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Easy Vegan Gingerbread Men Cookies with Icing

These perfect vegan gingerbread men cookies are the warmth of the holiday season in a cookie! Soft, chewy insides and sturdy enough to decorate. Easy recipe you’ll love. 

Close up of a pile of gingerbread men cut into various shapes like men, trees, and stars, covered in white icing sugar on a wood table with sprinkles around.
A big pile of vegan gingerbread men cut out cookies on the table in shapes like men, trees, snowflakes, and stars.

These are soft gingerbread cookies that you can cut out into fun shapes! They make for perfect cookies to pack into cookie boxes, share at cookie swaps, or just for snacking on by yourself with a mug of coffee or tea. 

My family loves to make tons of cookies for the Christmas season and these gingerbread cookies are some of our favorite ones.  Make sure you also check out my chewy vegan ginger molasses cookies, vegan gingerbread loaf cake, and vegan spritz cookies. 

Why You’ll Love these Vegan Gingerbread Men

  • Soft, chewy cookies that are sturdy enough to decorate
  • Perfectly spiced with lots of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice
  • Super easy to make
  • Freeze well to save for later
  • A great addition to cookie boxes or to give as gifts 
  • Dairy free, egg free recipe

Ingredients 

You only need some easy to acquire simple ingredients to make these amazing gingerbread cookies. 

Ingredients for the gingerbread men cookies in various bowls on a wood table. Black and white labels have been added to name each ingredient.
Ingredients for the cookies measured out and placed in bowls on the table, ready to mix up.
  • Flour: Normal all purpose flour makes for a great soft and chewy cookie. 
  • Molasses: I like to use Grandma’s Unsulphured molasses. It has a rich taste and isn’t too overwhelming.
  • Flax egg: While some traditional gingerbread recipes don’t call for an egg, I find that adding a flaxseed egg really helps with the rolling and cutting of these cookies. Plus, it makes these cookies kinda healthy because of the flax seed. 
  • Spices: You can’t make gingerbread cookies without a lot of spices! Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice are my favorite mix. If you like nutmeg, you can add a pinch of that as well. 
  • Other ingredients you’ll need: Vegan butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt 

How to make gingerbread cookie dough 

Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.

In a small bowl that is heat proof, combine the ground flax seeds with the boiling water to make the flax seed egg. Give it a good mix and set it aside for 5 minutes. This lets it gel together. 

In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, salt, and all the spices. 

Whisking the drying ingredients together in a glass bowl on a wood table.
Whisking dry ingredients together.
Mixing the wet ingredients for the cookies together in a silver bowl that is on a wood table.
Mixing wet ingredients together.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature vegan butter. Mix this on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy. 

Next, add the remaining wet ingredients to the vegan butter. The brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, and the flax egg can all be added at the same time. Whip this on medium speed again for about a minute to really combine it, and to keep it light and fluffy. 

Now, add the sifted flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix this on low speed until it starts to come together. I like to turn the mixer up to medium speed for a few seconds to help the dry mixture fully incorporate into the wet ingredients. You can also use a spatula or wooden spoon to help this gingerbread dough come together. 

The finished gingerbread dough in a silver bowl on a wood table.
Finished gingerbread cookie dough ready to chill.

Divide the dough into two equal balls and wrap in plastic wrap. Set these into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Why chill the dough? 

Chilling the dough is super important in egg free baking! It helps the fats in the dough (vegan butter in this case) firm back up to make the rolling and cutting of shapes easier. Plus, when they go into the hot oven, they are less likely to lose their shape if chilled. 

The flax seed egg does a good job of holding the cookies together but let’s use everything we can to make these the best cookies ever. 

Baking 

Onto a lightly floured surface, it’s time to roll out the cookies! 

Gingerbread dough with cookie cutter shapes being cut out of the dough.
Rolling and cutting out shapes in gingerbread.

Roll the chilled dough out to about a ¼ inch thick with a rolling pin. Using your cookie cutters, gently cut each cookie out and transfer to a lined baking sheet. 

Pro tip! Never shake the cookie cutter back and forth when cutting cookies out. This will prevent them from properly rising up in the oven. Use cookie cutters in a simple up and down motion. 

Bake the cookies for 8 to 11 minutes, depending on how large your cookies are. While the bake time will be different for each cookie, for best results I generally use this as a guide for cookies. 

  • Smaller than 4-inches in size: 8-9 minutes baking 
  • About 4-inches in size: 9-10 minutes baking
  • Over 4-inches in size: 10-12 minutes baking 

The cookies are done when they are slightly browned and have a set look to them. 

Let the cookies rest on the hot baking tray for at least 10 minutes after baking to allow them to finish setting. After 10 minutes you can transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Let them cool completely before decorating. 

