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Vegan Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 12 cookies
  • Serving size: 1 cookie
  • Print/save recipe

Your search for a scrumptious, vegan, gluten-free, gingerbread cookie recipe is over! Fragrant with the sweet-and-spicy aromas of ginger, allspice, and cinnamon, these comforting cookies are a fun goody for kids and a knockout treat for adults around the holidays and throughout the year. While traditional gingerbread is overloaded with butter and processed sugar, this healthier version uses tahini to enrich the dough and dates to sweeten it, with just a light sprinkling of raw sugar on top. If you prefer your gingerbread cookies decorated with icing, try the White Sweet Potato Icing recipe directly below, which can be made thick for piping or thin for spreading. The variety of cookie cutters available these days is extensive, so feel free to get creative!

Tips

White Sweet Potato Icing: To make the icing, in a small blender combine ¼ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant milk; ¼ cup pure maple syrup; and 2 tablespoons soaked cashews. Cover and blend 2 minutes or until smooth. Add 2 cups cooked white sweet potato. Cover and blend until smooth, adding additional milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

For more inspiration, check out these tasty ideas:

By Kathryn Hendrix, RDN, LD,

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Ingredients

  • 20 pitted Deglet Noor dates (6 oz.) or 10 Medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons dried currants (optional)
  • Coarse raw sugar, such as turbinado or demerara (optional)
  • 1 recipe White Sweet Potato Icing (optional; see recipe above)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place half of the dates in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let soak 10 minutes; drain well. In another small bowl combine flaxseed meal and ¼ cup water. Let stand 5 minutes.
  • In a large bowl stir together the next nine ingredients (through pepper). In a food processor combine soaked dates, flaxseed mixture, tahini, and vanilla. Process until smooth. Chop the remaining dates (you should have about ½ cup). Add dates to the food processor; pulse until incorporated. Add date mixture to flour mixture; mix until well incorporated. (You might need to work the dough a bit.)
  • Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and form into a flattened disk. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the top and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Brush cutouts with water and, if you like, add currants (as buttons for people or as desired for decoration) or sprinkle with coarse sugar. Gently press currants into dough.
  • Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. If you like, decorate cookies with White Sweet Potato Icing (see recipe above).
Nutritional Information:

Per serving (1 cookie): 172 calories, 35 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 3 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 176 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 15 g sugar

Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.

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About the Author

Headshot of recipe developer and nutritionist Kathryn Hendrix (nee Standing)

About the Author

Kathryn Hendrix, RDN, LD

Kathryn Hendrix (née Standing) has a bachelor of science in dietetics from Iowa State University and degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University. Hendrix worked clinically in behavioral health as a registered dietitian, while also developing low-inflammatory and vegan meals for therapeutic diets. She has over 10 years culinary experience, including as a chef in Colorado, and she has been cooking vegan her whole life. She now serves as a culinary specialist in a test kitchen, testing and developing recipes and specializing in whole-food, plant-based; vegan; and gluten-free.
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