It's not often that you'll find me in the kitchen baking. Cooking? Yes. Baking, not so much.
But every December, without fail, I seem to find myself baking and decorating sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, or some other rolled cookie. And I usually have these good intentions of mailing a box of them back home to our family in BC.
...I hate to have to admit this, but I don't think a batch has made it out to the mailbox yet. This could be because I'm a really bad daughter, OR it could be because I make reeeally good cookies. I prefer to believe it's the latter.
Once again, here I am planning to send a batch of gingerbread cookies back home. But this time I know it's going to happen. After shooting this recipe (a.k.a. snacking on cookie dough until my stomach hurts), eating most of those cookies, baking and decorating a second batch, and shooting them some more, I think I'm just about gingerbread cookie-d out for remainder of 2014.
I'll warn you right now, the dough is deliciously addictive (cookie dough always is!)
Friday night I made a batch, saran wrapped it and put it in the fridge to chill overnight so I could bake/decorate/photograph them on Saturday morning. And I may have made my way back to the kitchen for a little pinch of cookie dough once or twice before going to bed. (I mean, who wouldn't!?)
As usual William, being the night owl he is, stayed up a little later than I did.
Somehow by Saturday morning my perfect gingerbread cookie dough appeared to be about a ⅔ it's original size. Hmmm...
This recipe is absolutely divine. They are some of the EASIEST cookies I have ever made (it just works perfectly every. single. time.) The dough rolls out like a dream. And the cookies, oh my god the cookies... Perfectly spiced, not too sweet, and the texture is unreal. You can manipulate the texture to suit your preferences, whether you like them soft or crisp, it's all in how you store the cookies post-baking.
After they've been cooled, decorated, and dried you can store them in an airtight container which results in a perfectly soft chewy molasses cookie texture. Alternatively, you can store them with a little bit of air ventilation for a lightly crisp, snappy gingerbread that just begs to be paired with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate! I really love them when they're soft and chewy so I usually opt for the airtight container.
These would make such a lovely gift to make for someone special this Holiday season. You can bag them individually for personalized stocking stuffers, or bake a whole batch and gift a whole box to your favourite person!
I hope you have lots of fun making these, we sure did! We'd love to see what you do with them so feel free to snap a picture and share it with us @ilovegan on Instagram.
Now I'll leave you with our top tips for baking and decorating rolled cookies! This is every important tip I've learned over the years from my yearly Christmas baking sessions, and one crazy year where we stayed up until 4am baking and decorating dozens of sugar cookies for a craft fair.
Tips for Perfect Gingerbread Cookies Every Time
Rolling
- The dough will be quite stiff before your first roll out. I like to knead it a little bit before rolling it out. Every subsequent roll out will be easier and easier.
- Roll the cookie dough directly onto parchment paper (if it's sliding around a lot, a little bit of coconut oil or water on the backside of the paper will help it stick to the counter better.) Rolling the dough onto parchment makes it easy to maneuver the rolled dough and cookies as you please.
- Roll out the dough smoothly and evenly using cookie slats → here's a fantastic tutorial How to Roll Cookie Dough Evenly (this is exactly the exact method I use, she also rolls her cookies onto parchment paper) I used 2 pieces of ¼" dowelling for cookie slats, but in previous years I used ¼" wooden edging (which I preferred.)
- Pop the rolled, uncut cookie dough into the freezer for a couple of minutes to firm up before cutting it into cookies. Just slide the piece of parchment onto a cookie sheet and pop it in the freezer.
