There are many symbols of Christmas, from holly to Santa Claus, and crackers to Christmas pud. One of my favourites is the gingerbread man with his cute smiling face and rosy cheeks. I am always drawn towards gingerbread man decorations for my tree, and Christmas cards featuring these adorable characters. These Vegan Gingerbread Men are a fun and delicious way to enjoy one of the most charming symbols of Christmas time. It would be great fun to make them with kids and let them get creative with the decorations! They have the perfect balance of sweetness against spicy ginger, making them a tasty treat for the whole family this Christmas.
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Aren't these friendly smiling vegan gingerbread men just the cutest? Almost too cute to eat, but only almost! They are absolutely yummy - crispy round the edges, then nice and soft in the middle. The punch of ginger flavour is just right, and you get bits of sweet icing in every bite.
Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- You can use a dairy free baking block or a dairy free baking spread to make the biscuit dough, but either way it should be used cold.
- If you don't want to use wholemeal flour, you can replace it with regular plain flour.
- Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a pumpkin spice mix instead.
- I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for these biscuits, but caster sugar will work well too.
- Golden syrup is sold all over the world, so check the international section in your supermarket if you're not based in the UK. You can also buy it online from Amazon (see link below). If you can't get hold of it, you can substitute it with light corn syrup, maple syrup or honey, please note I've not tested this recipe with these substitutions.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Vegan Gingerbread Men
Start by putting all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and stirring them together. In a small pan, melt the dairy free spread with the golden syrup and treacle.
Pour the syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. Wrap it in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour. Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface.
Cut out gingerbread man shapes using a cookie cutter and lay them onto baking trays. Put the cut out shapes on the trays into the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake them for 8-10 minutes.
Once they are fully cool, make some icing and pipe it onto the biscuits to decorate them.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How long do the gingerbread men last and can they be frozen?
The gingerbread men biscuits will last for 1 week stored in an airtight container in a cool place. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Freeze them in a freezer bag, a tupperware container, or wrap them well in cling film. You can also freeze the dough before rolling it out, wrap it well in cling film and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can this recipe be made gluten free?
Yes! For gluten free you can replace the plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. I also recommend adding ¼ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. Please also check the labels of all the ingredients you use to avoid cross contamination, and especially if you are serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.
Do you need any special equipment to make these biscuits?
You can make the dough completely by hand, but if you have a food processor it does make it a little easier and quicker. For rolling out the dough you will need a rolling pin, I also like to use a silicone mat to make clean up a little easier. To bake the biscuits you will need some baking paper and some baking trays. And of course you will need a gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter!
More tips for making the Vegan Gingerbread Men:
- You can cut the dough into any shapes you like besides gingerbread men.
- If you are using a metal cookie cutter, to stop it from going rusty wash it in warm soapy water, then pop it in a warm oven to dry it out.
- You could also use chocolate to decorate them, or leave them plain.
Troubleshooting
My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients
- Baking trays
- Mixing bowls
- Piping bags
- Cooling rack
- Kitchen scales
- Rolling pin
- Gingerbread man cutter
- Mixed spice
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More Gingerbread recipes...
- Gingerbread Baked Donuts
- Gingerbread Loaf Cake
- Ginger & Lemon Cake
- Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Gingerbread House
- Gingerbread Bonfire Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Vegan Gingerbread Trifles
- Gingerbread Cake with Ginger Buttercream
- Gingerbread Traybake
- Gingerbread Pavlova
- Gingerbread Men
- Gingerbread & White Chocolate Cookies
- Gingerbread Rocky Road
- Ginger & White Chocolate Cheesecake (No Bake)
Ingredients
For the gingerbread
- 150 g Plain flour
- 150 g Wholemeal flour
- 150 g Light brown sugar
- 1 tsp Mixed spice
- 1 ½ tsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 60 ml Golden syrup
- ½ tbsp Black treacle
- 140 g Dairy free butter/margarine
For the icing
- 75 g Icing sugar
- Enough water to make a thick paste
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, line your baking tray(s) with baking paper
- Put both the flours, light brown sugar, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, and mixed spice into a large mixing bowl and stir them together
- In a small pan on the lowest heat, melt the dairy free spread with the golden syrup and treacle
- Pour the syrup mixture into the flour mixture and combine with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Bring it together more with your hands if needed
- Wrap it in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour
- Flour your pastry mat or work surface well, and flour your rolling pin. Roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes
- Lay the cut out dough pieces onto your lined baking tray(s). Keep re-rolling the dough until it is all used
- Put the baking trays into the freezer for 10 minutes, this will help the gingerbread keep it's shape when baking
- Remove from the freezer and bake them for 8-10 minutes, leave them on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack
- Once they were fully cool, mix the icing sugar with enough cold water to make a thick paste (you don't want it to be runny)
- Put the icing into a piping bag and pipe faces, buttons and squiggles onto the gingerbread men. You could also use chocolate to decorate, or leave them plain
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 1 week. You can also freeze them without the decoration
Video
Notes
- You can use a dairy free baking block or a dairy free baking spread to make the biscuit dough, but either way it should be used cold.
