The Best Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
These Vegan Gingerbread Cookies are the perfect Christmas treat! They have that comforting ginger flavor we all know and love, are easy (and fun) to make, and the decoration possibilities are endless! Be sure to bring these to your next holiday gathering. *Note that From Start to Finish is an estimate. This time assumes 30 minutes to chill your dough and 20 minutes to decorate your cookies at the end, both of which could vary.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup whole wheat pastry flour* - OR all purpose flour (plus a bit extra for rolling out dough)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- cookie icing*, sprinkles, candy, etc! - (Optional, for decorating)
Instructions
- Prepare your wet ingredients: Add the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, molasses, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl or stand mixer. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed to mix until combined.
- Prepare your dry ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Combine wet and dry: Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Using the electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat on a low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough will be thick and somewhat sticky.
- Chill dough: Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and create a thick disc shape. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes, or overnight.
- Preheat: Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Prepare your work space: Remove the dough from the fridge. (IF your dough chilled for significantly longer than 60 minutes, you may need to let it sit at room temp for 10-15 minutes in order for it to soften just a tad). Flour your work surface, a rolling pin, and your hands.
- Cut out your cookies: Roll out your dough so that it's about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut into shapes. Once you've cut as much as you can out of the dough, you may combine the remaining dough into a ball, roll it out again, and repeat the process. (You may even need to do this a couple of times).
- Bake your cookies: -Place a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet. Place half of your cookies on the prepared baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart from each other. -Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are puffed up and baked to your liking. Keep a close eye on them, as different cookie shapes/sizes may differ a bit in baking time (larger ones may even need up to 12 minutes). -Remove from oven once baked to your liking, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack. (You may notice that as they cool they may darken a bit and become less "puffy" than they first were when coming out of the oven; this is normal!) -Repeat this whole process with the second half of the cookies.
- Decorate and serve: Once cookies are completely cool, decorate them as you wish! Serve and enjoy!
Notes
*Whole wheat pastry flour: This recipe can be made with whole wheat pastry flour OR all purpose flour. If you'd like the whole wheat pastry flour option, look for this at your local health food store or check out Amazon! I like to use Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Please note that whole wheat pastry flour is NOT the same as whole wheat flour and that whole wheat flour will not work in this recipe.
*Cookie icing: use any type you like - storebought or homemade! Just make sure to check ingredient labels on anything storebought to make sure what you use is vegan, if this is important to you.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @joyfulbalanceofficial on Instagram and show the world your plant based creation!