Cookies Cutters
- I love rolled cookies because I get to use my FAVOURITE cookie cutters, Wilton Comfort Grip Cookies Cutters. I can't recommend them enough, I've had them for 4 years and I couldn't be happier with them. The shapes are great (I love the Christmas Tree Comfort Grip Stainless Steel Cookie Cutter
and the Snowflake Comfort Grip Cookie Cutter , and the Gingerbread House Comfort Grip Cookie Cutter house is really fun to decorate! This Gingerbread Boy Comfort Grip Cookie Cutter is next on my list to buy.) The comfort grip makes a HUGE difference if you're making lots of cookies at once. (This post is not sponsored by Wilton, I just love their cookie cutters. All cookie cutter links are affiliate links.) - Pop the unbaked cookies back into the freezer to firm up before baking. (This is important to keep your cookie cutter shapes nice and crisp.)
and the 
, and the 
house is really fun to decorate! This 
is next on my list to buy.) The comfort grip makes a HUGE difference if you're making lots of cookies at once. (This post is not sponsored by Wilton, I just love their cookie cutters. All cookie cutter links are affiliate links.)Baking
- These must be baked at 325F, any hotter and the cookies will puff up and crack.
- Give these cookies a little room to spread. At least ½" between each cookie.
- These come out of the oven very very soft. Don't bake them any longer than the 10 minutes, once they cool they'll firm up a lot. Leave them on the pan to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Decorating
- Let the cookies cool completely before decorating. If you're impatient, let them cool in the freezer.
- These don't need to be decorated, they'd be really lovely just topped with coarse sugar before baking.
- We used royal icing for these cookies, the recipe is below.
- DIY coloured sugars are a great vegan option for decorating, here's a tutorial for making your own coloured sanding sugar. My vegan sugar of choice is Red Path.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan molasses cookies (a reader favourite!)
- Coconut oil sugar cookies
- Chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies
- Coconut macaroon thumbprint cookies
Perfect Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 -24 1x
- Category: Baking, Cookies, Holiday
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
These are truly PERFECT vegan gingerbread cookies! The dough rolls out like a dream, they're perfectly spiced, and not too sweet. Whether you prefer your gingerbread soft and chewy or crisp and snappy, this is the recipe for you!
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ cup coconut oil, room temperature
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp evaporated cane sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup fancy molasses (blackstrap is not recommended)
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil and the sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is nice and light. Add the water, molasses and vanilla, beat for another 30 seconds to mix thoroughly.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed sugar mixture, beating to combine.
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 2 hours)
- Before rolling, let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Roll the dough directly onto parchment paper. (Read our baking tips above for perfectly rolled cookies.) The dough should be ¼" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out the dough, use a flat spatula to gently remove the excess dough. Keep re-rolling and cutting out the dough until it's all used up.
- Pop the unbaked cookies into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and barely firm in the center.
- Let them cool completely before decorating. Store them in an airtight container for a perfectly soft chewy molasses cookie texture. Alternatively, you can store them with a little bit of air ventilation for a lightly crisp, snappy gingerbread cookies.
Notes
With the dough rolled out to ¼", this recipe makes about 12 large cookies (approx. 3"x4") or 24 smaller cookies (approx 2"x2.5"). We made 15 cookies, 9 large and 6 small.
Keywords: vegan gingerbread cookies, vegan ginger cookies
Simple Vegan Royal Icing
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Icing, Dessert
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A simple vegan royal icing recipe. Makes enough to ice 1 large gingerbread house.
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 ½ tbsp soy milk
- 4 tsp golden corn syrup
Instructions
- In a small bowl, beat together the powdered sugar and soy milk until smooth.
- Add the corn syrup and continue beating until thick and glossy.
- Separate into bowls and add food colouring if needed.
- Seal icing in an airtight container or cover with a damp cloth to prevent the icing from drying out.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using an affiliate link we will receive a small commission from the sale. We only recommend products that we've used and loved and we hope you'll love them too! Thank you for supporting I Love Vegan!
Jenna
How long does the dough keep in the fridge? I made half before Christmas and then forgot about the dough. Think it’s still good 10 days later? I would think it would be fine since there is nothing to really go bad in them... this is my son’s favorite cookie!
Brittany
Yep! That should be just fine 🙂
Katie
These cookies are amazing! I rarely bake cookies so I was apprehensive but they came out perfectly on the first try. Like a commenter above I also have to melt my coconut oil but maybe this is my inexperience talking. Even my non-vegan friends and family love them - I’m now making my second batch this year and will surely make them again next Christmas. Thank you!
