These vegan gingerbread cookies are made with fresh ginger for a slightly spicy twist. With warming spices, brown sugar, and molasses, it's a plant-based alternative to the traditional holiday recipe and can be cut into any shape you like. This version is made with spelt flour and features a pinch of black pepper.
For the cookies pictured, I used a vintage monopol cookie roller from Germany – you can find them online and in some vintage or secondhand shops. The best thing about it is that you don't end up with any scraps!
Serve your cookies as part of a cozy spread alongside a batch of golden milk or a herbal latte and a few slices of vegan ginger cake.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and substitutions
- Spelt flour: use all light (sifted) spelt for the lightest cookies, or a mix of whole and light spelt (my usual choice), or even all whole grain. All-purpose white flour can be substituted. I haven't tested a gluten-free version but I think a good GF flour blend would work.
- Flax egg: if you don't have flax, a chia egg can be subbed. I think aquafaba could also be used.
- Brown sugar: substitute coconut sugar if preferred. This will make for a slightly crisper vegan gingerbread.
- Molasses: choose fancy molasses, not blackstrap (which isn't sweet).
- Almond butter: adding a nut butter helps to bind the cookies more effectively and adds some richness. You can use any nut or seed butter but I find almond to be the most neutral.
- Spices: for this recipe, I recommend adding all of the spices individually rather than subbing a gingerbread blend because you're using fresh ginger. If you want to use all ground spices and omit the fresh root, then a tablespoon of gingerbread or lebkuchen spice can be subbed.
How to Make Vegan Gingerbread
Step 1: mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: in another bowl, mix the wet ingredients to combine.
Step 3: add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to combine.
Step 4: roll out the dough, cut into shapes, and bake.
Top Tips
- Don't over mix: spelt flour is slightly delicate. If over-mixed, the cookies will turn out tough and slightly hard.
- Chill before baking: this step shouldn't be skipped. If you don't chill the dough before baking, the shapes will spread in the oven.
- Roll between parchment: gingerbread dough is soft as a rule, and will be sticky when rolled out. If you add too much flour rather than placing between two sheets of parchment paper, the cookies will be dry.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week (without icing).
Freezing: transfer fully cooled cookies to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQ
Why are my gingerbread shapes spreading?
If your shapes spread while baking, it's either due to not chilling the dough or some kind of substitution that altered the dough (but more likely because the dough was too warm).
Can I substitute other spices?
If there are spices included in gingerbread that you don't like, you can omit or substitute with other spices. Cardamom is a good sub for cloves, for example.
How do you ice your gingerbread?
I most often use a simple recipe with organic icing sugar and a bit of coconut oil and dairy-free milk. You can use any icing recipe you like, or even melted vegan chocolate.
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Recipe
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 2 mixing bowls
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ground Chia or Flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- 2 ½ Cups Spelt Flour I used half Whole and half White
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon allspice optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper optional
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Clove
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ cup fancy Molasses
- ½ Cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons Coconut Oil melted
- 2 tablespoons Almond Butter
- 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons Grated Fresh Ginger
Instructions
- Make the chia or flax egg by mixing it with the water in a small bowl. Set aside to gel for 5 minutes.1 tablespoon Ground Chia or Flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
- While the egg is thickening, melt the coconut oil and mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda to a large mixing bowl.2 ½ Cups Spelt Flour, 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Ground Cardamom, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon Ground Clove, ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- Add the flax egg to another bowl with the molasses, brown sugar, melted coconut oil, almond butter, and fresh ginger. Mix well to combine.½ cup fancy Molasses, ½ Cup brown sugar, 4 tablespoons Coconut Oil, 2 tablespoons Almond Butter, 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons Grated Fresh Ginger
- Add the molasses mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. The dough will be sticky.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼ inch (5 mm) thick, then refrigerate until firm, about an hour (if you don't have space in your fridge for something so big, refrigerate in the bowl before rolling).
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°C (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the chilled dough into shapes and place them onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes, until just lightly golden around the edges. If you have dough scraps, bring them back together and re-roll to repeat the process. If the dough warms up, it will have to be chilled again.
- Cool the cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to cool fully on a wire rack. Vegan gingerbread cookies will keep for about a week in a sealed container at room temperature.
Could I use a gluten-free flour blend instead of spelt flour and get the same results?
Hi Zoe! I think if you used a good quality g/f blend, it should have vey similar (and tasty) results <3
Hi! Do you think I could sub aquafaba for flax? 🙂
Totally! I've used it with great success in muffins, so I feel it would work perfectly here too <3
Hey Sophie! is it possible to use eggs instead of chia eggs and maple syrup instead of molasses? Can't wait to try these! xx
Hey Sophie!!! Yes, I think an egg would be just fine in this recipe. For the maple syrup, you might want to use a little less than the amount of molasses, as maple syrup tends to be sweeter. With the addition of the egg the dough may be wet enough that you could just use two Tbsp. of maple syrup. At least, I'd start with two and see how it feels. All the best to you! I hope you enjoy xox
Where did you get those amazing cookie cutters with the animals?
Thanks, Max! I got them so long ago, I can't even recall where from. I do know they're made in Germany, so that might help you find something similar.
if you want to skip the sweetener, try adding a little extra coconut oil as a replacement. Or maybe if you're feeling crazy, skip the icing altogether and use some extra dark melted chocolate to top.
Hi, for the icing, can I leave out the liquid sweetened as I don't like sweet icing? Or what can I replace with?
thank you.
I just love the fresh ginger in these! Love!
they're so sweet ^_^ I have never baked gingerbread cookies, but I hope to have the time to try them soon!
they're so sweet ^_^ I have never baked gingerbread cookies, but I hope to have the time to try them soon!