Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup butter-flavored shortening (226 grams)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (220 grams)
- 1 "egg" via Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer (1 tablespoon egg replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
- 1 cup light or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap or cooking molasses) (325 grams)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar (22 grams)
- 5 cups all-purpose flour (785 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda (9 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger (3 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (2 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves (3 grams)
Instructions
- Add the shortening and sugar to a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about three minutes, using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Scrape down the sides as few times as needed.
- Add the prepared egg replacer, molasses, and vinegar. Beat to combine well. The mixture will look a bit curdled.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves to the bowl and mix to combine well. The dough should come together when you press it in your hands and shouldn't be crumbly. If anything it'll still be a little tacky to the touch. That's ok.
- Divide the dough into two even pieces, wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 90 minutes. Don't skip this step, it helps the cookies to keep their shape.
- When the dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Working in sections, roll the dough to ½ inch thick on a floured surface; cut into desired shapes.
- Place shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Gather and reroll "scraps" of dough as needed, using all of the dough.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Leave plain or decorate (here are 6 Simple Ways to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies if you are looking for some inspo).
Notes
- This vegan royal icing recipe worked great, I just added much less milk than called for so that my icing was very stiff.Â
- The cookies don't even need icing, they taste great as they are so don't feel obligated to use it!
- I love that Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer that is called for in the recipe and keep it on hand in my kitchen. I tried this recipe with a flax egg and the texture wasn't quite the same.Â
- This recipe could be made gluten free by using a gluten free baking blend flour like Bob's Red Mill 1:1 baking flour or something similar.Â
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 9 min
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegan gingerbread cookies, vegan gingerbread men, vegan gingerbread, how to make vegan gingerbread cookies