Brittany
Yay! That's wonderful to hear Katie! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 I'm thinking that the coconut oil thing must just be a difference in room temperature. Perhaps my kitchen leans on the warmer side so my coconut oil is softer.
Amy
These are absolutely delicious. I will make these every year now. And, they’re vegan! Better than non vegan gingerbread cookies. Seriously. The dough was very difficult to work with though. I rolled one cookie at a time, pressed the cookie cutter in, and cut the dough away from the cutter and then pulled the cutter off. It took a long time but was totally worth it.
Brittany
Ah, I'm sorry you had issues rolling out the dough but I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies in the end! It sounds like there wasn't enough flour in your dough. I'm going to add ingredient weights for better results. Thank you for commenting!
Jessica
First time making gingerbread cookies so I don't have a non-vegan recipe to compare them with.
They were pretty difficult to roll out compared to sugar cookies, but I was able to get the job done. Maybe that is normal for gingerbread?
I may have done something wrong with the recipe because my dough was still super sticky when I pulled it out of the fridge. I ended up using probably a cup of flour altogether just to get it to roll out.
They lost a little bit of their shape while baking but not horribly.
Taste-wise they are super strong. Again, wondering if I failed to add enough flour when I made them?
Overall they are tasty (if strong) but I'm not sure I'd make them again.
Thanks for putting your recipe out there - even though it didn't really work out for me I appreciate it that you took the time to share it!!
Brittany
Thanks for your comment Jessica! In general I'd say that gingerbread cookies do have a fairly strong flavour. But since you had trouble rolling out the dough and found them to be sticky, it does sound like there wasn't enough flour. I'm going to add ingredient weights to the recipe so that people have more reliable results. I appreciate you taking the time to try the recipe and leave a thoughtful comment 🙂
Holly
These are so good! Thank you so much! I made these gluten free by switching the flour for a gluten free flour and it worked great!
Everybody loved them.
Brittany
I'm happy to hear that the gluten-free flour worked well in this recipe. Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it!
Delilah and matt
Be careful when you make your PERFECT vegan gingerbread cookies, because u should melt the coconut oil before mixing
Brittany
Interesting! I haven't found that necessary before, not when the coconut oil is at room temp. Thanks for the tip!
Rachael
Just made these, turned out to be* very *good. Tastes like the ones I loved as a kid. I'll keep using this recipe. I cooked them longer because I like them crunchy and didn't ice, dipped them in sugar, didn't need anything else. Totally perfect.
Brittany
Thank you Rachael! I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed them and made them just how you like them! Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it!! 😀
Anna J
Holy cow, the flavor on these is SO GOOD! Thank you for this recipe - everyone at my family gathering loved them! I didn't even ice them because I ran out of powdered sugar while making a different cookie. Next time!
You're totally right about letting them cool all the way on the pans. I tried moving a couple when they were still a little warm, and they cracked apart. Once they were cool, they held together for me.
I will definitely be making these again!
lulu b
hey! sorry to comment so long after you made the post, i decided to do some 2am baking because a) i can’t get any vegan biscuits round here and b) it’s christmas!! and my (currently chilling) dough tastes fab but it’s really soft? like, worryingly soft? i used dairy free butter stuff instead of coconut oil and i added more flour to try and help but i didn’t want to overdo it just in case it’s just like that until it’s cold and firm enough to be rollable, do you think i’ve messed it up already? 😅
Brittany
Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't get to this right away! It should be fine once it chills. Was it?
Ali Long
These cookie sheets turned out awesome but I had problems with them not firming up. I cooked them for 11mins. By the next morning, even after keeping them out in the open they were still doughy. I cooked them for about 25mins on a 200 degree oven to finally get them crunchy. They’re perfect now.
Brittany
Thanks for the input Ali! It sounds like there's a difference in our ovens. I'm glad you were able to get them just right with a little tinkering!
Inge
Thank you so much for this recipe! Very easy. The dough was already delicious 🙂 The cookies turned out great.
★★★★★
Melanie Huard
Thank's. I think the taste is very good.
★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Melanie!!
