The countdown to Christmas has started in our house, and the smell of these freshly baked Gingerbread cookies really kicks in the holiday season. I probably made these vegan cookies ten times in so many shapes, and however I make them, the house smells like Christmas, and the kids are so excited. So let me share with you how you can make healthy gingerbread cookies, because yes, these are not only egg-free gingerbread cookies, they are also made with less sugar and molasse a naturally high plant-based-iron ingredient.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make gingerbread cookies are:
All-Purpose Flour – I didn’t test the recipe with gluten-free flour, even though I am sure you can swap wheat flour for a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour as long as it contains a stabilizer like guar gum or xanthan gum. Flaxseed Meal – You can swap it for ground chia seeds or cornstarch. This acts as an egg replacer in your vegan cookie recipe. Unsweetened Almond Milk or any non-dairy milk you like oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. Allspice – Or more cinnamon if you don’t have this store-bought mix. Unsulphured Molasse or maple syrup, but any other liquid syrup works. But keep in mind that molasse is what makes gingerbread cookies darker in color, chewy and soft in the middle with this delicate nutty flavor. Plus, as a vegan, you should definitely add molasse to your day as it’s an iron-loaded ingredient! What’s better than eating cookies that fuel you up with the good stuff? You can replace the molasse for sugar-free maple syrup if you want to make sugar-free cookies. Vegan Butter – I used soft vegan butter. I left the butter for 30 minutes at room temperature to soften before using it in the recipe. However, I didn’t get any good results with coconut oil, so I don’t recommend that option. Soft Brown Sugar – Most gingerbread cookie recipes use dark brown sugar. That’s up to you, but I prefer soft brown sugar. It contains more moisture and makes the cookie softer in the middle. You can swap brown sugar for coconut sugar for a low GI option and molasse for maple syrup or coconut nectar. For sugar-free cookies, swap the brown sugar for a golden monk fruit erythritol blend.
How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
It’s so satisfying to make your own homemade gingerbread man cookies. Even better with this easy recipe, you can basically make it in one bowl with only a few ingredients.
Decorating
Vegan gingerbread cookies are much more beautiful if decorated with royal icing. That’s why I created a vegan royal icing recipe for you to pipe on top of your cookies. The recipe is pretty straightforward and easy to make from powdered sugar.
Expert Tips For Beautiful Cookies
My tips to easily set icing on cookies are to:
Pop the gingerbread cookies for 10 minutes in the fridge before icing them. This is just enough to make their surface cold and stick the vegan icing recipe on top of the cookie. Use a cold royal icing fresh from the fridge. I store mine for 1 hour in the fridge before filling my piping bag. Use the smallest nozzle of the piping bag to avoid too much icing running out at once,
Never decorate hot or lukewarm cookies with any icing because the cookie dough will melt your icing resulting in a big mess. Next part, sprinkle! You can find lots of vegan sprinkles brands on the market that makes the cookies colorful and kids-friendly. I used a touch of the vegan icing recipe to stick each sprinkle on top of my gingerbread man cookies.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
Below are my favorite Vegan Christmas Cookies recipes for you to try:
