How to Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 8, 2023 References Tested

Gingerbread cookies are a wonderful treat during the holiday season or any time of the year. If you are vegan, you might not be able to enjoy traditional gingerbread cookies. You can, however, make vegan gingerbread cookies that are simple and delicious. If you follow a paleo diet, you can also make and enjoy wonderful vegan, paleo-friendly gingerbread cookies dressed up with coconut sugar icing!

Ingredients

Easy Vegan Gingerbread Cookies^{[1]
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2 2/3 cups (320 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 mL) molasses
1/2 cup (120 mL) melted coconut oil
1/2 cup (100 grams) demerara sugar, coconut sugar, or evaporated cane juice
1/4 cup (60 mL) almond milk, rice milk, or soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Paleo Vegan Gingerbread Cookies ^{[2]
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For the Cookies

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) almond meal
1/4 cup (30 grams) tapioca starch, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

For the Coconut Sugar Icing

1 tablespoon red palm oil shortening
1 tablespoon solid coconut oil
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (50 grams) powdered coconut sugar

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Making Easy Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

1
Preheat the oven. You will be baking your easy vegan gingerbread cookies in a standard oven. Before you begin mixing the cookie dough, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius.^{[3]
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2
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combined the dry ingredients. Whisk together until completely combined. This process will aerate the flour as well as combine the dry ingredients.^{[4]
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3
Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the oil, molasses, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk these ingredients together until completely combined.^{[5]
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4
Combined the wet and dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, using a whisk to combine them. Continue whisking the ingredients together until completely combined. You should not have any large lumps in your cookie dough.^{[6]
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5
Flatten the dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, like your kitchen counter. Use your hands to flatten the dough into a disk. The disk should be about 8 inches in diameter.^{[7]
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6
Refrigerate the dough. Wrap the flattened dough disk in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.^{[8]
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7
Prepare a cookie-rolling surface. After your dough has been refrigerated for at least half an hour, you will roll it out into cookies. Prepare a surface, like your clean kitchen countertop, for rolling by dusting it with flour.^{[9]
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8
Roll and cut the cookies. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about ¼ inch or 0.65 centimeters thick. Use the cookie cutters to cut the dough into desired shapes. Place the cut cookies on a large baking sheet.
9
Bake the cookies. Once your oven has preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius, you can bake the cookies. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven, and bake the cookies for 8 minutes. The cookies should be a rich brown color when done.
10
Cool and serve the cookies. Once you remove the baking sheet from the oven, use a spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet. Place the cookies on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely before serving.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Making Paleo Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

1
Preheat the oven. You will be baking your vegan paleo gingerbread cookies in an oven. Before mixing the cookie dough, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius.^{[10]
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2
Prepare a baking sheet. Locate a large baking sheet and a roll of parchment paper. Tear off a piece of parchment paper that is about the same size as the baking sheet. Place the parchment paper on top of the baking sheet. Set aside.^{[11]
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3
Mix together the ingredients. Add the baking soda, almond meal, ginger, starch, cinnamon, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon to gently combine the ingredients until completely combined. Then add the molasses, maple syrup, and coconut oil to the dry ingredients. Stir the ingredients together until they form a sticky dough.
4
Roll the dough into balls. Take your hands and roll one tablespoon of the dough into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing the dough ball about 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters apart on the baking sheet. Use your hand to flatten each ball into a round cookie.^{[12]
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5
Bake the cookies. Place the cookies in the preheated oven. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes if you want cookies with a soft center, or for 14-15 minutes if you desire a crisper cookie. Crispy cookies will have brown edges when they are done, with softer cookies exhibiting a rich brown hue.^{[13]
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6
Cool the cookies. Once your cookies have baked to your desired level of crispiness, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Use a spatula to remove the cookies from the cookie sheet. Place them on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before icing.
7
Prepare the coconut sugar for the icing. You will need to make your own powdered coconut sugar for the icing. Place ¼ cup or 50 grams (1.8 oz) of coconut sugar in a coffee grinder or high speed blender. Blend or grind the sugar for several minutes until it reaches a consistency similar to powdered sugar. Remove the sugar from the grinder or blender and re-measure ¼ cup or 50 grams (1.8 oz).^{[14]
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8
Combine all the icing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Add the red palm oil shortening, solid coconut oil, powdered coconut sugar, and tapioca starch to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients. Make sure you mash the ingredients on the sides of the bowl as you stir. This will help break up the solid coconut oil and allow it to combine more easily with the other ingredients.^{[15]
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9
Ice the cookies. Once the cookies have cooled, use a butter knife to gently spread the coconut sugar icing over the surface of each cookie. Enjoy!
- The icing will not harden, so the cookies will not harden, so you will need to store them in a container where the lid will not touch the top of the cookies.