This Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Recipe is the perfect holiday treat and makes a delicious homemade Christmas gift for kids and adults alike! They’re soft and chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and molasses.
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
I‘m so excited to finally share this gingerbread cookie recipe because they’re perfect for the holidays! They’re crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside, perfectly spiced, including ginger and cinnamon, and so delicious! Since the cookie dough recipe is very versatile you can use it for your favorite shapes and sizes!
Easy Vegan Christmas Cookies
I think, there is really nothing better to celebrate the holidays than baking Christmas treats. Especially, the smell in your house while these gingerbread cookies baking in the oven is just amazing! I don’t know about you but I always get in a festive mood when cutting out the dough while smelling these warming fall and winter spices!
Ingredients for Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Since these gingerbread cookies are vegan, there are no eggs or any dairy ingredients required for this recipe! You need just a few simple ingredients:
- Flour: I prefer using all-purpose flour or spelt flour for this recipe, but a gluten-free flour blend will also work.
- Baking soda and pinch of salt: These are actual “basic” ingredients for any baked goods. Baking soda is stronger than baking powder but both help the dough rises, and salt is just for the taste.
- Spices: I use ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, but you can taste and adjust the flavors to your wish! Also, spices like ground cloves, vanilla, or a gingerbread spice blend are great!
- Molasses: This is a thick, dark syrup made of sugar cane or sugar beets. I typically use the original ulsulphured molasses.
- Coconut sugar: To sweeten in a “healthier” way. However, you can also use brown sugar or raw cane sugar if you prefer.
- Flaxseed eggs: To substitute the regular eggs. Simply mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of hot water, then set aside to thicken. Feel free to use chia instead of flax. However, you can also substitute unsweetened Apple sauce for the flax eggs.
- Vegan Butter: Make sure it is softened to room temperature. Alternatively, substitute melted or soft coconut oil.
How to make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
The dough of this gingerbread cookie recipe comes together easily! Here’s what you have to do:
Start to whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices). In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients (vegan butter, flax eggs, molasses) and coconut sugar.
Next, combine the wet and dry ingredients until a slightly sticky dough forms. You can either use your hands to mix the ingredients or process them in a stand mixer.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, and form each into a ball. Then gently use your hands to flatten each ball slightly into a disk. Finally, wrap each disc of dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour or until firm enough to work with.
Why does cookie dough have to be chilled?
Chilling sticky cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat, resulting in a firmer dough. This makes it easier to work with. Also, the disc shape will make it easier to roll the cookie dough out later. Furthermore, the dough chills faster when there is less volume so I prefer to divide it into two portions.
Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, unwrap one of the discs and place it on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough evenly until it is about 1/5-inch thick. Then use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes. Re-roll remaining dough out to cut out more cookies. Finally, use a spatula to gently transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the other disc of dough.
Then simply bake the cookies at 350°F for about 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are crisp and slightly browned around the edges. However, you can actually bake them up to be as soft or as crispy as you’d like. So if you’re a fan of crispier cookies, you can increase the baking time for a few minutes. Then, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Use your favorite decoration!
Once the vegan gingerbread cookies cool to room temperature, feel free to decorate them as desired. I like to leave them plain as they are and just dust with powdered sugar before serving. However, you can also make a simple icing or frosting or decorate them with sprinkles, candies or whatever you like!
Homemade Christmas Gift Idea
You can store these vegan gingerbread men covered at room temperature for several days or freeze for later. So these vegan cookies would also make a lovely Christmas gift for someone special! You can bake a whole batch using different designs, then decorate as desired and bag them individually or prepare a whole cookie gift box!
This Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Recipe is:
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free
- Can be made gluten-free
- Easy to make
- Perfectly spiced
- Flavorful
- Soft
- Chewy
- Crisp on the edges
- So delicious!
- The perfect cookie dessert for the holidays!
Looking for more easy vegan holiday treat to try? Make sure to check out the following recipes:
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake Bars
- Easy Vegan Apple Pie
- Mini Apple Pies
- Apple Hand Pies
- Vegan Apple Blondies
- Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Loaf
- Cranberry Loaf
- Cranberry Crumb Cake
If you do try this Vegan Gingerbread Cookies Recipe, I would love to read your feedback in the comments below. And if you take a photo of your delicious vegan Christmas cookies and share it on Instagram, please don’t forget to tag me @biancazapatka to make sure I won’t miss your post. Happy baking!
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or sub gluten-free flour blend
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup vegan butter softened (or sub coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or sub brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 flax-egg *see instructions (or sub 4 tbsp applesauce)
- powdered sugar optional for dusting
Instructions
- Make the flax-egg: In a small cup, mix 1 tbsp ground flax seeds and 3 tbsp hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the soft vegan butter and coconut sugar until combined. Add in the molasses and the prepared flax-egg, continue to beat until completely combined.
- In batches add the all-purpose flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. (If the dough is very sticky, you might add a little more flour). Divide the dough into two portions. Form each portion into a disc, wrap tightly in foil and chill for at least one hour.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Dust your work surface generously with flour.
- Use a dusted rolling pin, carefully roll out one portion of the dough to be about 1/5-inch thick. Dip your favorite cookie cutter in flour and cut out cookies. Then use a spatula to gently transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 2-inches between the cookies. Re-roll remaining dough out to cut out more cookies. Then repeat this process with the other portion of dough.
