December 15, 2013

Vegan Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe


These deliciously gingery gingerbread men cookies are so cute and are amazingly tasty. I really believe that this is the PERFECT vegan gingerbread man recipe. I love my gingerbread cookies extremely gingery and also with a nice crispiness... this recipe does both! They rise slightly and become nice and crisp. These would be a great little gift for Christmas, as Christmas tree decorations or just as a nice thing to do to get you in the Christmas spirit. But to be honest, these are delicious enough to make all year round. I can't help but eat more than one when I make these... I will creep over to the cookie jar and nibble the arms and legs off and put the limbless torsos back in the jar. Then I wait for Jerome to scold me and tell me that I cannot eat just the limbs hehe... but I always feel less guilty if I don't eat a whole cookie! Not that there is any logic in it. Anyway, I guarantee that you will love these and that you will keep going back for more! Check out the 'tips' below for icing ideas. Enjoy!

 makes approx. 15 regular-sized gingerbread men

   2 1/4 cups plain flour
   1 tablespoon ground ginger
   1 teaspoon cinnamon 
   3/4 cup brown sugar
   1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda 
   3/4 cup melted vegan margarine
   1/4 cup golden syrup

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a big baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Add all ingredients to a bowl and knead until combined into a ball of dough.
  3. Lightly flour a surface.
  4. Roll the dough out onto the floured surface and use cookie cutters to make your desired gingerbread men shapes. 
  5. Place the gingerbread men on to the baking trays and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
  6. Allow to cool and ice/frost as desired. See the 'tips' below for icing ideas. Enjoy! 

  • Icing ideas:
    - Purchase vegan icing
    - Make your own vegan icing by mixing icing sugar, water and natural food colouring
    - Pipe melted white chocolate
    - Dip them in chocolate
    - Or simply dust with icing sugar 
  • For a non-Christmas occasion, just use different cookie cutters! 


The nutrition information above is an approximate guideline.

61 comments :

  1. They look great and I think I will make for the kids...just a question though - what vegan margarine is everyone using? I can't find / don't know of one that doesn't have palm oil??

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    1. Hi there! I am pretty sure that there is only one vegan margarine available at the moment that is free from palm oil... it is the Melrose brand margarine available at specified health food stores. See here: http://www.melrosehealth.com.au/health_products/Gluten_Free_Organic_Health_Food/omegacare_gold_tablespread.aspx :)

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    2. There is a palm oil free nuttelex called Sunburst! It uses coconut oil and is really great :)

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    3. Earth Balance brand is good :-)

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  2. I made these cookies to take to work as a Christmas treat for my colleagues but they didn't even make it out of my house - they were too delicious to share!! Thank you so much for the recipe. I think I'll have to make a double batch next time... Wishing you and your family a safe and happy Christmas Madison :)

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    1. Hi Erin! Thanks for your comment. Ha ha you made me laugh... you sound like me! I always eat everything that is meant for gifts. I am so glad that you enjoyed them. Merry Christmas!

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    2. I hope that these cookies are a good as you say, because here I go! <3 Let you know in a few. Be back soon <3

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  3. Replies
    1. Hi there,

      Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It tastes really sweet and caramelly.

      Hope this helps!

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    2. That all being said, how well you take care of yourself will reflect on how attentive your kids will be towards their own health as they mature.ActiveMan Nutrition Tips

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  4. What is golden syrup?

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    1. Hi there,

      Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It tastes really sweet and caramelly.

      Hope this helps!

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  5. I just made these with coconut oil instead of vegan margarine and they are awesome!! thanks for the delicious (and easy) recipe Madison.

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  6. Can agave syrup be used instead golden syrup?

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    1. Golden syrup has a thicker and stickier consistency to agave syrup and also tastes like caramel. So, you could try it but it wouldn''t give the same result.

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    2. I was hoping maple syrup might work...maybe it will be too thin?

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    3. It will probably be too thin. You could add less and add it gradually until a cookie dough has formed. :)

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    4. I used maple syrup instead of golden and it was fine :) only thing else was I added a tiny bit extra Nuttelex (vegan marg) because it wasnt sticking. But it would have been less than a teaspoon

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    5. Ok great! That is so good to know. Thanks for telling us :)

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  7. Hello you two!
    I made these with my boyfriend and we love them so much!
    We made gingerbread men and gingerbread hearts:)
    Now I will go and have another one...
    Merry Christmas from Germany

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    Replies
    1. Hello! Thanks so much. I am so glad that you liked them :) I hope you had a lovely Christmas!

