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These adorable vegan gingerbread cookies are made with roll out gingerbread cookie dough that can be cut into any shape you like, from a gingerbread man to a Christmas tree. Decorate them with an easy vanilla icing and festive sprinkles for a fun and classic holiday treat. So scrumptious, you’d never know they’re dairy and egg free!

gingerbread cookies cut into shapes and decorated with icing this recipe

Gingerbread cookies are a staple around the holidays and these bake up perfect every time. They’re warmly spiced with ginger and molasses, sweetened with dark brown sugar and perfectly soft in the center with a slight crisp on the outside. Simply a MUST for the holidays!

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Even though this time of year gets super busy, there is one thing I ALWAYS make time for… homemade holiday cookies! With all of the stress and craziness that comes with the holidays, traditions like decorating gingerbread cookies help me really get into the spirit of the season.

These vegan gingerbread cookies are great to make with kids — they’re incredibly easy to mix up and roll out and so fun to decorate. My daughter and I will definitely be baking these for Santa!

gingerbread cookies decorated with icing and sprinkles on a baking sheet

Ingredients

This is a pretty standard gingerbread cookie recipe, except it’s made vegan by swapping out the egg with a flax egg and using vegan butter.

  • Flour. For best results stick with all-purpose flour for this recipe. If you’d like to make the gluten free, your best bet is to use a gluten free 1-1 flour.
  • Baking soda + salt. A must for proper baking!
  • Spices. This cookie recipe uses a mix of cinnamon, ground ginger, all spice, ground cloves, & nutmeg for that warm, cozy flavor.
  • Butter. Use vegan butter to keep these cookies vegan, but know that regular butter will work too.
  • Brown sugar. Dark brown sugar gives these cookies a rich flavor and amazing texture.
  • Flax egg. To keep these cookies vegan, you’ll need one flax egg. You can use one egg instead, if you’re not concerned with them being vegan.
  • Molasses. Unsulphured molasses is my go-to molasses to use for baked goods. This is an essential ingredient for that classic deep, rich flavor in gingerbread cookies.
  • Icing. The icing recipe is a simple mix of powdered sugar, almond milk and vanilla. So easy, but so delicious! Add holiday sprinkles for a festive presentation!
cutting shapes out of cookie dough

How to make vegan gingerbread cookies

Making gingerbread cookies is really super easy, but there are a few important steps. The complete recipe is at the bottom of the post, but here’s a quick rundown.

  1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar until nice and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add the flax egg and molasses. Stir in with the butter/sugar mixture until just combined.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until fully combined.
  5. Chill the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour or overnight.
  6. Roll the dough. Lightly flour both sides of the dough and roll it out between 2 pieces of parchment paper (or a well-floured surface) so that it’s ¼ of an inch thick.
  7. Cut shapes out. Cut shapes out and place them on a lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes to help the dough hold form better.
  8. Bake. Bake cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes.
  9. Decorate. Once cookies are completely cooled and you’re ready to decorate, prepare the icing and decorate with icing and sprinkles.
snowflake gingerbread cookie on a baking sheet

Tips for perfect gingerbread cookies

These cookies are really pretty simple to make, but here are some helpful tips for the most wonderful vegan gingerbread cookies!

  • Chill dough. It is essential that gingerbread cookie dough be chilled at least one hour. It makes the dough easier to work with, plus it helps the cookies to hold their shape. I also highly recommend chilling for 10 minutes just before baking.
  • Don’t over bake. Your cookies are done when the edges are slightly crisp. Keep in mind, cookies continue to bake even after they are removed from the oven. Also, your bake time will vary depending on your oven and the size of your cookies.
  • Bake on parchment or silicone. Parchment or a silicone baking mat makes for the most perfect cookies. Greasing the baking sheet can cause the cookies to spread too much.
  • Cool completely before decorating. Be patient and wait until the cookies have cooled completely and are room temperature before decorating them. If you try to ice the cookies while still slightly warm, the icing will melt and not look as pretty as you want it to.
Christmas cookies decorated with icing and sprinkles

How to decorate gingerbread man cookies

There are so many unique ways to decorate gingerbread cookies. Have fun with it and truly make these cookies your own. I’ve included a simple cookie icing recipe, but you could also use royal icing or even buttercream frosting. When I’m feeling a little lazy (as can be seen in my video for this recipe- I’ll even use store bought royal icing to make these cookies a little easier).

Feel free to color your icing with food coloring or natural food dye and use different types of seasonal sprinkles or candies and other festive add-ons. To keep things really easy, you can even just dust them with a little powdered sugar.

How to store gingerbread man cookies

Place cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers so the icing will stay intact. Cookies will keep at room temperature for about 5 days.

Can I freeze vegan gingerbread cookies?

To freeze dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and place into a freezer-safe baggie. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out and cutting cookies.

To freeze cookies, place in an airtight freezer-safe container, once the icing is fully set. Freeze for up to 3 months.

gingerbread cookie decorated like a Christmas tree

More holiday cookies to try:

This is the only gingerbread cookie recipe you’ll need this holiday season! The cookies are tender and flavorful, and they hold their shape perfectly. Gingerbread cookies make a festive and delicious addition to any dessert platter. As always, if you end up making this recipe, please snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @foodwithfeeling! I always love to see what y’all are making from the blog!

gingerbread cookies cut into shapes and decorated with icing

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Homemade vegan gingerbread cookies made into any shape you like and decorated for a festive holiday treat. So scrumptious!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: cookies
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 28 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories:
Author: Brita Britnell

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

  • 3 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon of baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
  • 2 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of all spice
  • ½ teaspoon of ground clove
  • ½ teaspoon of nutmeg

Wet ingredients:

  • ¾ cup of vegan butter softened to room temperature
  • ½ cup of packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed mixed with 2.5 tablespoons of water
  • ½ cup unsulfured molasses

FOR THE ICING*:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 –2 Tablespoons almond milk
  • ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, clove, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar until nice and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add in the flax egg and molasses and mix until just combined.
  • While mixing on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients until they’re all added and the dough is fully mixed.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour but you could even chill it overnight. (if you’re only chilling an hour, I suggest dividing the dough in half and forming 2 discs before wrapping in plastic wrap and chilling.)
  • When ready to roll the dough out, let it sit out on the counter for at least 5 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Lightly flour both sides of the dough and roll it out between 2 pieces of parchment paper so that it’s ¼ of an inch thick. If you don’t want to use parchment paper, just make sure that your surface and rolling pin are well floured.
  • Cut shapes out and place them on a lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Place in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes (this helps the dough hold its form better).
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely.
  • When ready to decorate, whisk together the frosting ingredients in a small bowl and then transfer the frosting to a small baggie. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and pipe your frosting onto the cookies. ENJOY!

Notes

*you can also use store bought icing for ease