- Bake the gingerbread cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until they are crisp and slightly browned on the edges.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet while they continue firming up. Then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar or decorate as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Spices can be adjusted to taste. Also, ground cloves, vanilla, or a gingerbread spice blend are great!
- The Prep Time: does not include the chill time of the dough.
- Serving Size: This recipe makes about 12 large cookies or 24 smaller cookies.
- Nutrition facts: These should be for 1 large cookie or 2 smaller cookies.
- Storage: Serve fresh, or store covered at room temperature for several days or freeze for later.
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Anything I made from this blog was so delicious! Including this gingerbread cookie recipe! Highly recommend for everyone! ☺️
So glad you love my recipes! 😀
Thank you very much! ♡
I want to eat your gingerbread men. They look so delicious.
Thanks! 😀
These came out so great. I really love the amount of ginger in the recipe!
That’s amazing! Thanks! 🙂
wooowoowoo
Thanks! 😀
Hallo Bianca, kann mann die Melasse auch ersetzen durch etwas anderes. Ich hab es nicht gefunden. Liebe Grüße Fleur
Ich mache die Lebkuchenplätzchen immer mit Zuckerrübensirup. Leider kann ich keinen anderen Ersatz empfehlen, der zum gleichen Ergebnis führt.
LG, Bianca
The best gingerbread cookie. ♥️🍪Will make again. 😚
Thank you so much! 🙂
These are great! I made two batches, one with plain flour and one with gluten free. The regular ones worked perfectly and were easy to roll and cut, The GF ones unfortunately just crumbled 🙁
I used coconut oil and dark brown sugar.
I glazed them with thin icing which gave just the right amount of sweetness.
Hi Ella,
Thank you! 🙂
If making these gluten-free I recommend using gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
You could also add a bit applesauce.
Best, Bianca <3
Amazing recipe! Cookies are super delicious and easy to make 😋
That’s amazing! Thank you so much! I am so glad you love the recipe! 🙂
Hab die Kekse heute ausprobiert und bin begeistert! Ich trau mich sonst schon gar micht mehr, selbst Lebkuchen zu machen, weil sie nie was werden. Bin soo froh, dass ichheute doch noch einen letzten Versuch gestartet hab. SO lecker!
Das ist echt toll! Freut mich sehr! Danke! 🙂
Thank you! They came out great and delicious, although the dough was very hard to roll out and kept breaking. I couldn’t use flour while rolling it out as it would crack even more. Not sure what I did wrong. But that’s not going to put me off from making them again next year 🙂
Hi Petra,
so glad they came out delicious! 🙂
Hope it will be easier to roll out next time.
Best, Bianca <3
Hi, about to make the gingerbread recipe. How much ginger spice should I use if I’m using it instead of your suggested spices ? Thanks!
Hi Petra, I suggest using 2-3 tsp of gingerbread spice + 1 tsp of cinnamon but you can adjust it your taste! 🙂
Wo gibt’s denn die super niedlichen Ausstecher? Vor allem die kleineren mit dem Gesicht sind toll! Würde die auch so gerne haben, möchte dass meine gingerbread men dann auch so super lieb aussehen, wenn ich das Rezept ausprobiere 🙈❤️🍪
Hey Jana,
ich hab die mal irgendwo im Supermarkt oder in einer Drogerie gesehen… Ich weiß aber leider nicht mehr, wo genau! xD
Vielleicht schaust du mal online?
Ich bin mir sicher, du findest bestimmt was! 🙂
Viele Grüße,
Bianca
Is this recipe also good for a gingerbread house? Or is this not firm enough. I have my go to recipe but I would like to try this one.
Thank you!
Hi Sarah,
you could definitely try that!
Would love to hear your feedback then.
Much love, Bianca
Beautiful gingerbread cookies! They look so cute and delicious. 🙂
So glad you love these cookies! Thanks for your amazing feedback! 🙂
This recipe was easy to follow and the cookies came out deliciously. I highly recommend trying it for any skill level. They were a big hit for Christmas, I might make them year round. I used the apple sauce substitute I appreciate the recommend amount for this substitution. If you are looking for a good vegan gingerbread cookie recipe you came to the right place.
Hi Alicia, so glad these cookies turned out great! Thank you for your amazing feedback! Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you enjoyed the holidays! Lots of love, Bianca <3
These cookies are perfect!! They tasted better than traditional gingerbread cookies and looked beautiful with the icing sugar. Thank you for sharing!!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies! Thank you for your amazing feedback, my dear Marisa! Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Lots of love, Bianca <3
I just made them! They are perfect 👌 I did add a little less sugar. And I’m so happy I followed your notes about adding some cloves and vanilla. Smells so good 😋
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your feedback! So glad you love this recipe! 🙂
Die traut man sich ja gar nicht zu essen, viel zu süß!
Advents-Grüße sendet dir,
Jesse-Gabriel
Liebe Jesse-Gabriel, es freut mich wirklich sehr zu hören, dass du die Lebkuchenmänner so niedlich findest! Ich danke dir vielmals für deinen Kommentar und wünsche dir ebenfalls eine schöne Adventszeit! Viele Grüße, Bianca <3
Bianca! I love your gingerbread cookie recipe! And they look adorable. Perfect presentation! Dee
Hi Dee, so glad you like these vegan gingerbread cookies! Thank you for your lovely comment! 🙂 Lots of love, Bianca <3