Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Easy vegan gingerbread cookies that can be made soft or crunchy. They have just the right amount of warm spices and a hint of molasses!
Why you’ll love this gingerbread
DIFFICULTY: Easy to make with only 8 ingredients. The cookie dough comes together in one bowl and you don’t have to chill it!
TASTE: Lots of spices without being overpowering. The brown sugar and molasses add a cozy depth of flavor.
TEXTURE: These cookies are soft and chewy if you bake them for less time or crunchy if you bake them for a little longer!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Molasses adds depth of flavor and acts as a binder for these gingerbread cookies! I don’t recommend blackstrap molasses as its flavor is too strong. Alternatively, you can use golden syrup. Maple syrup will work however it’s runnier so you’ll need to add more flour to your dough.
Vegan block butter. You can substitute this with vegan spreadable butter (if you add more flour) or coconut oil (add an extra dash of milk and more salt). Or check out my healthier refined sugar-free gingerbread cookies.
Ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. We’re using a whole tablespoon of ground ginger and ground cinnamon for a vibrant gingerbread flavor that’s not overpowering.
Even though these vegan gingerbread cookies are eggless, you don’t need any special egg replacers such as a flax egg.
Preparing the gingerbread dough
The dough is prepared like any classic cookie dough!
First, you need to cream the butter and sugar. This acts like a ‘mechanical leavening‘ and helps aerate the cookie batter. Then we mix in the rest of the wet ingredients including the molasses, milk and vanilla.
Finally, mix in all the dry ingredients until there are no more pockets of flour or butter. Your final cookie dough should be soft and slightly tacky. If you pinch the dough between two fingers, it should stick together.
If your cookie dough is a little dry, add a dash of milk and mix again. Or, if your dough is too sticky, add a little more flour and mix again.
Shaping the cookies
Assembling gingerbread is fun but here are some tips to make the process easier for you!
- Add a little flour to your surface and rolling pin as the cookie dough can be a little tacky
- Try to make sure each batch of cookie dough is the same thickness as the other batches. Cookies that are the same thickness are more likely to bake evenly! I use 2 dowels (or chopsticks) that are 1/4-inch thick as a guide for my rolling pin.
Baking the gingerbread cookies
The baking time for your cookies will depend on their size and whether you want them to be soft or crunchy. Here are some approximate baking times:
- 4 inch cookies: For soft cookies, bake for 12 minutes. For crunchy cookies, bake for 15 minutes.
- 2 1/2 inch cookies: For soft cookies, bake for 10 minutes. For crunchy cookies, bake for 14 minutes
- 2 inch cookies: For soft cookies, bake for 8 minutes. For crunchy cookies, bake for 12 minutes.
For the best results, I recommend baking the cookies on only one oven rack at a time. If you bake them on top of each other in different oven racks, the higher cookies will bake quicker and spread more than the others.
Decorating vegan gingerbread
These vegan gingerbread cookies are wonderful with a simple royal icing. All you need to do is mix 2 ingredients in a bowl until it forms a thick paste, similar in consistency to school glue.
I used aquafaba to make vegan royal icing. However, you can substitute it with dairy-free milk for regular sugar icing.
My top tips:
- If your icing is too runny, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and mix again. If your icing is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of liquid at a time and mix. Icing can be a little finicky to get to the right consistency so adding small amounts of wet or dry ingredients is the best way to get perfect icing.
- Test the icing on a clean baking sheet or plate. If the icing keeps most of its shape after 5 minutes, you’re good to go!
I used a reusable piping bag with a very small tip to decorate the cookies. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a ziplock bag.
Customizing your vegan gingerbread cookies
Here are a few ways you can customize your cookies:
- For a stronger molasses flavor, you can use up to 1/2 cup (170g) of molasses. This results in a softer dough that won’t need any dairy-free milk. These cookies bake beautifully!
- For extra spice, add 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg in addition to the other spices.
These cookies also work well with King Arthur’s gluten free measure for measure flour! The cookie dough is a little more delicate than the original, but my recipe tester said it bakes up beautifully. Other brands of gluten-free flour may produce different results.
Expert Tips
These cookies keep well for 1-2 weeks! However, if you’d like to have fresh cookies, I recommend making the dough, placing it in an airtight container or in plastic wrap and freezing it until needed. If you want to keep your cookies soft, place a slice of bread in the same container as your cookies.
I recommend using my other vegan gingerbread cookie recipe which uses spelt flour, coconut sugar and maple syrup. The recipe uses ground flax seeds which means that we can use less vegan butter and sweeteners.
No, you can roll the cookies into balls, flatten and bake them!
Alternatively, check out my soft and chewy vegan ginger cookies.
More vegan Christmas cookies
Or see my full collection of vegan Christmas cookies!
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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- ¾ cup (145g) packed brown sugar
- ½ cup (125g) vegan butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup (85g) molasses, not blackstrap molasses (note 2)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) dairy-free milk, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, plus more for dusting (note 3 for gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves, (note 4 for a sub)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt, if using unsalted butter
Icing
- 2 cups (200g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- 2 – 3 tablespoons (30 – 45g) aquafaba (brine from a can of chickpeas), or dairy-free milk, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the vegan gingerbread cookies:
- Add the sugar and butter to a large mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it's light and fluffy. Add the molasses, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, spices and baking soda and mix until combined. If you pinch the dough between two fingers, it should stick together without crumbling. If the dough is too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons more milk and mix through. If your dough is too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons more flour and mix.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough so it is about 6mm (1/4 inch) thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes. Carefully place each cookie on a lined baking tray leaving 1-inch between each of them. You may need to use a flat spatula to transfer them,
- Collect the excess dough, roll it out and cut out more shapes from the dough. Repeat until you have no more dough.
