Vegan Gingerbread Cookies: A Healthy Holiday Treat

Nothing says holiday cookie like gingerbread, and these vegan gingerbread cookies are the perfect plant-based seasonal treat. The adorable gingerbread man shape is nostalgic, as is the ginger taste.

We've put a veganized twist on the classic with a few ingredient swaps—making cookies not overly sweet and so pleasantly spicy, soft, and chewy that nobody will even know they are dairy-free.

Plus, they deliver all the health benefits (such as inflammation health support) of the traditional ginger-and-spice cookie.

What is gingerbread?

Gingerbread refers to baked goods that prominently feature ginger and spices in the recipe. Most gingerbread recipes include cinnamon, cloves, molasses, and nutmeg in addition to ginger.

Gingerbread has a distinct flavor and smell that is reminiscent of the holiday season. It is believed to have originated in Europe, with gingerbread biscuits being a favorite. Over the years, gingerbread cookies have become a staple for holiday gatherings.

People make gingerbread cookies in the shape of a classic gingerbread man, and they pipe white, royal icing to decorate them. These vegan gingerbread cookies retain the flavor and vibe of the original, but without the animal products.

How can gingerbread be vegan?

Many holiday cookies can be made vegan by removing butter and eggs and substituting a vegan counterpart. Replacing butter is simple: Vegan butter is readily available and is a 1:1 switch. Eggs can be trickier to replace, but using chia seeds, flax seeds, or vegan egg replacers are viable options.

Vegan gingerbread cookies have more nutrition than you might expect, thanks to the spices and chia seeds. They make a good substitute for sugary holiday cookies for a few reasons:

• They are easily made vegan with vegan butter and chia seeds.
• They contain molasses, which has iron, a mineral that vegans sometimes lack. (Blackstrap molasses has more iron, but it's also more bitter.)
• Ginger has plenty of bioactive compounds that have been studied for immune, heart, and digestive health, and joint comfort and mobility.
• Chia seeds add fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids to the mix.
• Cinnamon has antioxidant properties, can help maintain already-healthy blood sugar levels, and helps inhibit inflammation to support joint and immune health.

How to make vegan gingerbread cookies

Vegan gingerbread cookies are deceptively simple to make. Even a novice baker can make them with the right tools and a little patience. Decorating gingerbread cookies is an optional part of the recipe, but a great way to get kids and other family members or friends involved. Making silly faces on the gingerbread is part of the fun. And the bright, white icing against the velvety brown of the cookies really bumps up the nostalgia factor.

Cookie Recipe

Makes 27 cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 9 minutes

Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp water
½ cup vegan butter
½ cup molasses
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp salt

Icing (optional)

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine chia seeds with water to form a chia egg replacer. Mix well and set aside to gel.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses using electric beaters until smooth and creamy, and set aside.
3. In another large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Mix until well combined, then add the chia egg and the wet mix to the bowl and combine with beaters on low until a sticky dough forms.
4. Form a ball with the dough, lightly coat it with flour, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it on a lightly dusted, floured surface to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Use 2.5-inch cookie cutters to cut out the gingerbread men or desired shapes. Use the scraps to make another ball, roll it out, and repeat until there are 27 cookies.
6. Carefully transfer 12 cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment and repeat with two more baking sheets. Bake them for 9 minutes for soft and chewy vegan gingerbread cookies. Add 2 minutes of baking time for crispier cookies.
7. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool completely while making the icing.
8. To make the icing, combine powdered sugar, soy milk and vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture until it becomes a thick paste. Then spoon into a pastry bag or into a squeeze bottle with a very small hole to decorate the cookies.
9. Store in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy for up to 7 days.

Nutritional values per cookie (without icing)

Calories: 108
Carbohydrates: 19 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 3 g
Sodium: 115 mg
Potassium: 120 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 9 g
Vitamin A: 163 IU
Vitamin C: 0.1 mg
Calcium: 30 mg
Iron: 1 mg

Tips for success

While these cookies are easy to make, following these crucial tips will help ensure success.

• Mixing the dough is a breeze using electric beaters. First mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Once you have the wet ingredients and dry ingredients mixed, then combine them.
• As with all roll-out cookies, it is very important to chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling and cutting. If you skip this step, the dough will be way too soft and sticky to roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Do not skip the chill!
• If you want to make the dough well ahead of making the cookies, that is perfectly fine. However, if the dough has been in the fridge for more than an hour, let it warm up for 15-20 minutes on the counter before attempting to roll it. You want it to be cold but not rock-hard.
• When decorating the cookies, use patience. Getting the faces perfect is nearly impossible, especially with the vegan royal icing, which is drippier than egg-white royal icing. (But personally, I think imperfection adds to the charm and family-friendliness of this holiday recipe.)
• Experiment with different pressures on the pastry bag or bottle to find the line thickness you desire. Also, be sure the cookies are cool before icing them, and let the icing set well before layering one batch of cookies on top of one another. The icing will dry into a harder paste the longer it is exposed to air, but when freshly piped, it is easy to smudge.
• These cookies are easy to make without gluten. Simply use almond flour or other gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour and double-check to ensure your store-bought ingredients are certified gluten-free.

Can I get enough ginger benefits from this recipe?

Ginger has long been used to support various aspects of health and wellness. Compounds found in ginger encourage a healthy inflammatory response for whole-body health, support immune health, and promote joint movement and comfort.

While gingerbread cookies are tasty and fun to make, a more reliable way to get health benefits from ginger is with a standardized supplement, preferably one that includes curcumin for complementary support. Vegan? If you want to support whole-body, joint, and immune health without the use of animal products such as gelatin or beeswax, curcumin turmeric extract is a great option as well.

References

• Silva, Maria Leonor, et al. "Cinnamon as a Complementary Therapeutic Approach for Dysglycemia and Dyslipidemia Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Molecular Mechanism of Action: A Review." Nutrients. July 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35807953/
• Ooi SL, et al. "Polyphenol-Rich Ginger (Zingiber officinale) for Iron Deficiency Anaemia and Other Clinical Entities Associated with Altered Iron Metabolism." Molecules. September 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9573525/
• Mathieu S, et al. "A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Nutritional Supplementation on Osteoarthritis Symptoms." Nutrients. April 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9025331/