Individuals with food allergies don’t have to be left out when it comes to enjoying a holiday treat. Here’s a “safe” but tasty recipe for Ginger Spice Cookies that do not contain any eggs, wheat, gluten, dairy, nuts or soy.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Spectrum all-vegetable shortening
½ cup maple syrup (add up to ¾ cup if you like them sweeter)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼- ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional, if you want the cookies beyond just spicy)
1/8 teaspoon each ground cardamom, ground coriander and ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons gluten-free baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup garbanzo bean flour
1 ¾ cups brown rice flour
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
¼-1/3 cup water
For decorating: melt 77 % cacao dark chocolate or vegan carob chips

Directions:

Cream the shortening and maple syrup together in a medium bowl. Add spices and beat well. Add baking soda, salt, flours, xanthum gum, cider vinegar and enough water to make smooth, easy-to-handle dough. Roll into a ball. Chill 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Press the ball into a disk and roll out on a lightly floured board to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into holiday or other shapes. Use purchased cookie cutters. If you don’t have any cookie cutters, draw shapes on paper, cut out the patterns, lay them on the dough and cut around them with a knife. Place the cookies about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Chill the dough in between batches.

Bake 7-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Stay nearby and keep an eye on the cookies to make sure they don’t get overdone. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2-3 minutes. Then remove to completely cool on wire racks.

Decorate. Melt chocolate or carob chips and use a clean small paintbrush to add decorations. Q-tips work if you don’t have a paintbrush. The recipe makes about 1-3 dozen cookies, depending on the size. Wait a day to eat them, and the spicy flavor will be more intense.