It wouldn't be Christmas without Vegan Gingerbread. This recipe will work perfectly for gingerbread men, a gingerbread house or any other shape you'd like to make. Get the recipe below.
Across Europe, biscuits and cookies play an important role at Christmas. Throughout the festive season you will be amazed at the huge number of different cookies on offer and the wide range of shapes, sizes and flavours that they come in.
Gingerbread is a classic biscuit and there are variations not only across Europe but around the world. I've heard that the first known recipe actually comes from ancient Greece and that there are very old Chinese recipes too.
Because of its warming spices, gingerbread is now synonymous with winter or Christmas. Building a gingerbread house is an important Christmas tradition for kids everywhere.
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Ingredients
To make gingerbread you need 7 ingredients. They are:
- fat (vegan butter),
- sugar (dark muscavado sugar, golden syrup and treacle),
- spices (ginger and cinnamon) and
- flour (self raising flour specifically).
Step-by-step Instructions
Follow these 10 simple steps for the perfect gingerbread every time!
- Step 1: In a heavy bottomed saucepan, you will melt the vegan butter, dark muscavado sugar, golden syrup and treacle until it's a wonderful, sticky, molten mix.
- Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and spices until evenly distributed.
- Step 3: Once the sugar and fats have melted together leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- Step 4: Pour the cooled syrup into the flour and spices and bring together into a ball of dough.
- Step 5: Wrap the ball of dough in cling film or place in a Ziploc bag and chill for a minimum of 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- Step 6: When the dough is chilled, pre-heat your oven and line baking trays with baking paper.
- Step 7: Roll the dough out to 5mm thick.
- Step 8: Use cookie cutters to create your desired shapes.
- Step 9: Place your gingerbread onto the baking trays and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Step 10: Leave to cool on the baking try and, only once they have firmed up, transfer them to a wire rack to cool fully.
Hint: Roll out your dough onto baking paper to stop it sticking.
Once your gingerbread has cooled completely it is ready to decorate. All you need is a little icing sugar and water. Mix this together and then pipe your designs.
Equipment
You're going to create a fair bit of washing up with this recipe. Altogether you will need:
- A heavy bottomed saucepan
- A spatula
- A mixing bowl
- Clingfilm or a Ziploc bag
- Baking trays
- Baking paper
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters
- Small bowl
- Spoon
- Piping bag
Storage
Keep the finished gingerbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Top tips for making vegan gingerbread
For sticky cookie cutters
Dip the sides of the cookie cutter into flour before cutting out each shape for a clean cut.
For fiddly shapes
If you're making intricate shapes (like the snowflakes I've made), roll out the dough onto baking paper. Cut out your shapes, remove the scraps, and then simply slide the whole sheet of baking paper directly onto the baking tray.
Frequently Asked Questions
When you add the syrup mix to the flour and spices it will form a sticky dough ball. It's perfectly normal (and right) for it to be squishy and not at all firm to the touch. It will firm up as the butter and sugar cools completely in the fridge.
It is important that the dough chills for at least 2 hours. In this time the flavours meld together and the dough becomes firm enough to roll out. It also makes sure that the cookies don't spread out during baking.
The gingerbread hardens as it cools. Leave it on the baking tray to cool slightly before trying to move it to a wire rack.
The recipe
Vegan Gingerbread
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 150 g vegan butter
- 125 g dark muscavado sugar
- 100 g golden syrup
- 50 g treacle
- 375 g self raising flour
- 3 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
For the icing
- 50 g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle to a heavy bottomed pan and melt over a low heat.
- Once melted, leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and spices to a large mixing bowl then pour in the butter and sugar mix, stirring until it comes together in a ball of dough.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 C / 350 F / gas mark 4.
- Line baking trays with baking paper.
- Once the dough has chilled and become firm, lightly dust a work surface and roll out the dough until roughly 5mm thick.
- Using your desired cookie cutter, cut out your gingerbread shapes.
- Transfer the gingerbread to your baking trays then place into the centre of your oven for 10 minutes.
- Take the gingerbread out of the oven and leave to cool on the baking trays until they have cooled slightly and firmed up.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the gingerbread is cold, mix up the icing sugar and water until you have a stiff but pipeable icing.
- Ice with your preferred design.
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