Name: Perfect Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups (250g) whole wheat or all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup (55g) vegan butter or margarine, or coconut oil, at room temperature; 1/3 cup (85g) unrefined light brown sugar; 1/4 cup (85g) unsulphured molasses; 1 flax egg; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 pinch of salt; 2 tsp ground ginger; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp allspice; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; zest of 1 orange; 1 tbsp ground flax seeds; 3 tbsp cold water; 1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar, sifted; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp water

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These vegan gingerbread cookies are easy to make and irresistible to eat. They make lovely Christmas gifts or edible decorations. Soft or crispy, they will become the epitome of your Christmas baking.

In a long-ago tale, an old woman who lived in a cottage decided to bake a cookie she had shaped into a tiny man. Who knew this little guy would become so famous!
No Christmas should go by without dunking a gingerbread man’s leg into a mug of tea or coffee 🙂

My recipe for Vegan Gingerbread Cookies is a breeze to make. Besides being yummy, the cookies also make charming edible decorations since they hold their shape well and will keep for 2 to 3 weeks. Gingerbread cookies are a must during the holiday season and a great hands-on activity for the whole family.

Traditionally, gingerbread cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. But you can adapt the baking time to achieve your favorite texture. It’s impossible not to fall in love at the first bite.

So “Run, run as fast as you can…” and bake the gingerbread man. 🙂

What to love about these vegan gingerbread cookies

They are the quintessential Christmas cookie
Crispy on the outside with a soft center and perfectly spiced
Decorating them is a great way to spend time with your loved ones
They make delightful Christmas gifts
The gooey sweetness of molasses together with seasonal warming spices make your home smell like Christmas and utterly steal your heart

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Ingredients

Flour. All-purpose, as well as whole wheat flour, works great.

Molasses. In the last few years, I have come across many versions of gingerbread cookie recipes, but the one essential ingredient is molasses. It gives the dough amazing flavor and texture. I prefer to use unsulphured organic molasses.

Spices. I worked hard to nail down the right amount and balance of spices, but feel free to custom-make a blend, ensuring the total quantity equals what is required in the recipe. You could also try the Chai spice mix that I use for my Chai Spice Apple Cake.

Orange zest. Whatever you do, don’t skip the orange zest. It gives the dough a wonderful aroma.

Flax egg. To make this recipe vegan, I substituted flax egg for the egg with a great result! If you are new to this ingredient, read here how to make and use it.

Unrefined Light Brown Sugar. My go-to sugar when baking, but feel free to substitute it with Muscovado if you want them extra chewy.

Coconut Oil. Coconut oil. It’s an excellent all-around ingredient to substitute for dairy butter. It is also ideal for stovetop cooking, baking, and spreading on toast. Coconut oil is healthy as it is low in saturated fat and won’t alter the flavor in your recipes. Or, you can use any vegan butter or margarine that is suitable for baking.

In the recipe, you will also find instructions to make a vegan royal icing so you can have fun decorating these vegan gingerbread cookies. For that, you simply blend water, confectioners’ sugar, and a bit of lemon juice.

If you need some tips to decorate these or other cookies, head to Incredibly Easy Christmas Cookies, where I share all my best tricks!

As mentioned above, I like decorating them with white royal icing, but you can also leave them plain, dust them with powdered sugar or go crazy with sprinkles and vegan chocolate buttons. Or all the above. According to my 8-year-old daughter, there is no such thing as too many decorations!

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