These Vegan Gingerbread Cookies are the simple and delicious festive recipe your holiday season needs! Use cutouts to make Vegan Gingerbread Men or other shapes, or slice and bake the cookies as desired. Bake them crisp and snappy or soft and chewy - you decide!
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When the holiday season rolls around, there are a handful of recipes that are on my must-make list.
First up, a batch of our Brown Sugar Shortbread, which I love dipping in chocolate. Then, always a batch of Swedish Saffron Buns (Lussekatter) that are a hallmark of the holidays in Sweden. And a batch of these Salted Coconut Caramels (which are totally vegan!) to give away as gifts.
But one recipe is absolutely essential for Christmas in our house, and that is Vegan Gingerbread Cookies.
This recipe is a veganized version of the classic gingerbread cookies that my family has been making for as long as I can remember. The original recipe called for shortening, so, other than an egg, it was pretty close to vegan as it was.
I made a few simple swaps and came up with the perfect recipe for rolling out and stamping out Vegan Gingerbread Men. Or women. Or, you know, gingerbread people who are in control of their own identities, but alas, that isn't SEO friendly.
Ingredients:
You'll need to gather up just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients to make this Vegan Gingerbread Cookie recipe. Here's a quick glance at what you need:
- Molasses --> For that classic gingerbread cookie flavour.
- Vegan butter --> Or your preferred fat - more on that below.
- Flax egg --> Good old reliable flax egg.
- Ground ginger --> And lots of it!
- Sugar --> Opt for organic sugar to ensure it's truly vegan.
- Baking soda --> For a little lift.
- Flour --> All-purpose flour is totes fine.
- Salt --> Just a smidge.
A few notes on the ingredients...
Molasses - I have tested this recipe with both blackstrap molasses and fancy / regular molasses and both work fine. Choose depending on what you have on hand, or how molasses-ey a flavor you're after.
Fat - I have tested this recipe with both vegan butter (I used Earth Balance) and virgin coconut oil and both work great. The coconut oil does have a mild coconut flavour, but it goes nicely with the ginger.
Sugar - If you're looking to make a truly vegan recipe, it's important to use organic sugar. Most sugar is refined with bone char, so conventional sugar may not be vegan.
Flour - I have tested this recipe with 100% all purpose flour and also with 50% wholegrain spelt flour mixed in. Both options work well, and the texture is great. Since these are thin, rolled cookies if you use half wholegrain flour you will definitely see the grains in your cookies. For totally smooth cookies, I recommend using 100% all purpose flour.
Equipment
I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer to bring the Vegan Gingerbread Cookie dough together, but you can absolutely also do it by hand if you don't have one.
You will also need festive cookie cutters to cut out shapes (if you want to make Vegan Gingerbread Men, or whatever other shape) but if you don't have any, you can also roll this dough into a log, slice, and bake rounds instead.
Making Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
You will find detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. For now, let's take a quick look step by step!
First things first, make your flax egg! Simply whisk together 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 Tablespoons of water, and set aside while you're getting the rest of the ingredients ready.
Then, combine the molasses and vegan butter together in a small saucepan. Bring the molasses to a boil, and then remove from the heat and allow the vegan butter to melt.
Add the molasses mixture, sugar, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large bowl. Whisk this mixture together - it will foam up a little bit.
Add the flax egg to the wet mixture, and combine well.
Add the flour, and mix until the dry ingredients are well combined.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, using a spatula to scrape everything from the bowl. Form the dough into a round or a square, flatten, and wrap well. Place it into the fridge to chill for at least one hour, or overnight.
*Note - the dough can also be frozen at this stage and will last for up to three months in the freezer.
When you're ready to make your cookies, pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Dust your counter top with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on a floured surface. I typically aim for somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick. Just remember that thicker cookies will be softer and chewier, and thinner cookies will be crisp and snappier. Whatever floats your boat!
Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes (8 minutes for softer cookies, 10 minutes for crisper cookies) and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
Once the vegan cookies have cooled completely, you can decorate them with icing and decorations of your choice. My kids love taking a maximalist approach to decorating, but I love the classic gingerbread outline with a few chocolate buttons.
Pro tips / recipe notes:
Want to make this recipe in advance? Great! You've got options.
You can make the dough in advance and keep, tightly wrapped in plastic, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.
Vegan gingerbread cookies will last about a week stored in an airtight container, or up to three months in the freezer.
Can I make this recipe with a regular egg? Yes! Just replace the flax egg with one large egg and you're good to go. You can also use regular butter in place of vegan butter if you like.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free? I haven't personally tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work out with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. If you do test this, please let us know in the comments below!
How many cookies does this recipe make? Totally depends on the size of your cookie cutters! I tend to get about 24 large gingerbread cookies, and a handful of smaller ones.
What's the best icing for decorating gingerbread cookies? I phoned it in and used some store-bought icing that happened to be vegan, but you can make a very simple icing for decorating by mixing powdered sugar with a bit of water or plant-based milk.
Other tasty recipes:
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dark Chocolate Bark
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Spiced Sweet Potato Waffles
Wholegrain Cast Iron Skillet Cookie
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 Tablespoons water
- ½ cup vegan butter Or coconut oil
- ½ cup molasses Regular or blackstrap
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- First things first, make your flax egg! Simply whisk together 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 Tablespoons of water, and set aside while you're getting the rest of the ingredients ready.
- Then, combine ½ cup of molasses and ½ cup of vegan butter together in a small saucepan. Bring the molasses to a boil, and then remove from the heat and allow the vegan butter to melt.
- Add the molasses mixture, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl. Whisk this mixture together - it will foam up a little bit.
- Add the flax egg to the wet mixture, and combine well.
- Add 2 ½ cups flour, and mix until the dry ingredients are well combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, using a spatula to scrape everything from the bowl. Form the dough into a round or a square, flatten, and wrap well. Place it into the fridge to chill for at least one hour, or overnight.
- When you're ready to make your cookies, pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dust your counter top with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out on a floured surface. I typically aim for somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick. Just remember that thicker cookies will be softer and chewier, and thinner cookies will be crisp and snappier.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes (8 minutes for softer cookies, 10 minutes for crisper cookies) and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
- Once the vegan cookies have cooled completely, you can decorate them with icing and decorations of your choice.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- You can make the dough in advance and keep, tightly wrapped in plastic, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.
- Vegan gingerbread cookies will last about a week stored in an airtight container, or up to three months in the freezer.
- How many cookies does this recipe make? Totally depends on the size of your cookie cutters! I tend to get about 24 large gingerbread cookies, and a handful of smaller ones.
- What's the best icing for decorating gingerbread cookies? I phoned it in and used some store-bought icing that happened to be vegan, but you can make a very simple icing for decorating by mixing powdered sugar with a bit of water or plant-based milk.
Cassie K says
Delicious! We used a regular egg instead of the flax egg because it's just the dairy we need to avoid. I thought ours seemed pretty thick so I left them in a bit longer than suggested and I wish I hadn't. Still delicious, they just were best enjoyed dipped in milk.
Thanks for this recipe! My daughter had made gingerbread men cookies with her class at daycare but couldn't eat any because of a dairy intolerance. So this was great to make after so she didn't feel left out.
Emily says
These Vegan Gingerbread Cookies are just what I need for my Christmas baking! I'm looking forward to trying these with various shapes. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Katie Trant says
Thanks Emily! Please let us know how they turn out 🙂