Saskia
Hey, just made these and they were fantastic! I used brown sugar as my sugar and I think this helped then be a bit firmer /easier to cut in the dough stage. I did find I had to cook them a little longer though, but that could just be my oven, it runs cool. Anyway thanks, this was my first e ver gingerbread foray and it worked really well! Keeping this recipe for sure
Brittany
Yay, thanks so much Saskia! I appreciate your comments 😀
Molly Butler
I baked these yesterday and they came out great! The dough was easy to work with and the cookies baked perfectly in 10 minutes. Everyone who has tried them, vegan and non, raved about them. A non-vegan friend even asked for the recipe! As a vegan of six months, I'm always nervous to try new vegan recipes for fear I won't like them, but I was definitely not disappointed this time!
Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays!
Molly
★★★★★
Brittany
Oh wow, that is SO wonderful to hear Molly! Thanks for sharing my recipes with your friends 😀
Gisela
I just finished baking these a few minutes ago and my entire house smells wonderful. It was my first attempt at a vegan cookie having just recently turned to a WFPB/vegan lifestyle 4 weeks ago. They came out beautiful and are delicious. I substituted Oat flour for the enriched white flour and it worked great.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I can't wait to try more of your recipes.
Happy Holidays.
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks so much Gisela! I'm glad oat flour worked in place of the white flour. I appreciate your comment!
Holly
Can I make the dough several days in advance, leaving it in the refrigerator? Thank you! (I wish to make a few batches, and not roll, cut, bake and decorate for a few days.)
Before I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, I had serious doubts about how they would turn out, but once I started mixing in the dry ingredients--WOW! It came together as the best scented gingerbread cookies EVER!
★★★★★
Brittany
Holly, yes you can prep the dough a few days ahead of time! Thanks for commenting 😀
Sara
Great recipe thanks - I love ginger so doubled the ginger quantity.
★★★★★
Brittany
Mmmm... Sounds great!
Ashley
Do you recommend the dough to sit in the fridge over night or just for the two hours? Or does it not make a difference?
Brittany
If you have the time let the dough chill overnight, it'll be easier to work with the next day after it warms up a little.
Laura
How long will these keep for?
Brittany
About a week or so Laura. You can store them, undecorated, the freezer for longer if you wish.
Stephanie Bergsma
Would this dough work for a gingerbread house?
Brittany
Yes yes yes!!!! We used to have a gingerbread house tutorial up on the blog using this dough. If you need any additional resources for using this dough for a gingerbread house you can find the archived tutorial on wayback machine, right here: https://web.archive.org/web/20130508194727/http://www.ilovevegan.com/tutorials/vegan-gingerbread-house/ and here are the templates.
Hannah
I've literally never commented on a recipe, but these cookies were too perfect! I love baking but I'm intimidated by any recipe that requires rolling. This was easier than I imagined. I found the dough easiest to work with divided into 2
parts. Otherwise I just followed the recipe and it was perfect! We'll skip the frosting but maybe decorate them next year when my toddler is a bit older.
★★★★★
Brittany
Hannah I'm so flattered that you decided to comment on this recipe then! Thank you SO much, it's very very appreciated. Happy to hear the rolling was easier than you thought. It's wonderful to know you're already thinking about making them again next year. 😀
Laura
Absolutely delicious gingerbread! I tripled the mixture for Christmas presents so had a massive amount of mixture to roll but once I got into the hang of it I loved it. I rolled out a third of the mixture at a time - and make sure you give a bit of space for them to spread. YOUR BIGGEST FRIEND IS FLOUR!!! Flour everything!! Your greaseproof paper, your rolling pin and your cookie cutters - it will be a total life saver 🙂 I used normal flour and regular white sugar and they turned out great.
★★★★
Brittany
Laura, that is so wonderful. I'm so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for the flour tip, I think it'll really help other people, especially when the dough starts to get warm and sticky. Thank you SO much for commenting!
Bertille Rossi
Hello,
I really want to try your recipe for christmas, but as I am french, I don't really understand what you mean in the ingredients when you say "evaporated cane sugar"what does that mean? I don't understand the meaning of evaporated for the sugar. Thank you very much!
