Egg-Free Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
These Eggless Gingerbread cookies are my kid’s favorites. In fact, I was a little surprised to see how they liked these cookies that have lots of warm spices. But they LOVED them. I made more batches of gingerbread cookies than any other kind this year.
I love to bring these eggless cookies for the school Christmas party – we have two every year- and we also gave them away as a gift to our neighbors along with a homemade vanilla extract bottle.
These little eggless gingerbread cookies make the perfect addition to your Christmas table.
They’re soft, spicy, and chewy, but sturdy enough to be decorated. BTW, I used eggless royal icing to decorate the cookies. It works wonderfully.
Back to the cookies.
They are very easy to make- you know easy is my second name- and so cute, and so delicious that they are pretty much irresistible.
We’re ready for you, Santa!!
EGGLESS GINGERBREAD COOKIES INGREDIENTS
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda – Make sure they’re not expired.
- Salt – I prefer kosher salt.
- Gingerbread spice – See recipe notes to make your own spice blend.
- Ground nutmeg
- Unsalted butter – You can also use salted butter if that is what you have handy. In that case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
- Brown sugar – Light or dark will work for this recipe.
- Molasses – I use unsulphured molasses.
- Pure vanilla extract
- Water
- Vegetable or canola oil – Or any light tasting oil of your preference.
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITHOUT EGGS
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
1 – MAKE THE DOUGH
This dough is very strait forward to make! Just mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Next, beat the butter and sugar and add the other wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combine.
2 – CHILL
The dough is sticky once it’s all beaten together in your mixing bowl and therefore, it absolutely MUST be chilled for at least 30 minutes.
3 – ROLL OUT AND CUT
After chilling the dough, roll it out until about 1/4-inch thick. It’s okay to flour your hands, rolling pin, work surface, if you see that the dough is still a bit sticky. The flour spots on top of your shaped cookie dough will bake off.
4 – BAKE
The baking time might vary depending on the side of the cookies. For cookies with slightly crispy edges and tender centers, bake they look slightly puffed and set. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be.
5 – DECORATE
Decorate your cookies as your heart desires! I like to use my eggless royal icing recipe. If you want you can tint the icing with a couple drops of food coloring to jazz things up, too. My kids LOVES to do this themself!
DECORATING IDEAS
When it comes to cookie decoration I like to keep it simple! so these are my favorite easy ways to decorate eggless gingerbread cookies:
- Eggless Royal icing
- Chocolate candies, such as M&M
- Sprinkling sugars
- Festive sprinkles
EXTRA TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST EGG-FREE GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Measure the ingredients properly! A kitchen scale is always the best option, in my opinion, but if you don’t have a kitchen scale be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (NOT a liquid measuring cup), and a liquid measuring cup for liquid ingredients. Also, do NOT dip a measuring cup directly into the flour bin or you can compact it and get up to 25% more flour, instead use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then use a knife (straight-edged) to level the flour across the measuring cup.
Don’t over mix your cookie dough or you will end up with a dense cookie.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking, this gives the dough a chance to firm up a little and allows them to bake much better.
Bake the cookies until they are JUST golden around the outside. The cookies might still look a little raw in the center, but once they cool, they will be perfect. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for just a few minutes, around 2. If you leave the cookies on the baking sheets for too long, they will continue cooking and they will be hard
Adapt This Recipe to Other Food Allergies
This recipe is egg-free and nut-free, but you can certainly adapt it to other food allergies.
Gluten-Free
Substitute all-purpose flour for 1-to-1 Gluten-Free flour mix. My favorite brands are Cup4Cup and King Arthur.
Dairy-Free
Use your favorite plant-based, dairy-free, or vegan butter. My favorite dairy-free butter brands for baking are:
STORAGE
STORE: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 7 days.
FREEZE: Unbaked cookie dough can be made ahead and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then continue to roll out and bake as instructed. Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months.
MORE EGGLESS CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- 17 Easy and Delicious Eggless Christmas Cookies
- The Best Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Eggless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Eggless Sugar Cookies
- Easy Eggless Christmas Cookies
- Eggless Royal Icing
- browse more eggless cookie recipes
Love what you see? Subscribe to Mommy’s Home Cooking so you’ll never miss a recipe! Follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more fun!
Eggless Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) salt
- 4 teaspoons gingerbread spice (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar
- 1 fake egg (see below)
- 1/2 cup (160 g) molasses
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
Fake Egg:
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) neutral-tasting oil (such canola or vegetable)
Instructions
Make the Fake egg:
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
Cookie dough:
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed butter and sugar until well combined, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add in fake egg, molasses, and vanilla; mix until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture at low speed; mix until just combined. NOTE: the dough might look dry, but it's okay, just use your hands to bring the dough together in one ball.
- Divide dough into two equal portions. Form each half into a round disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to 4 days.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F (180º C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll each portion out, between two sheets of parchment paper, to 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into your desired shapes. Then transfer them to the prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookies about 1-inch apart.
- Bake for 7 – 8 minutes, or until slightly set. Take them out of the oven. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes over the baking sheet and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate as desired. Eggless Royal icing recipe here.
- It’s okay to flour your hands, rolling pin, work surface, if you see that the dough is still a bit sticky. The flour spots on top of your shaped cookie dough will bake off.
- The baking time might vary depending on the side of the cookies. For cookies with slightly crispy edges and tender centers, bake they look slightly puffed and set. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be.
- For crunchier cookies, bake an additional 1 to 2 minutes until they’re beginning to brown around the edges.
- Eggless Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Eggless Brown Sugar Cookies
- Eggless Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Easy Eggless Cake Mix Christmas Cookies
- 17 Easy and Delicious Eggless Christmas Cookies
- Browse all eggless cookies…
Nutrition
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
Originally posted Decmber 2015, post content edited to add more helpful information, no change to the recipe in October 2021.
