Vegan gingerbread cookies that are light and crispy, spiced and buttery. Optional glaze on top.
Prep Time50 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Servings: 20cookies
Author: Kathy Patalsky
Equipment
Rolling Pin
gingerbread man cookie cutout
large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Wet:
½cupcane sugarorganic
1tablespoonvanilla extract
1tablespoonapple cider vinegar
½cupvegan butter
⅓cupmolasses
1flax egg1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoon water
3tablespoonapple sauce
Dry:
2 ¾cupsall purpose flour
1tablespoonpumpkin pie spice
1teaspoonground clovesoptional
½teaspooncinnamon
1teaspoonground gingeroptional
½teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonbaking powder
Additional: flour for rolling out dough
Toppings to decorate cookies withchocolate chips, cashews…
Easy Icing:
1cuppowdered sugarorganic
2tablespoonvegan buttermelted
1-2tablespoonwater
Instructions
Add all the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat until a shiny dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a small bowl, cover, and place in the fridge for at least thirty minutes, or until the dough is cool enough to easily roll out. Overnight works too!
When you are ready to bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Tear off a small round from the large piece and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Press out gingerbread man shapes using a cookie cutter. Transfer your cookies to the baking sheet. Repeat until all the cookies are created.
Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees. You want them to be nice and crispy, but not burnt. If you want a softer, chewy cookie, you can bake for a few minutes less.
Remove cookies from the oven. Cool cookies on a cookie rack.
When cookies are cooled, place them in the freezer. (This helps when you apply the icing.)
Whisk together you icing. Start with 1 tablespoon water and add one or two more if needed. If you mess up and your icing thins too much, just add a few more spoonfuls of sugar. Whisk until the small clumps are mostly gone. Sifting the powdered sugar can help prevent clumps, but totally optional for aesthetics.
Pull out the cookies and place them back on the cooling rack, placing a baking sheet beneath the cooling rack – so when icing drips, it doesn’t make a mess. Using a spoon, pour the icing over top the cookies. It should freeze in place nicely since the cookies are cool. Add any other accents to the cookies – eyes, smile, clothes, buttons, etc.
Serve or store cookies in the fridge until ready to serve.