Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe has been used by my family for as long as I can remember.  Unfortunately, it's not gluten-free.  But it is vegan; and more than that, it's tons and tons of fun to make.  The batter itself is my favourite part, because it makes use of the baking soda-vinegar foaming reaction.  My mom, on the other hand, prefers the fun of rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookie shapes.  (We make a pretty awesome baking team!  She is also the cake-decorator in the family to my cake-baker).

The dough in this recipe needs to chill for a minimum of several hours before it can be rolled.  At first, this may seem like an inconvenience; but in my opinion it's really a blessing in disguise, because the dough can stay chilled for extended periods of time.  (We've left the dough in the fridge for up to a week with no ill effects.)  Our general strategy is to make huge recipe in one go, and then portion into smaller batches of dough we can roll, bake and eat as we need it and/or as we have time.  Once I left home, I would generally do my favourite part (the mixing), stick the dough in the fridge, and then bring it home with me when I went back for the holidays so my mom could have fun cutting out the cookies. 

The short baking time also makes these cookies ideal for classroom (or Sunday school) use - bring in the dough, pre-made and chilled, and let the kids have fun rolling, cutting, sprinkling, baking, and eating!



Gingerbread Cookies

½ cup margarine                                                           

½ cup sugar (we use sucanut)                        

                    

2½ cups flour (whole wheat, although all-purpose will obviously work too)                   

½ teaspoon salt                                                           

½ teaspoon ground ginger                                              

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup molasses

3 tablespoons vinegar

½ teaspoon baking soda

Cream together margarine and sugar.

Combine flour, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, mixing well.

Combine molasses, vinegar and baking soda, and add to creamed mixture.

Add flour, part at a time, mixing well.  Wrap dough and chill overnight (or for several hours).

For gingerbread people, roll dough out to ¼-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.  Cut out shapes with cookies cutters.

Place cookies on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper)   

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.