Festive season is a great time to dive-deep into baking spirit and vegan gingerbread cookies with aquafaba icing is an essential part of the process. Simple and easy to make and so fun to decorate! Fills your home with the smell of warm gingerbread spices and really gets you into that Christmas mood.
I’ve been making this recipe for three years now and it is still one of my favourite. Can’t even count how many batches of it I make during the festive season. It is super easy to make, and you can even make the dough and store it in the fridge to have it ready in advance. It lasts for up 3 days in the fridge and is so handy just to have it ready once you want to make vegan gingerbread cookies. I can say this cookies recipe is my most popular and praised recipe. I’ve shared with my family and many friends and they all loved it!
The non-vegan recipe usually use honey but this vegan gingerbread cookies recipe is great without it. The cookies get crispier rather than soft and chewy but I like it this way. The Muscovado sugar gives the richer flavour and darker colour, and all the spices gets the taste to perfection!
The magic of aquafaba
The cookies itself are delicious but I think the vegan icing brings gingerbread cookies to the next level! I was worried that I won’t be able to decorate it as nicely as it is done with the royal icing which uses egg white. But again, vegan world is unlimited! You can make almost every traditional recipe by using plant-based ingredients. This time our queen is aquafaba – the liquid from canned chickpeas. Its similarity to egg whites and capabilities are mind-blowing. Just by mixing it with powdered sugar and a bit of lemon juice you get same glossy and flexible icing as you would get from egg whites. It might need a bit longer drying time but once it sets it becomes hard solid. Amazing!
Ingredients
To make this recipe of vegan gingerbread cookies with aquafaba icing you only need simple ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen already. To make the dough combine the butter, sugars, flour, liquid from canned chickpeas, baking powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and all spice. I use the stand mixer to make the dough but you can also use the hand mixer. You might need to knead the dough by hand after a bit longer.
Cookies step-by-step
- Whisk the sugar with butter using the stand mixer or hand mixer until combined.
- Add aquafaba and vanilla into the sugar and butter mix, and continue to whisk with the mixer.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, cornflour, spices and baking powder.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and continue to mix. It should for a dough, but you might finish kneading by hand.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven up to 170 degrees Celcius, fan from top and bottom. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll between two parchment paper sheets about 4-5mm thick.
- Cut desired cookie shapes, place on the baking tray lined with a parchment paper.
- Bake between 10-12 minutes and let the cookies to cool down. The cookies will finish baking on the baking tray.
Vegan royal icing
- By using a hand mixer, whisk the aquafaba until it becomes solid and white.
- Add icing sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and vanilla, and continue whisking until it becomes thick and glossy.
- Decorate the cookies with by using the pipping bag with a small tip, or a cake decorating bottle.
Vegan gingerbread cookies with aquafaba icing
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 380 g white spelt flour
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 200 g vegan butter
- 75 g unrefined cane sugar
- 75 g muscovado sugar
- 3 tbsp aquafaba
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp all spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking powder
Vegan royal icing
- 4 tbsp aquafaba
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp conrflour or cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies:
- Whisk the sugar with butter using the stand mixer or hand mixer until combined.
- Add aquafaba and vanilla into the sugar and butter mix, and continue to whisk with the mixer.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, cornflour, spices and baking powder.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and continue to mix. It should for a dough, but you might finish kneading by hand.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven up to 170 degrees Celcius, fan from top and bottom. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll between two parchment paper sheets about 4-5mm thick.
- Cut desired cookie shapes, place on the baking tray lined with a parchment paper.
- Bake between 10-12 minutes and let the cookies to cool down. The cookies will finish baking on the baking tray.
Vegan royal icing
- By using a hand mixer, whisk the aquafaba until it becomes solid and white.
- Add icing sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and vanilla, and continue whisking until it becomes thick and glossy.
- Decorate the cookies with by using the pipping bag with a small tip, or a cake decorating bottle.
Notes:
Don’t over-bake the cookies! The slightly golden edges is all you need to have the cookies baked already. Depending on your oven, bake it between 12-15 minutes. The cookies with continue to bake on the baking sheet while cooling down. The aquafaba icing hardens quickly so you need to work quite fast with it. Try not to touch the icing before it sets because it is easy to ruin it. You can use a toothpick to fix some lines or bumps. Store the cookies inside the airtight container to avoid getting moist and soft.
Vegan gingerbread cookies is delicious and very tempting to eat straight away but you can also make it, pack it nicely and use it as an edible gift. Cutting different shapes and decorating cookies with aquafaba icing makes it a beautiful gift for Christmas which I’m sure your loved ones will enjoy much!