Brittany
Hi there! Any granulated sugar will work - white sugar, coconut sugar, organic cane sugar, etc. Evaporated cane sugar is specifically vegan because the moisture from the cane sugar is evaporated instead of the sugar being processed through bone char.
Bertille Rossi
Thank you for your reply! It's not the same word use in France, so that's why I was confused.
Anyway, I made this recipe for Christmas and.. They were so good! I've never done cookies with molasse before, but I really like the texture that this gives!
I was really happy to tell to my family "they are vegan" (because I'm the only vegan in my family) and see how they loved them! They became my mom's favorite!
Thanks (:
★★★★★
Diana Izard
These cookies are a wonderful chewy texture , in glad you wrote the part about resisting to bake them longer as they hardened up wonderfully on their own.
Mine turned out quite salty however. I don't add salt to my own food or eat high sodium food so I am more sensitive to it now. I used Blackstock molasses and am wondering if that could or if I should cut the baking soda in half. Other than the molasses I followed the recipe exactly.
I'll try again tomorrow with fancy molasses and hope for the best!
★★★★
Brittany
Hmm... Have you tried low or no sodium baking soda and baking powder? That would probably be your best bet if you're very sensitive to sodium. There is a bit of a difference between blackstrap and fancy molasses, but the leavening agents contain waaay more sodium.
Rachel Leung
These were a dream to work with since I used vegan margarine. I also doubled the recipe and made 70 cookies (was aiming for oops, but never too many cookies). If I were to gift these, I think I'd make them a bit sweeter, although maybe with icing it'll balance it out. Nevertheless, this is now my go-to gingerbread cookie recipe!
★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Rachel, your cookies looked absolutely gorgeous! I probably should have mentioned that the recipe makes 12-24 LARGE cookies, haha. Sorry! I think you'll find that icing them does balance out the sweetness but I bet they'd be great with a touch more sugar too! Thanks for commenting 😀
Fireweed
made these a couple of days ago for our vegan bake sale yesterday in support of Food Not Bombs at Standing Rock in North Dakota! They were a definite hit, and I had so much fun making them! At first I found the dough to sticky to work with though, so added another cup of flour. I also used blackstrap molasses. After refrigerating the dough it was totally hard, so I had to wait a few hours before I could knead it a bit to soften. I found that after cutting my shapes on top of the waxed paper I could simply flip the paper over on to my countertop and more easily peel away the 'in between bits' and avoid stretching the cookies out of shape (this instead of popping in my small freezer due to lack of time). Thanks for the great recipe!
/Users/dianneradmore/Desktop/GINGERBREAD 2.jpg
★★★★
Brittany
Thank you! It's crazy to think my recipe was used in support of Food Not Bombs in Standing Rock - amazing! Thank you! I hope the extra cup of flour worked out okay for recipe. Typically the dough gets sticky when the coconut oil liquefies and refrigerating the dough should usually do the trick. Love the wax paper trick, I'll be sure to include that in my recipe. THANKS!
Angie
Hi!
I left my dough in the fridge overnight and I've just taken it out to get to room temp for an hour, but it seemed EXTREMELY hard when I took it out
I know you mentioned it would be stiff so an I just being paranoid?
Not a baker so I don't have a great gauge for this stuff!
Also it took me forever to read all the comments to figure out if coco oil should be melted solid of softened maybe you can add that above in the directions.. just a suggestion 😉
Merry Xmas!
Brittany
Hi Angie! Yes the dough will be very stiff just out of the fridge. That's the nature of using coconut oil in baking, it's SO temperamental with fluctuating temperatures. And thanks for the note on the coconut oil, I'll make sure to include that. Thanks for commenting!
IamGret
Hello, does the coconut oil needs to be melted or solid?
Brittany
Hi! The coconut oil should be about room temperature, not melted but not chilled either. It should be a scoop-able, soft, solid.
Emma-leigh
Hey,
I currently don't have any molasses, what could i use to substitute it?