Note. This recipe makes for amazing vegan cookies. However, this dough is not sturdy enough to make a gingerbread house. 

Gingerbread Cookie Icing Recipe 

The gingerbread cookie icing recipe couldn’t be easier to mix up! 

Combine one cup of powdered sugar (aka icing sugar) with one tablespoon of water. Mix it up and you are done! Transfer it to a piping bag with a small round tip to make the perfect gingerbread men, reindeer, trees, and more. 

6 gingerbread cookies on a silver tray with sprinkles and icing in a piping bag.
Decorating the cookies with sprinkles and icing is the best part.

Tip! If you want extra glossy icing, add half a tablespoon of corn syrup and half a tablespoon of water to the one cup of powdered sugar. This makes it a little thicker and super shiny!

I like to use this simple icing because of how easy it is to mix up. It also lets these cookies sit out at room temperature with no problems.

How to store 

The awesome thing about these cookies is how well they store for the holidays. 

Countertop: Store the cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to a week. (If they last that long!)

Freezer: These cookies freeze amazingly well. Chill cookies in a single layer on a baking tray. After they are frozen, transfer to a freezer safe container, with a sheet of parchment paper in between each layer of cookies. Allow cookies to thaw before serving after freezing. 

A plate filled with vegan gingerbread men cut out cookies with more cookies next to the plate. Seasonal decorations like ribbons, sprinkles, and cranberries are next to the cookie plate.
A plate filled with cookies surrounded by more cookies and lots of sprinkles.

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you try these out, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, vegan friendly recipes you can subscribe to the newsletter. Did you make these? Please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! I love to see your creations!

Close up of a pile of gingerbread men cut into various shapes like men, trees, and stars, covered in white icing sugar on a wood table with sprinkles around.

Easy Vegan Gingerbread Men Cookies

Perfect vegan gingerbread cookies are the warmth of the holiday season in a cookie! Soft, chewy insides and sturdy enough to decorate.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Baked Goods
Keyword: cookies, holiday, vegan baking
Servings: 50 3-inch cookies
Calories: 76kcal

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Mixing spoons
  • measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Hand mixer or stand mixer
  • parchment paper
  • baking trays
  • cookie cutters
  • Spatula

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookie

  • 10 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • cup molasses
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
  • 3 tablespoons water boiling
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • ½ teaspoon cloves

Icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons water can use corn syrup and water for a glossy finish

Instructions

  • Make the flax egg. In a small heat proof bowl, combine the ground flax seeds with the boiling water. Mix them together well and set aside to cool slightly. Let this rest for 5 minutes.
  • Sift the dry ingredients. In another bowl, sift together the flour with baking soda, salt, and all the spices. Set this aside.
  • Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the softened vegan butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar, flax egg, vanilla, and molasses. Mix this well on medium speed for about a minute to really incorporate all the ingredients.
  • Combine ingredients. Now, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix on slow speed at first and then on medium until the dough comes together in the bowl.
  • Chill the dough. Divide the dough into two equal portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F/180℃. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven. Line 4 baking trays with parchment paper (number of trays will depend on size of cookies).
  • Roll the dough. Dust the work surface generously with extra flour. Roll the chilled gingerbread dough to about a ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookies with your favorite cookie cutters. Use a spatula to carefully transfer them to the prepared baking trays. These cookies won’t spread that much but it’s still a good idea to leave a little room between cookies. Re-roll the dough and use until no dough remains.
  • Bake. Bake the gingerbread cookies for 8-11 minutes or until done. The edges will be set and a slightly darker color will be developed on the edge of the cookie. Don’t over bake these! For smaller cookies that are under 4 inches in size, I find they only take about 8 minutes. Larger cookies take upwards of 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the hot tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  • Decorate. Mix together the powdered sugar and water until it is the thickness of icing that you like. Transfer to a piping bag. Decorate the cooled cookies with icing and sprinkles. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Ideally you will bake one cookie tray at a time. If you need to bake more than one, place the oven racks in the top two thirds of the oven and rotate the trays halfway through baking.
  • Baking Times
    • Cookies smaller than 4-inches in size: 8-9 minutes baking
    • Cookies about 4-inches in size: 9-10 minutes baking
    • Cookies over 4-inches in size: 10-12 minutes baking
  • How to store
    • Countertop: Store the cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to a week. (If they last that long!)
    • Freezer: These cookies freeze amazingly well. Chill cookies in a single layer on a baking tray. After they are frozen, transfer to a freezer safe container, with a sheet of parchment paper in between each layer of cookies. Allow cookies to thaw before serving after freezing.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
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