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    Home » Recipes » Holiday Specials

    Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Recipe (Holding Candy Canes)

    Published: Nov 28, 2022 · Modified: Jun 6, 2023 by Gaby Dimova · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

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    This vegan gingerbread cookie recipe is so easy to make and is perfect for the holiday season. The gingerbread men are so adorable with their little candy canes, and they're the perfect crispy cookie to make with the whole family at this time of year.

    closeup of a vegan gingerbread cookie

    What you'll need to make this vegan gingerbread cookie recipe

    Dry Ingredients

    • all purpose flour: I found that all purpose flour works the best for this recipe, but you can also use whole wheat flour instead. Coconut flour and almond flour will not work in this recipe. If you wanted to make these cookies gluten free, you can use a gluten-free flour blend that is specifically marked as 1:1 gluten free baking flour. This one from King Arthur and this one from Bob's Red Mill are great.
    • soft brown sugar: you can also use coconut sugar or white sugar. However, I prefer using darker sugars in gingerbread cookies to keep the color darker.
    • baking powder
    • ground ginger
    • ground cinnamon
    • ground nutmeg
    • ground cloves
    • pinch of salt

    Wet Ingredients

    • blackstrap molasses: if you don't have any on hand, you can use regular molasses or maple syrup instead, although blackstrap molasses is a classic gingerbread ingredient.
    • coconut oil: you can also use vegan butter, or regular butter if you are not vegan.
    • vanilla extract

    To decorate the vegan gingerbread men

    • gingerbread cookie cutters
    • candy canes
    • white, red, green & black icing
    • wooden chop sticks: these will be used in place of the candy cane when you are baking the gingerbread men. See more details below in the instructions.
    vegan gingerbread cookies on a plate

    How to make the perfect vegan gingerbread cookies

    In a large bowl, combine the flour, molasses, brown sugar, coconut oil, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, and salt. Mix them well until you have a thick dough. 

    You can make this dough in a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, but I just mixed the ingredients with a wooden spoon.

    Place the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes. This is so the gingerbread dough can be less sticky when you roll it out. 

    While the vegan gingerbread cookie dough is chilling, clean your work surface and sprinkle some flour on top, to further prevent stickiness.

    After the dough has chilled, take it out of the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it out on top of your lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to about 1-2 millimeters in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out the gingerbread shapes.

    rolling out dough for vegan gingbread cookies
    roll out the dough
    cutting out a vegan gingerbread cookie
    use cookie cutter to cut cookie
    cutout of a vegan gingerbread cookie
    lift cookie gently with a spatula

    Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a spatula to gently lift each cookie and place it on top of the parchment-lined baking sheet.

    Now it's time to make the gingerbread men hold their candy canes.

    Pro tip: You will need a few sets of wooden chopsticks to mock the shape of the candy cane. Break each chopstick in half. Place the chopstick on top of the gingerbread men, exactly where you would want the candy cane to be. Then *carefully* shape the gingerbread man's hands around the chopstick. 

    The reason for using chopsticks in place of the candy canes is that the candy canes will melt in the oven. You need the chopstick (or another wooden stick) to hold the shape while the cookies are baking. 

    You can use any item that would be safe to bake in the oven and that is about the same thickness as a candy cane. I found that chop sticks do the best job at this.

    vegan gingerbread cookie with a stick in the middle
    place a chop stick in the middle of the cookie
    vegan gingerbread cookie holding a chop stick
    move each arm to "hug" the stick
    vegan gingerbread cookie holding a chop stick

    After you have shaped all of the cookies so that they are holding the chopsticks, bake the cookies in the oven for 20 minutes at 350*F/ 175*C.

    Right after you take out the cookies from the oven (before they have cooled off), *gently* remove the chopsticks and immediately replace them with a candy cane. 

    placing a candy cane in the hands of a vegan gingerbread cookie
    gently use a candy cane to push out and replace the chop stick
    vegan gingerbread cookie holding a candy cane

    Don't get sad if a few of the cookies lose their arms in the process, I definitely broke a few doing this!

