Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
by: claire cary
'Tis the season for all things gingerbread! These vegan gingerbread cookies taste just like the traditional holiday cookie recipes, but without the refined sugar! This recipe is gluten free and incredibly easy to make.
/ /
16
Ingredients
Dry:
- 2 ¾ cups Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose 1:1 Baking Flour can sub regular AP flour if not gluten free
- 2 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cloves
Wet:
- ½ cup refined coconut oil or vegan butter softened, but not melted
- ⅓ cup molasses*
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
Icing:
- ¼ cup liquid from can of chickpeas OR 2 egg whites
- 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tsp water as needed
Instructions
- Beat together all of the wet ingredients until well combined using an electric mixer.
- Mix in all of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, making sure to spoon and level the flour.
- Cover the dough and let set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use a rolling pin and roll into about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. You can make them any thickness depending on what you want the final texture to be like. Thinner will yield a crispy cookie, thick will yield a chewy cookie.
- Use cookie cutters (see notes for tips) and carefully place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving some space between each cookie.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes. You'll know they're done when the cookies are one even color and the center doesn't appear raw. They'll be soft when they come out of the oven, but will continue to harden as they cool.
- To make the icing, beat either 1/4 of the liquid from a can of chickpeas (aquafaba) OR 2 egg whites until foamy. Beat in the sifted powdered sugar until completely smooth and creamy. You want the icing to be thick enough that it doesn't run off the cookies, but not so thick that you can't pipe it properly.
- Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost. You can use a piping bag or plastic squeeze bottle.
Notes
When using the cookie cutters, I suggest lightly oiling the cookie cutter and then dusting it with some flour. This will ensure the cookie dough doesn't stick to the cutter and the cookie retains it's shape really well. I like to cut the cookie, leave the cookie cutter on, and get a spatula to transfer the cookie to a baking sheet and then remove the cookie cutter.
If you don't have or want to use cookie cutters, you can just make these cookies into regular circle cookies! Because of the nature of gingerbread cutout cookies, they won't flatten out a lot while they bake. Form the dough into an even ball and then flatten out with your fingers before baking so they have a nice cookie shape. You can also add 1/2 tsp baking soda to help them spread. Bake for the usual 8-11 minutes.
Be sure to measure the flour properly! Instead of scooping the flour right from the bag, pour it into your dry measuring cup and then level off the top. This is important with all baking, but especially gluten free baking.
You can use gf all purpose flour or regular AP flour. If using gluten free, you can try a blend that is different than what I used, but just make sure it has xanthan gum!
Serving: 1cookie / Calories: 144kcal / Carbohydrates: 22.8g / Protein: 1.3g / Fat: 5.6g / Fiber: 0.4g / Sugar: 12.7g
