Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
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These delicious gingerbread cookies are made with whole-grain spelt flour and are spiced with a healthy dose of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. I use blackstrap molasses, which is rich in iron, and pure maple syrup to naturally sweeten. They are crispy around the edges, chewy in the middle, and so much fun to decorate with my easy frosting! You won’t be able to stop at just one. Not to worry if you don’t have any whole-grain spelt flour—I’ve also provided directions for an all-purpose flour version in the recipe tips.
Yield
2 dozen
Prep Time
30 Minutes
Cook time
0 Minutes
Chill time
3 hours
Total Time
30 Minutes
Ingredients:
For the wet ingredients:
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (65 g) soy-free vegan butter*
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the dry ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375g) spelt flour (light/white or whole-grain)**
For the frosting:
- 2 cups (260 g) powdered/icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) vegan butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (35 mL) non-dairy milk, or as needed
- Pinch fine sea salt, to taste
Directions:
- In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric beater, beat the butter for 5 to 10 seconds, until almost smooth. Add the maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla, and beat again until combined.
- Add the ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cloves, and nutmeg to the wet ingredients. Beat with the mixer to combine. Now, add the flour and beat again until the dough comes together and there are no flour patches left. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Form the dough into two equal discs and cover each tightly with plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 3 hours so it can firm up for easier rolling. You can also chill the dough overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one disc from the fridge and unwrap. Leave the other disc in the fridge.
- Place the disc on a large piece of parchment paper. (Alternatively, you can use a non-stick mat on the base.) Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it’s about ¼ inch thick.
- Using the cookie cutters of your choice, cut out the cookies. Peel away the excess dough and place each cookie onto the baking sheet about 1 to 2 inches apart. Repeat this entire process with the remaining dough until it’s all used up.
- Bake the cookies for 9–11 minutes. (Keep in mind that cookies on the thick side will bake up soft while thinner cookies will turn out crisp.) Let them cool on the pans for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer onto a cooling rack until completely cool.
- For the frosting: In a medium bowl or stand mixer, beat together the frosting ingredients until completely smooth. Transfer the frosting into a plastic baggie and snip off a tiny triangle at the corner of the bag. (Alternatively, you can use a squeeze bottle with a piping tip.) When the cookies are completely cool, pipe the frosting as you desire. Enjoy immediately or transfer to the fridge so the frosting can firm up a bit. Once the frosting is firm, you can freeze the cookies if desired.
- Cookies can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days (sadly, they don’t stay fresh for very long and will dry out quickly), or in the freezer for 2 to 3 weeks.
* I use Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread. I use vegan butter here rather than my go-to coconut oil because I found that coconut oil resulted in a dough that, once chilled, was really hard and difficult to roll out. I don’t recommend using coconut oil in this recipe.
** You can swap the spelt flour for approximately 2 cups + 1–4 tablespoon(s) regular all-purpose flour. I only did one trial of this so you may need a bit more or less flour than I did. I recommend adding the flour a bit at a time. The dough should stick together easily, but it shouldn't be super sticky or too dry.
Tip: If you are pressed for time and don’t want to roll out the dough, feel free to shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Flatten the balls slightly before baking, and you’ll end up with easy gingerbread cookies. I love pressing the top of the unbaked dough into crushed candy cane for a really pretty effect!