    After the cookies have cooled off at room temperature for a little bit, use a spatula lift them again to move them from the baking tray to a cooling rack.

    Once the cookies are cool to the touch, draw eyes, a smile, buttons, rosy cheeks, and white squiggly lines to resemble clothes. 

    If you don't feel like making the cookies hold candy canes, you can just use this recipe to create regular gingerbread men. I've added a photo of how yours might look if you decide to make the cookies into regular gingerbread men.

    decorating a vegan gingerbread cookie
    add squiggly lines for clothes, eyes, buttons, and blushing cheeks
    vegan gingerbread cookie closeup
    If you don't feel like making the cookies hold candy canes, you can just use this recipe to create regular gingerbread men, like this!

    Video

    For more holiday recipes, try these yummy desserts that are perfect for the Christmas season

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    vegan gingerbread cookie recipe holding a candy cane

    Vegan Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

    Gaby Dimova
    This vegan gingerbread cookie recipe is so easy to make and is perfect for the holiday season.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 40 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 cookies
    Calories 183 kcal

    Equipment

    • gingerbread cookie cutter
    • wooden chop sticks*

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup all purpose flour
    • ⅓ cup molasses
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • ⅓ cup coconut oil
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ tablespoon ground ginger
    • ½ tablespoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon cloves
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • dash of salt

    Decorations

    • candy canes
    • white,red, green & black icing

    Instructions
     

    • In a large bowl, combine the flour, molasses, brown sugar, coconut oil, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, and salt. Mix them well until you have a thick dough.
    • Place the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes. This is so the dough can be less sticky when you roll it out.
    • After the dough has chilled, take it out of the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it out to about 1-2 millimeters in thickness. Use a gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out the shapes and line them on a baking sheet.
    • *You will need a few sets of wooden chopsticks to mock the shape of the candy cane. Break each chopstick in half. Place the chopstick on top of the gingerbread men, exactly where you would want the candy cane to be. Then *carefully* shape the gingerbread man's hands around the chopstick.
    • The reason for using chopsticks is that the candy canes will melt in the oven. You need the chopstick (or another wooden stick) to hold the shape while the cookies are baking.
    • After you have shaped all of the cookies so that they are holding the chopsticks, bake the cookies in the oven for 20 minutes at 350*F/ 175*C.
    • Right after you take out the cookies from the oven (before they have cooled off), *gently* remove the chopsticks and immediately replace them with a candy cane.
    • Don't get sad if a few of the cookies lose their arms in the process, I definitely broke a few doing this.
    • Now draw eyes, a smile, buttons, rosy cheeks, and white squiggly lines to resemble clothes.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 33mgPotassium: 231mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword gingerbread cookies, vegan gingerbread cookies
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    How to store the vegan ginger cookies

    Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

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    Comments

      5 from 7 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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    1. Cathryn

      December 29, 2017 at 3:48 pm

      These are so cute.

      Reply
      • Gaby Dimova

        December 29, 2017 at 7:43 pm

        Thanks so much Cathryn!☺️

        Reply
    2. CC

      December 04, 2022 at 7:39 pm

      Hi!

      This looks awesomeeee!!!
      Can I substitute the flour for almond or oat flour? Do I melt the coconut oil? and could I leave the dough in the fridge overnight?

      Reply
      • Gaby Dimova

        December 12, 2022 at 11:04 pm

        Hi there! Unfortunately almond / coconut flour won't work :/ if you wanted to keep it gluten free, you can use a 1:1 gluten free baking flour. Room temperature coconut oil works great and YES do refrigerate at least for 1-2 hours 🙂

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Reindeer Cookies (Vegan) - Veggie World Recipes says:
      December 12, 2021 at 9:03 am

      […] If you liked this recipe, you might also like these festive gingerbread men cookies holding candy canes! […]

      Reply

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