Gingerbread Cookies (WFPB, Vegan, Oil-Free and Gluten-Free)
Several people have mentioned wanting a healthy ginger cookie recipe. One that doesn’t use refined sugar, that uses whole grains and no eggs or butter. I have made this recipe from The Vegan 8 several times, and it’s so perfect I don’t feel the need to re-invent the wheel! I am sharing her recipe here, but with the simpler version I make in my head. It includes the spices written out, and doesn’t include the small amount of coconut sugar as it doesn’t seem necessary.
Definitely give her a follow and check out her website because it’s a masaterpiece! I love her recipes.
These can be soft and chewy OR crispy, just depending on how long you bake them!
How are these Healthier than Normal Gingerbread Cookies?
When a cookie is made of whole grain oats, almonds, anti-inflammatory spices, and sweetened with molasses and maple syrup, it has a different effect on your body than cookies made of white flour, butter, and white sugar. This version has healthier fats, more fiber, and less sugar than most gingerbread cookies.
Frosting
For an easy frosting, I melted a white chocolate bar and put it into a ziploc bag with the tip cut off. However, if you’d like a healthier version, this white sweet potato frosting would work really well.
Enjoy these festive, delicious, healthier cookies!
Gingerbread Cookies (vegan, oil-free, gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 TBSP rolled oats, ground fine into flour in blender
- 6 TBSP tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup roasted runny almond butter
Instructions
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients and stir very well, until a thick dough forms.
- If you have time, refrigerate the bowl of dough for 30 minutes so it's easier to work with.
- Pull out a large piece of parchment paper and put it on your counter. Place the dough on top. Put another large piece of parchment on top, and use a rolling pin and your hands to roll it out to 1/4 inch thick. Any thinner will lead to overly-crispy/potentially burned cookies.
- Begin to preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out the shapes you want, and use a thin spatula to lift the cookies and place them on the cookie sheets. They might need a little re-shaping on the pan.
- If you'd like to make simple circle cookies, form golf-ball sized balls of dough and flatten slightly with your fingers, to about 1/2 inch thick. You can roll the balls in raw sugar if you'd like.
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart because they will spread.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Do 8 minutes for soft cookies, and a full 10 minutes for crispier cookies. They will not seem done at this time, they need to cool completely to set up. I put mine outside for a while where it's usually very cold at the season I make these cookies.
Frosting
- See the blog post for frosting ideas!
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Hi, I want to make this but can not have almonds, is there something else I can use?
Thank you!
You could use any other nut butter that is runny and not stiff, but it would alter the flavor.
Hello! This recipe looks delicious and I’m going to make it. You mentioned that you’ve melted a white chocolate bar for frosting, and I’m wondering which brand of white chocolate bars you recommend. Thank you.
The easiest to find is probably the Enjoy Life! brand of chocolate chips. They have vegan white chocolate chips you can melt. You can also just check your store in the chocolate bar section or baking aisle and see if any are vegan. If you can find cocoa butter, you can make your own! https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-white-chocolate/ Thanks so much for the comments on my blog. Welcome!!
Excited to try these but I read through twice but am not seeing the temperature for baking these. What temperature should I set the oven at?
Oh goodness, I am so sorry! It’s 350. I updated the recipe. Thank you for calling it to my attention!