most supermarket gf flour blends, it’s made from mostly starch. So, if you really want a gluten free gingernut biscuit that is the closest to a traditional gingernut in looks and texture, this is one recipe where I will tell you that my homemade blend works far better.

If you’re using Edmonds flour you will need to reduce the amount slightly and may need to add some extra water, as it absorbs more liquid. There are notes about that in the recipe card below.

Xanthan gum – Helps to stop the bikkies from crumbling. You can omit this if you use a store-bought gf flour blend that contains a gum ingredient.
Baking soda – Just for a little lift and to help give that slightly crackled top.
Ground ginger – Make sure your ground ginger powder isn’t past its best-before date, or you won’t get that really good ginger flavour.
Brown sugar and white sugar – The combination of the two sugars gives the right amount of spread to the biscuits, and the white sugar gives those little visible grains of sugar that traditional gingernuts have. And before anyone asks – no this isn’t a recipe where you can reduce the sugar. The sugar is what gives these the proper crunch and texture.
Golden syrup – This is also key to the crunch. Normally I don’t notice the difference in baking recipe between golden syrup in a tin and the squeeze bottles, but in this recipe, I have found that the Chelsea golden syrup in the tin works much better. It’s thicker and has a stronger flavour. The squeezy one will work, but the biscuits will spread a bit more, and the flavour will be a bit less rich. I didn’t like the Woolworths brand squeezy golden syrup, it didn’t have enough flavour in the biscuits and it was quite runny.
Butter – I like salted butter in this recipe, if using unsalted, add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients. I haven’t tested these yet with a dairy-free butter, but I think it should be fine with any dairy-free butter that says it’s suitable for baking.
Water – This helps form a roll-able dough.

How to Make Gluten Free Gingernut Biscuits

Start by sifting the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and ground ginger into a large bowl. Then add the brown and white sugar, and use the back of a spoon to squash out any lumps of brown sugar.

Next, put the butter, golden syrup and water into a small saucepan and heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is well combined and just starting to bubble around the edges.

You could also do this in the microwave, just make sure you keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil up and bubble over.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. The dough will look a little crumbly, but you should be able to roll a spoonful into a smooth ball. If not, add some water a few drops at a time until it rolls smoothly.

Roll tablespoonsful of dough into balls and then flatten gently with your hand. Place onto baking paper lined trays.

Bake the gluten free gingernuts for 17-20 minutes. Baking for less time leaves the biscuits a little chewy in the middle, baking for longer makes them harder and crunchier.

If you want a really hard and crunchy bikkie, then gently press down on each biscuit with the bottom of a glass while they’re still warm.

Gluten Free Gingernut Biscuit Tips

• I’ve kept this recipe simple by just using ground ginger for flavouring, but if you like more spice in your ginger biscuits, you can add a pinch of ground cloves or replace half a teaspoon of the ginger with ground cinnamon if you like.
• For an even more gingery biscuit, add some finely chopped glacé ginger (aka. crystalised ginger or candied ginger) to the dough, or sprinkle it on top before baking.
• I don’t recommend reducing the sugar or golden syrup in this recipe – this is what gives the biscuits that crunchy texture and rich flavour.
• If you want perfectly round biscuits, like they just came out of a packet, then as soon as they come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the biscuits to swirl around the edges and make them rounder. You can see a picture of this technique in my GF Anzac Biscuit post.

More recipes you may like…

These gluten-free ginger nut biscuits are the perfect baking tin filler. Here are some more gluten free baking recipes you may want to try next.

Gluten Free Ginger Crunch
Gluten free Peanut Brownies
Gluten Free Lemon Slice
Gluten Free Crunchy Lemon Muffins