Gingerbread cookies are one of those holiday things that just screams to be made every year.
We love and cherish them! These spiced little cookie cut-outs are traditional and tasty.
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What you will love about these vegan gingerbread cookies
Who doesn’t love a good homemade gingerbread cookie? Not only are these gingerbread cookies vegan, but they come out soft and chewy.
No one in your entire circle of family and friends will ever guess that they are vegan when they taste it, but they are!
Ingredients
When it comes to making these soft vegan gingerbread cookies, it’s just a matter of finding the right substitutes. Instead of butter, we are using coconut oil. Instead of eggs, our binder is applesauce. It’s really rather simple.
Some people prefer to use vegan butter instead of coconut oil. I’m not on that bandwagon, since I don’t really care for the soy derivatives and other seed and vegetable oils. I try to avoid those at all costs. That’s why my preferred butter substitute is coconut oil.
Coconut oil comes in a few different forms. You can get refined coconut oil, which is slightly processed and mostly flavorless (you can’t taste or smell the coconut), or you can buy cold-pressed coconut oil, which smells and tastes like coconut.
In general, I use cold-pressed coconut oil since I don’t mind the flavor of coconut, however for this recipe, since it is gingerbread cookies that are spiced with holiday spices, I do recommend using refined coconut oil.
Also, when substituting eggs in baking, applesauce is a great choice! But another graet choice that is often overlooked is pumpkin puree. I love using pumpkin puree in baking, especially with these vegan gingerbread cookies, because I feel like it’s an excellent binder. Applesauce works well too, so you can use whatever you have on hand.
The ingredients for soft vegan gingerbread cookies are:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Refined coconut oil
- Granulated sugar
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Applesauce or pumpkin puree
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Vegan decorating icing
How to make vegan gingerbread cookies
Fortunately for us, we don’t have to worry about softening butter, since we are using coconut oil. Coconut oil at room temperature is usually very soft, and hopefully not melted (although it may be if it’s warm in your house).
Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium size mixing bowl and set aside.
Begin by putting the coconut oil and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream them together with the paddle attachment until fluffy.
Add the molasses, vanilla extract and the applesauce (or pumpkin puree) and mix it until combined.
While the mixer is on low speed, slowly mix in the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and give it another mix until it is all combined.
Shape the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the dough will be better to work with and easier to roll out.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After the dough has cooled a bit, pull it out of the fridge, divide it in half and place half back into the fridge.
Since these are soft gingerbread cookies, we don’t want to roll them too thin, otherwise they run the risk of getting hard in the oven. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to be about ¼ of an inch thick.
With your gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes as possible and carefully transfer them to the parchment lined baking sheet.
Roll what is leftover of the dough out again and repeat the cutouts.
Repeat the rolling and cutting with the other half of the dough until you have used the dough up.
Insert the cookies into the oven and let them bake for about 8 minutes.
You will need to adjust accordingly, since every oven is different, but the longer you bake them the crispier they will be in texture. Err on the shorter cooking time if you want your gingerbread cookies soft.
After they have baked, pull the cookies out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet.
After about 5 minutes, transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Using your favorite vegan icing, ice the cookies when they are completely cooled. Enjoy!
Substitutions
The applesauce and pumpkin puree are interchangeable in this recipe. If you don’t have molasses, maple syrup is a great substitute.
You can also make these vegan gingerbread cookies gluten free with your favorite gluten free flour.
FAQ’s
Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft?
This is the great debate. Some people prefer them soft, while others opine that they should have a little snap to them (hence the origin of the name “gingersnaps”). There really is no right or wrong, but only arguable opinions.
Do I need to refrigerate gingerbread dough?
The dough will be much easier to work with and roll out if you refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling it out.
📖 Recipe
(Soft) Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Electric mixer with paddle attachment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ cup refined coconut oil
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.
- In the mixing bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the coconut oil and granulated sugar together.
- Add the molasses, vanilla extract and applesauce/pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients until it is incorporated.
- Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides with a spatula and then give it one more mix until it is combined.
- Shape the gingerbread cookie dough into a large ball, cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- After the dough has rested in the fridge, divide it in half, placing half of it back in the fridge. On the lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to be about ¼ inch thick (if it’s too thin it will get hard and crispy). Take a cookie cutter and cut out the shapes, carefully transferring them to the cookie sheet.
- With the remaining dough, roll it out again and continue cutting out shapes until all of the dough is used up.
- Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake them for approximately 8 minutes. They will puff up just a bit, but you don’t want to overbake them, or they will get hard.
- Remove them from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Using your favorite vegan icing, decorate the cookies. Enjoy!
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