BTW these look delicious
Brittany
I'd suggest waiting until you have molasses - it's a key flavour in this recipe.
Karen
Hi, I made this recipe last year and they were so good! The dough is so easy to work with. This year I also want to try the icing, but I was wondering what the best substitute for corn syrup would be. Could I use agave or honey?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Karen! I think agave would be better than honey. You could try maple syrup too. I think both would work for this recipe but corn syrup will be a bit better because it softens the texture and helps prevent crystallization.
Sophie
I had some issues making these. The dough was pretty sticky and floppy and after using a cookie cutter, I couldn't even remove the dough around it, let alone scoop up the cookie to put it on the cookie sheet. I ended up putting the dough in the freezer for an hour or two (I had only refrigerated it for 2 hours before cutting so maybe that was part of the problem) and it worked a little better. They just seemed very oily. Even after being cooked, the bottoms of them are oily. Plus they spread out a ton in the oven and turned into a big sheet almost. However, they were still delicious and my family gobbled them up. Next time I might try putting in just 1/4 cup of coconut oil and see if that helps. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
★★★★
Brittany
Hmm... I'm not 100% sure what went wrong but here are my thoughts. 1/2 cup coconut oil shouldn't be too much. If the dough gets too warm the oil will become liquid and separate. If you're working in a warm kitchen this can definitely be an issue. I'd suggest trying to keep the dough as cool as possible when you're working with it. Did you chill the cookies after cutting them/before baking them? Did the dough feel COLD after chilling for 2 hours?
I wouldn't suggest halving the coconut oil but if you're concerned you could try decreasing to 1/3 cup. You can also sub in vegan butter or shortening, both of those handle varying temperatures MUCH better than coconut oil. I hope that helps! I'm so sorry you had issues with this recipe. Maybe we can figure this out and I'll be able to clarify my recipe! But THANK YOU for trying this recipe and sharing your thoughts, it's super helpful!
Kayla
This is one of my favorite recipes of yours! I have been making your gingerbread cookies (and the gingerbread house) for the last several years around Thanksgiving and Christmas and they always turn out perfectly. Plus all of the omnivorous in the house love them. 🙂
★★★★★
Brittany
Thank you Kayla! I'm so glad you love this recipe (and your family too!) We're going to be re-releasing the gingerbread house this year and I'm SO excited to make it again. Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it!
Debra
Hi there, the only molasses that I can find that is not blackstrap is not a syrup but sugar granules. Is there a brand you could recommend? I am in NZ.
Brittany
Hmm... I can't really recommend a brand, in Canada I use the store brand or Crosby's. You could use a mix of blackstrap molasses and brown sugar. Blackstrap is going to be much stronger and less sweet so you'll need to decrease the amount of molasses and add more brown sugar. I think that would be your best bet.
Shannon
We randomly made these today... Christmas in August haha- and we made them with blackstrap molasses and are OBSESSSED with how good they are. Just wanted to add that for anyone wanting to make them with the health benefits of blackstrap --they're Better than chocolate- says my chocolate obsessed three year old haha
Brittany
That's too funny Shannon! I was just listening to Christmas music the other day so you're not alone! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies, and thanks for commenting about the blackstrap molasses.
Carolynn
Made these today (with a few modifications to suit what was in the pantry), and they turned out great! The dough was soooo easy to work with; I rolled multiple times and it stayed soft and pliable the whole time. My son has a severe dairy allergy, so I love finding recipes that remind me of my childhood classics, but that he can enjoy too. What a fun activity for us to do together at Christmas - thanks so much!
5 stars!
Brittany
Thank you so much Carolynn! I'm so glad you guys got to enjoy a little holiday cookie tradition 😀
Em. L.
WARNING : DO NOT USE BLACK STRAP MOLASSES. USE FANCY MOLASSES ONLY. I ruined my cookies... they are not gingerbread cookies, they are molasses cookies 🙁
Brittany
Thanks for the tip! I'll add that to the recipe notes right away!
