The other day I noticed that we didn’t have a basic dairy-free gingerbread men cookies recipe here on Go Dairy Free. We have a recipe for gluten-free & vegan gingerbread cookies, but not all of you need gluten-free treats. And you simply can’t head into Christmas without a staple gingerbread cookies recipe!
Fortunately, I have a well-loved “just” dairy-free recipe to share with you today (with vegan options). It has the perfect amount of flavor and spice for go-to, roll-and-cut, dairy-free gingerbread men cookies.
Recipe Tips for Perfect Dairy-Free Gingerbread Men Cookies
Picking the Best Dairy-Free Buttery Sticks
Formerly known as margarine, the new “buttery sticks” are usually non-hydrogenated. And there are actually several brands to choose from. Some vegan “buttery sticks” or dairy-free margarine brands for baking include Melt, select varieties of Blue Bonnet, and select varieties of Fleischmann’s.
Or you can use my Bakeable Butter Recipe if you have the 2nd Edition of my flagship book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook – it works great in cookies!
As a heads up, there have been some baking issues with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks this season. They’ve sworn that their formula hasn’t changed, but many people are experiencing very flat, greasy cookies with their product. I think it’s a bad batch where the oils haven’t been properly emulsified.
A couple of the brands mentioned above do have unsalted versions. If you use an unsalted variety of buttery sticks or margarine, increase the salt in the recipe by an 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.
Which Type of Molasses
Look for an unsulphured “cooking” molasses for the best results, like Grandma’s Molasses or Brer Rabbit. For a less intense molasses flavor, you can use a mild molasses. Blackstrap molasses will work, but it produces a darker color and might be too intense for some taste buds.
How to Color the Icing
Royal icing is a classic, dairy-free, egg-based icing that spreads and sets into a perfect sweet shell. The easy recipe included with these Gingerbread Men Cookies makes a pure white icing. To color it, place 1/2 cup of the icing in a bowl and stir in food coloring (start with 3 drops) until it reaches your desired color.
Alternative Icing Recipes
The icing recipe below using powdered egg whites. If you don’t have any on hand, this Decorator Icing Recipe uses egg whites. If you need an egg-free and vegan icing, then use this Perfect Icing Recipe.
This gingerbread men cookies recipe with photo was shared with us by McCormick.
Special Diet Notes: Gingerbread Men Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free and vegan gingerbread men cookies, see my Egg Substitutes Guide.
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup dairy-free buttery sticks, softened (see Recipe Tips above)
- ¾ cup firmly-packed brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses (see Recipe Tips above)
- 1 egg (can use an egg sub, if needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Royal icing (recipe below), for decorating (optional)
- In large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add the buttery sticks and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until light and slightly fluffy. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- With the mixer on low, gradually beat in the flour mixture until thick dough forms. You might need to stir it if the dough is too thick for your mixer.
- Shape the dough into a thick disk, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness. If it's cracking, let the dough rest and warm slightly for a few minutes.
- Cut into gingerbread men shapes using a 5-inch cookie cutter. Carefully transfer the cut outs to your prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are set and just begin to brown.
- Let the gingerbread men cookies cool on the baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cool, you can decorate!
More Dairy-Free Gingerbread Cookie Indulgences
Gingerbread Cookie Butter
Spiced Gingerbread French Toast
Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar
For More Sweet Dairy-Free Recipes, Get Go Dairy Free!
15 Comments
This recipe baked well but was so bland. I doubled the cinnamon and ginger, but it’s still not a spicy, robust snappy gingerbread like I like making
I’m so sorry it didn’t work out like you’d hoped Claire. It sounds like your taste buds are craving more salt. I assume you used salted dairy-free buttery sticks (these days, we like Country Crock Plant Butter sticks – they have the most robust flavor). If so, and the flavor still wasn’t where you had hoped, I would add another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Also, let the cookies sit for a day. The flavors will develop more. I hope that helps!
Made these cookies with dairy free butter sticks – worked like a charm. Cookies were perfect and lovely. Thx!
I’m so glad! Enjoy!
Hello, It says optionally soy free. How would I make it soy free? My 4 year old is allergic to dairy and soy…but him and his brother are begging me to make gingerbread men with them. Am I just checking ingredients? Do you know of specific ones I would need to substitute? Thanks!
That’s a good question! A lot of butter alternatives contain soy, so I often put optionally soy-free on recipes that contain a butter alternative. Most grocery stores have soy-free options though. Just check the ingredients on it before purchasing. I also JUST posted a comparison of brands in cookies -> https://www.godairyfree.org/food-and-grocery/best-vegan-dairy-free-butter-baking
The top one, Earth Balance Original, contains soy, but they offer soy-free options. Each of the other ones mentioned is made without soy. I hope that helps!
Made your cookies with Crisco buttery sticks and they came out great. Great recipe. Thanks. I’m sure my grandkids will love them.
That’s wonderful! Thank you for the feedback Elizabeth and I hope your whole family loves them!
We have made it using coconut oil. It worked wonderfully.
Marvelous! Thank you for sharing this Charese.
I made it as directed. My dough was too loose to roll out. Flavor was great and made good circle cookies, but not cut outs
Hi Kristen, I’m so sorry that happened to you. That would be due to the buttery sticks or margarine used. Which one are you using? Unfortunately, some produce oilier / greasier results and don’t swap as well in recipes. In a pinch, shortening (like spectrum organic) will produce reliable results.
To remedy your current dough, you can add a little more flour. If trying again, with the same brand of buttery sticks, reduce the amount by 2 tablespoons, and then add a little liquid, as needed, if the dough is too stiff.
I did this however I added a little water first then some flour until the consistency felt right. They turned out amazingly!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Nina.