- Bake the cookies in the oven. For soft cookies that are 4-inches tall, bake them for 12-14 minutes. For crunchy cookies, bake them for around 14-16 minutes. Adjust the baking time for smaller cookies. The cookies are done when they have slightly puffed up and the edges look set.
Decorate the cookies:
- Add the icing ingredients to a bowl and mix until it forms a thick paste. If you hold a spoon of icing above the, it should drip down in thick ribbons and keep shape for 5-10 seconds. Add a little more sugar to thicken and a little more liquid to thin the frosting.
- Use a fine-tipped piping bag to decorate your gingerbread cookies as desired. Allow the icing to dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week or freezer for up to 1 month. Allow the cookies to come back to room temperature before enjoying them.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes around 15 x 4-inch gingerbread (large), 23 x 3 1/2-inch gingerbread (medium) or 54 x 2-inch gingerbread (small). This will vary based on the thickness of your gingerbread and how you made your dough.
- For a stronger molasses flavor, you can increase the amount up to 1/2 cup (170g). Your dough will be a little softer and you won’t need to add any additional milk. When rolling out your dough, you may need to add more flour to your surface.
- These cookies also work well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. The dough is a little more delicate than the original, but the cookies bake up beautifully. Other brands may produce different results.
- You can use ground nutmeg instead of ground cloves, but the flavor will be different.
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These are perfect! Just the right amount of spice and the dough is easy to work with. The cookies came out soft but holding their shape well.
Hi Becky, that’s wonderful to hear!! Thanks so much for your feedback, I appreciate it a lot ☺️
Just made these cookies to go on top of your gingerbread cake And they are absolutely delicious!
Hi Karen, I’m so happy you loved these!!! Thanks so much for leaving a comment here and for your ongoing support! x
I made these but added a little less sugar for my personal taste and they were sooooo delicious. I baked mine until they were crispy. Thank you so much!
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad that you enjoyed these cookies and were able to customize them to your tastes! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
These look delicious! Can they be made with regular butter and milk?
Hi Vidya, sorry I just saw your message! I’ve only tested all of my recipes the way they’re written but readers sometimes use non-vegan ingredients to make my recipes and I’ve never heard of any issues. Hope that helps!
Hi! Could I use honey instead of the molasses? Would it still be the same quantity?
Hi Anisha, I don’t cook with honey so I’m not 100% sure, but I imagine it would be the same.
I made this today and followed the recipe 100% apart from using black treacle instead of molasses and it was excellent! Thank you.
Hi Jessica, aw that’s great to hear!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here 🙂
Sooo good, flavourful, perfect balance. Made them soft, they are perfect
Hi Cathy, I’m so glad that you enjoyed these cookies! Thanks so much for your review 🙂
Is it possible to instead of regular flour to use Gluten Free Flour?
Hi Joanna, these work well with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour! We haven’t tested any other gluten-free flour so it may have different results. Hope that helps!
Hi! Eager to make these. However, I have limited counterpart and don’t want to roll out the dough…could I make these using a cookie scoop and dropping them?
Hi! Yes you can, but these cookies don’t spread much, so you’ll need to flatten them before baking. Or, I also have a vegan ginger cookie recipe which is perfect for scooping and dropping! Hope that helps!
Made these with my girlfriend & we loved how they turned out! Didn’t include ground cloves. Baked small ones (2inches) for 8-9mins & they were delightfully soft inside with crisp edges. Baked a few larger ones (around 4inches) for about 10-12 & those had a much softer center. Very lovely recipe, thank you very much! <3
Hi Arin, aw that sounds so lovely and now I want to make these cookies again! Thanks for the feedback about your cooking times too. Happy new year!
I made these today with 1/2 the amount of spices listed in the recipe. They were delicious!
Hi Marie, I’m glad that you enjoyed these cookies and were able to customize them to your tastes. Thanks for your feedback and happy new year!
Delicious, thank you!
Hi Natalie, aw that’s great to hear! Thank you!
Hi Anthea,
I love this recipe. Can this dough be frozen and used at a later date?
And what would be the way to freeze it best? In a disc and then thaw and roll out? Or roll out and freeze on a baking sheet? Any thoughts would be wonderful.
Hi Kelly, aw I’m so glad to hear! It’s best to freeze the dough as a ball or disc because storing the rolled out dough exposes it to more air and it dries out quicker. I hope that helps!
I made them last Christmas, everyone aksed me for a recipe
Will make them this Christmas too ❤️🎄
Hi Lora, aw yay, that’s the loveliest feedback! Thanks so much for letting me know and happy baking for this year too!
The best gingerbread cookies ever
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed these!!
Great recipe! Just finished baking and cooling, cant stop eating 😋
Made with Well and Good Gluten Free flour, turned out perfect!
Thank you again .
Ooh that’s amazing to hear! And I’m so glad they work with that brand of flour. I’m going to try it out next time. Thank *you* for your comment!!
Do you think this would work with gluten free flour?
Hi Nicole, I haven’t tested it myself but readers have made similar recipes using 1:1 gluten-free flours by Bob Red Mills and King Arthur baking. I hope that helps!
How can I substitute molasses?
Hi Irene, there are a few suggestions in the blog post underneath the picture of the ingredients! Whichever liquid sweetener you use, it may change the consistency of the final cookie dough so you may need to add a little more flour or milk.