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  8. These are very yummy (especially the dough!) but I found they spread a fair bit so next time I left out the baking soda and added a little extra flour, which helped retain the shapes better. This is certainly the best vegan gingerbread recipe I've made so far - great taste, easy to work with and a nice crunch.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Julianne! Thank you. I know... I eat so much of the dough when I make these. I am glad that you enjoyed them :)

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  9. Yum, i love gingerbread biscuits, and been looking for a nice recipe for ages...Thanks for putting this up...

    Simon

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  10. How long will these keep for?

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    1. Probably 3 days or so in an airtight container. Thanks!

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  11. Hi Madison, how do you think these will go if I use gluten free flour? Also love the new look site and can't wait for the baby section!

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    1. Hi Jen! To be honest, I would have no idea. You would just have to try and see it how it goes :) I don't see why it would be any different? Thanks so much!

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  12. Hi!

    Just wondering if the icing you've suggested sets like royal icing? I've read vegan recipes where they've used corn syrup/corn starch. What're your thoughts? Because I want to ice them, but don't want them sticking to each other when I store them.
    Either way, looking forward to trying these out - Making a huge batch for the children's' Christmas party! :)

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    Replies
    1. If you make a combination of icing sugar to water or soy milk, just add less liquid for a harder icing or more liquid for a softer/wetter icing :)

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  13. FANTASTIC and so easy to make!!! Will definitely be storing this recipe away. Thank you!

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  14. can i replace golden syrup with molasses?

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  15. Has anyone tried making this with molasses? If so, with success?

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  16. Making these right now, however, my dough is very difficult to work with; keeps breaking apart on me! Any suggestions as why this might be happening? Followed recipe. Could the US vegan butter be different to what you use? This is a test run, but I need to make a LOT in the next day or two to give as gifts. Any help would be appreciated :)

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    Replies
    1. Hello! Are you using Australian measurements? 1 australian cup = 250ml which is different to US measurements :)

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  17. Used this recipe with 300 grams gluten free flour and the result was wonderful. I am nut and wheat allergic and my friend is vegan so we could both eat the biscuits! They are more delicate to cut, but just takes a bit of patience to keep all the limbs on! And tasted wonderful! We topped them with icing made using coconut milk, icing mixture and sunburst vegan butter! Yum!

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  18. AMAZING!!!!! Thanks for sharing this is great!

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  19. Brilliant recipe! I swapped the syrup for molasses, added some nutmeg and allspice and cooked for a tad longer...and they turned out perfectly!

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  20. What temperature is the oven supposed to be on? I couldn't see a gas mark/degrees anywhere? Thanks

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  21. Hello! How long do these keep for?

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  22. Hi Madison!
    First off I just want to say I LOVE all your recipes!
    But I'm hoping you can help me figure out what went wrong with these as mine failed :( ... The raw dough tasted delicious, but when I got them out of the oven they had a strange scent and taste. I don't know how else to describe it than almost fishy or like that old oil taste (I know, so unpleasant!). I know it's not your recipe, I'm just at a loss at what it could be! I used Nuttelex 'buttery', do you think it could be that??

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  23. Just baked these with my 3yr old boy & they're delicious - thank you!

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  24. Had to google what "bicarbonate soda" was LOL turns out its another name for Baking Soda. hopefully this comment will save other dummies like me the trouble. XD

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  25. Had to google what " bicarbonate soda " was LOL. Apparently its another name for Baking Soda. hopefully this will save other dummies like me the trouble. xD

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  26. Just made these with my partner and they're so delicious! I'll put the photo on instagram and tag you so you can see them ��

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  27. would molasses work instead of golden syrup?

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  28. Ummm ... I made these with doves farm gluten free flour and coconut nectar instead of syrup ... They came out perfect :-) :-)

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  29. How come they will only last three days? Can they be frozen? I want to make them for gifts but need them to lay into the new year as I'm giving them as gifts a week or so prior to Christmas. Also need to make sure to give extra time just in case of left overs (you never know!) ��

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  30. These look yummy but why will they only last 3 days? Can they be frozen? I need them to last at least a couple of weeks over the Christmas period as I'm giving them as gifts and some people take them away with them to share with others during their Christmas festivities

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  31. Made these with my little boy today (who has allergies so make vegan goodies) and we love them! Easy recipe and tasty. We added a little extra flour as our dough was wet and also found they needed a little less time in our oven - but they all vary. Thanks for a great recipe!

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  32. I did these but with buckwheat flour to make gluten free too and they are amazing xxx

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  33. We made these on Saturday and they were delicious. Such a simple but successful recipe. Thanks so much :-)

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