Fernando
Help me 🙁 I followed it mostly to the letter (used sunflower oil instead of coconut) but my dough ended up reeeally sticky. It got stuck all over the parchment paper, I had to swipe it off of it. This thing's really gooey. I get the impression the molasses' to blame. Maybe the molasses I used wasn't the right type of molasses? As it turns out in my country there are two types of sugar cane syrups that sound almost the same (melaço and melado), one that's a by-product from refining sugar, another one made from evaporated sugar cane juice, I used the latter. The former you can't even find in stores.
I mean it's all coming from the same thing but I don't know if these differences count for something. Still, I think I could perhaps salvage my dough? Adding more flour maybe? What do you suggest?
Brittany
Nope, sorry Fernando, the issue was the sub of sunflower oil instead of coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temp. and completely hard when chilled. Sunflower oil is a liquid. You have to make sure to sub solid fats for solid fats (for example, vegetable shortening or vegan butter/margarine would have been an okay substitute, but canola, safflower, sunflower, and olive oil would not work.)
It's hard to say whether you'll be able to salvage the cookies. If anything, I'd try adding a little more flour and turning it into a drop cookie, not a rolled cookie. Form dough into balls, roll them in sugar, and use a fork to press them into cookies (similar to peanut butter cookies.) It's always a good idea to google appropriate substitutions or ask ahead of time!
Brittany
Also! The proper molasses to use is the one made from the by-product of the sugar. That wouldn't have been the problem with your dough but your cookies wouldn't have the characteristic depth of a traditional gingerbread cookie.
Fernando
Thanks Brittany. I salvaged it by adding more flour. I'm not sure if they're as they should be but they're nice nevertheless. I had to bake them at a higher temperature and for longer, also they kinda break easy. Still nice though. Thanks.
Fernando
BTW, what would you suggest as a replacement for coconut oil. Coconut oil is sooo pricey here. I can't bring myself to pour half a cup of it into a single recipe. Would margarine do?
Brittany
Any vegetable shortening will do (that'd be my first choice) or vegan margarine will work.
Bianca
These were delicious! They're so soft and chewy. Baking is not my forte but these were the easiest cookies to make and the dough was extremely easy to work with. This will now be my permanent gingerbread recipe for every Christmas!
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Bianca! I'm so glad you enjoyed them 😀
Deb
If I use rapadura instead of vegan sugar, should I omit the molasses?
Brittany
Hi Deb! No, I wouldn't omit the molasses. I haven't used rapadura before but it seems like it would be similar to evaporated cane sugar so you'll still need that molasses flavour.
Tina
What type of molasses do u use ? Can I use blackstrap or will they be too dark or strong ?
Brittany
Blackstrap should work just fine, another commenter used it and really loved the cookies!
Kristina
I just made these cookies last night and they are absolutely delicious! I have been searching on pinterest for weeks looking for a good gingerbread recipe that uses a lot of ingredients and dried spices I already have at home, and this was perfect!
It was so easy to follow the instructions with all of your rolling and baking tips. I only baked the cookies for 8-9 minutes and let them cool to harden up. They are such a beautiful dark brown color! I kept them in an airtight cookie tin and they are perfectly chewy. I can't say enough great things about this recipe. The spice blend is perfectly proportioned, and I used blackstrap molasses for an earthy flavor (plus antioxidants!).
I didn't decorate them with icing, but I sprinkled a little bit of unrefined organic cane sugar on top and they are so delicious and perfectly sweet. This was my first baking experiment since becoming vegan, and this will forever be my gingerbread recipe from here on out. I will definitely be baking these and giving them to friends and family! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Brittany
Kristina, wow, thank you so so much for trying out the recipe and leaving such a lovely comment. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful holidays and that your friends and family enjoy the cookies too. Thank you!!
kyla
Hi! I am out of whole wheat flour. Can I just combine the measurements for the flour and whole wheat flour?
Brittany
Absolutely!
Annabelle
Hi there,
I have tried to find the icing recipe as well, and the link appears to be broken. Any way we can access the recipe otherwise? Thank you and looking forward to making these!
