Gingerbread for me is like a rite of passage into the Christmas season. It’s always one of the first festive treats I make each year, and the smell gets me right into the Christmas spirit. And in typical Olivia fashion, these spicy cookies are vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free.
While I adore the smell of gingerbread baking, these cookies are amazing unbaked as well (ie. gingerbread dough – yes please). They’re vegan and gluten free, so the dough is totally safe (and delicious) to eat straight outta the mixing bowl. Just roll and cut as usual, but instead of baking, chill the cookies in the fridge until they’ve firmed up. Easy.
I’ve baked mine so they’re nice and crispy, but you can easily reduce the cooking time for chewier cookies. It’s all personal preference.
Give them a go, and kick off Christmas with some wholefoods this year!
Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (Baked or Raw)
Makes 12-16
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup cornflour
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey – this is my favourite!)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients to combine. Whisk together honey/maple syrup, coconut oil and balsamic vinegar to combine. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.
- Knead the dough gently and form into a ball. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 5mm thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters – gather remaining dough and roll out again, cutting more cookies until all dough has been used up.
- Arrange cookies on prepared baking trays. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your cookies, or alternatively chill until firm and eat unbaked.