- If you don't want to use wholemeal flour, you can replace it with regular plain flour.
- Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a pumpkin spice mix instead.
- I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for these biscuits, but caster sugar will work well too.
- Golden syrup is sold all over the world, so check the international section in your supermarket if you're not based in the UK. You can also buy it online from Amazon (see link below). If you can't get hold of it, you can substitute it with light corn syrup, maple syrup or honey, please note I've not tested this recipe with these substitutions.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
Judith Graber
Your recipe is very different from mine (not vegan) but I'm sure your version is healthier and still delicious. I love all things gingerbread too; we decorated gingerbread houses for almost 20 years (I baked them 5-6 and the kids decorated them) my main tree is all gingerbread ornaments and a smaller kitchen one, I have all kinds of pans and cookie cutters with gingerbread man theme, and the list goes on. Many posts are on my blog - stop and say hello the next time you stop by 🙂 Thanks for sharing a favorite cookie on "my holiday table" with Fiesta Friday.
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Judith, I'm glad to meet a fellow gingerbread lover!
Monika Dabrowski
These little gingerbread men look so attractive with their little white wintry outfits, and I really like the healthy twist with adding wholemeal flour to this recipe:)
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Monika!
Cat
These look so cute! I love a gingerbread man 🙂 x
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Cat!
Jess @ Living on leaves
Yum, these look amazing!
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Jess!
frugal hausfrau
They are darling!! I love gingerbread, too1! Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday!
Mollie
thebakingexplorer
Thank you!
Louise - Cooking with kids
These look lovely, I'm on the lookout for biscuits that the kids can decorate at the moment. And I definitely need a pastry mat in my life 🙂
thebakingexplorer
It's so handy! I love the Joseph Joseph one I have!
Vicki Montague
I love gingerbread and there is something very special about gingerbread men isn't there? Although I always have to make some women too!
thebakingexplorer
I have different sized cutters so I can make a whole gingerbread family! 🙂
Monika Dabrowski
Thank you for bringing your handsome little men to #CookBlogShare:)
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Monika!
Mel
Your little gingerbread men look so cute! My 4 would love them (they're gingerbread men addicts!). I'm like you: my eye gets drawn to anything 'gingerbread man' in the festive season: cards, decorations, wrapping paper 🙂 Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate gingerbread men as much as me!
Emma Amoscato
They are so cute! And it's always great to see egg free baking. We made some at the weekend but didn't have ginger so they were cinnamon men instead! #freefromfridays
thebakingexplorer
I'm learning more and more about egg and dairy free baking, and really enjoying it!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
They are so cute - I love them! You are right that gingerbread men are such a lovely part of Christmas. I love making them with the kids. Eb x
thebakingexplorer
Thank you! I bet it's so fun to make and decorate these with kids 🙂
Kate - gluten free alchemist
So cute! I agree, gingerbread men are so iconically Christmas. These little guys are just gorgeous x
thebakingexplorer
Thanks so much Kate!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
These are brilliant - such very happy gingerbread men Kat 🙂 Love that you've added some wholemeal flour into the mixture - something I've never tried with gingerbread biscuits.
Angela x
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Angela!
Candace
One of our favourite past times this time of year making gingerbread men
thebakingexplorer
Me too Candace!
Jaimi
Just put the dough in the fridge and another batch in the freezer to make in a couple of weeks time. I had a sneaky taste of the dough and it's yum! Thanks for the recipe ?
Lax
Hey. this is a great recipe. i was wondering if you know how long they would keep for in an airtight tin?
thebakingexplorer
Hi, if you keep them in an airtight container in a cool place I would recommend no longer than 1 week. You can also freeze them without the decoration. I hope that helps!
Priyanka
tried these yday as part of a vegan xmas dinner, were delicious! left them in for slightly longer than the recipe suggested, but they still tasted great 🙂 will definitely be making again!!