Brittany
Hi Annabelle! The recipe is fixed now, I've included the icing recipe at the bottom of the post.
Victoria
What is evaporated cane sugar??? Can I use coconut palm sugar instead ?
Thanks <3
Brittany
Absolutely! Evaporated cane sugar is just a vegan sugar, any granulated sugar will do!
Sylvie
Hi there. Can I use golden syrup instead of molasses? And maybe a combo of spelt flour and plain flour? Thanks this looks great. Does it however taste different From normal full fat gingerbread as I love them but want a healthier alternative
Brittany
Hi Sylvie! I wouldn't substitute golden syrup for molasses, molasses is key for that authentic gingerbread flavour! Another commenter had success making these cookies gluten free with a combo of brown rice flour and millet flour but I haven't tried it myself. These are simply a vegan gingerbread cookie, not a low fat or particularly healthy alternative (besides the inclusion of whole wheat flour) so they taste very close to your regular gingerbread cookies!
Shannon
These look amazing! I love all things gingerbread!
Brittany
Thanks Shannon, me too! 😀
Ariane
These are the best vegan gingerbread cookies I've ever made + they are super quick and simple to do! Made the recipe for my drama club practice and everyone devoured them, without even knowing they were vegan. Thanks a lot for the recipe!
Have a good day!
★★★
Brittany
Aww, thanks for trying them recipe!! I'm so so glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for commenting! 😀
Julie
Hi there,
I just tried this recipe for the first time, and adjusted the flours so the cookies would also be gluten free.
I used brown rice and millet flour, and the cookies turned out great.
Thank you, it was great to try something new!
Happy Holidays
Brittany
Wow! That is SO SO awesome!! Thanks for trying them out and providing your feedback! 😀
Julia
Hi im wondering also, if u can just use all regular unbleached flour, i dont have whole wheat flour I have a l9vely gingerbread cookie recipe but i may just switch out the egg with vegan egg. What do you think? My family is weird about me being vegan and trying to "change" all our recipes... ugh
Brittany
Absolutely! You can totally regular flour. I've had a lot of great feedback on this recipe in particular so if you're happy to try a new one I would give this one a go. Sometimes veganizing a non-vegan recipes can take a little more trial and error than simply switching in a vegan egg (not always though!) I would consider saving your usual recipe for a time when you have more time to test it. Good luck either way!
Olga
May I ask if molasses can be substituted for agave syrup? Also, it is ginger powder, not actual grated ginger, right?
Brittany
Hi Olga! I wouldn't suggest swapping the molasses for agave. Molasses is one of main flavours of gingerbread and it's a SUPER thick sweetener, unlike agave which is quite thin. Yes, the recipe refers to dried ginger. Thanks for commenting!
Nadine
Well I appreciate this recipe it was WAY longer than ten minutes to cut the cookies! I followed the tips, kneaded and then froze the dough after I rolled it but still.. Is there something I did wrong that these were so hard to form shapes without having them come apart? I realized I had to cut around them because they were too sticky and floppy to move but this took so long to try and accomplish and definetley didn't fit on one pan! I gave up and rolled up the rest of the dough into cookies on another pan. They tasted good in the end, but hoping for less hassle if I was maybe doing something wrong?
Brittany
I'm sorry you had issues with the recipe! The dough must have warmed up too much if was floppy or sticky. Make sure it's nice a firm before cutting into cookies. I always work on parchment paper to help move the cookies after I've cut them. Did you roll them nice and thick? The number of pans needed for the recipe will depend on the size/cookie cutters you use and how thin/thick you roll the dough. Did you follow all the recipe tips too?
I'm glad they were enjoyable in the end!
Charlotte King-harris
I found that sprinkling the counter and the dough with a bit of flour helped quite a bit, and I popped the dough in the freezer for 3-4 minutes between each rolling out 🙂
Brittany
Thanks for the tips Charlotte!
anita
Thanks but where's the royal icing recipe that holds it all together? Did I miss it? 🙂
Brittany
Oh, I linked to it in the post. Here you go! Royal Icing