This time last week (Dec 1st) I got ahead of myself and told the kids we’d make our own (vegan) gingerbread house this holiday. I recall seeing the pre-made kits at Costco last time I was there and thinking that approach is “cheating”. Well, a week later and several Pinterest searches later I’ve come to terms with two things: first, I am not a natural baker. While I love the creative element of cooking, baking certainly has more exactness in its approach. Put another way, when you see a dessert shared on Vegan Rhapsody it means I’ve really (really) had to work at it ☺️. I’ve also come to terms with the face that pre-made gingerbread kits are popular for a reason: they are convenient. Sourcing the right gingerbread house templates, baking the cut-outs and decorating the house is no easy feat!  Kids aren’t picky about who baked the gingerbread, they just want to assemble the house and decorate it. All this to say that instead of making a vegan gingerbread house this year I decided to make the next best thing:  the perfect vegan gingerbread cookie.

I love cooking with fresh ginger, but I admit I’m not crazy about strong notes of ginger in my gingerbread. With this in mind, I set out to make a gingerbread cookie with the perfect blend of traditional spices and sweetness. I was really happy with how these cookies turned out and most importantly, the kids had tons of fun decorating their gingerbread snowflakes. You’ll notice there’s no frosting in my photograph of these cookies but I will be updating this post shortly with a lovely holiday spice frosting 😊.

Happy Baking~

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F.

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup Earth Balance butter (135g)
• 3 Tbsp aquafaba (35g)
• ½ cup cane sugar (110g)
• ½ cup brown sugar (80g)
• 1 Tbsp water (10g)
• ¼ cup maple syrup (75g)

Instructions

• 1/In a large mixing bowl combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
• 2/Add butter to your Thermomix mixing bowl. Stir 3 min/100C/Speed 1. The butter should now be melted into liquid form.
• 3/Add sugar to the TM bowl. Mix 15 sec/Speed 3. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the mixing bow to collect the creamed mixture at the base of the bowl.

Note: Insert the butterfly whisk attachment before starting Step 4

• 4/Add aquafaba to the TM bowl. Whisk 15 sec/Speed 3. 

Note: Remove the butterfly whisk attachment before starting Step 5.

• 5/Add water and maple syrup to the TM bowl. Stir 15 sec/Speed 3.
• 6/Gradually add the reserved dry ingredients (from Step 1) to the TM bowl. First, add half of the dry mixture (190-200g) into the TM bowl.  Blend 10 sec/Speed 4. Add the remaining half of the dry mixture (190-200g)  into the TM bowl. Blend 15 sec/Speed 4.Your gingerbread dough is now prepared.
• 7/Transfer the dough from your Thermomix mixing bowl to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking tray.

Note: This recipe makes approx. 2 dozen cookies.

•  8/Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies cool.
•  9/Once cooled, dust the cookies with powdered sugar and/or decorate to your liking.

Note: This recipe was made using a Thermomix appliance, however it can easily be adapted using similar food prep tools (e.g. mutli-function processor, immersion blender etc) or using a more traditional stovetop method.

If you’ve enjoyed this recipe make sure to checkout our Frosted Vanilla Bean Loaf it’s also great for the Holidays!

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