These Eggless Gingerbread Cookies are soft, perfectly spiced, chewy, sturdy enough to be decorated, and oh-so delicious. They’re the perfect addition to your Christmas table! The recipe includes step-by-step photos and lots of tips.
Oriana’s Thoughts On The Recipe
These Eggless Gingerbread cookies are my kids’ favorites. In fact, I was a little surprised to see how they liked these cookies with 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 to the school Christmas party—we have two every year—and we also give 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, spiced, and chewy but sturdy enough to be decorated. By the way, I used eggless royal icing to decorate the cookies. It works wonderfully.
They are very easy to make—you know, easy is my second name—and they are so cute and delicious that they are pretty much irresistible.
We’re ready for you, Santa!!
Ingredients You’ll Need, Substitutions & Notes
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
- Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here; skip the cake flour, bread flour, and wheat flour. Be sure to measure accurately; a kitchen scale is the best way to measure your ingredients, in my opinion.
- Baking Soda: Make sure it’s not expired or too old.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Spices: You will need ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. If available, you can also use a gingerbread spice blend.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark will work for this recipe.
- Evaporated Milk: Evaporated milk serves as a binding agent, helping to hold the ingredients together and creating a cohesive dough. It can contribute to the flavor profile of the cookies, providing a slightly caramelized taste due to the concentration of milk solids during evaporation. Check out my How to Make Evaporated Milk post.
- Molasses: This is an essential gingerbread ingredient! It adds color, flavor, and moisture. I use and recommend unsulphured molasses. The blackstrap molasses will make the cookies bitter.
- Vanilla extract: Reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation for optimal flavor. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract! If you are looking for non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring, I recommend Simply Organic Vanilla Flavoring.
Food Allergy Swaps
- Dairy-Free: To make this recipe dairy-free, you can easily swap out the dairy ingredients for non-dairy alternatives. Butter: Use vegan butter instead of dairy butter. Many brands are available in stores. I usually use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks or Miyoko’s Creamery Organic Vegan Butter. For the evaporated milk, use evaporated coconut milk or evaporated oat milk, or make your own dairy-free evaporated milk with your favorite plant-based milk. Evaporated milk is just milk that has been reduced to eliminate the water content, so it’s super easy to make at home with any milk of your choice. Check out my How to Make Evaporated Milk post.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free, all-purpose flour blend. Look for a gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated for baking, as it will have the right combination of flours and starches to mimic the texture of wheat flour. My favorite is Better Batter Original Blend. I also like Doves Farm Freee Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, but this blend does not contain xanthan gum, so you need to add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup (140 g) of gluten-free flour blend.
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
Step 1 – Make The Dough
This dough is very straightforward 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 combined.
Step 2 – Chill The Dough
The dough is sticky once it’s all beaten together in your mixing bowl; therefore, it must be chilled for at least 30 minutes.
Pro Tip:
This dough will be VERY sticky once you’ve mixed it all together–this is normal! To make it more manageable, chill it for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
Step 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, and 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.
Step 4 – Bake
The baking time might vary depending on the size of the cookies. For cookies with slightly crispy edges and tender centers, bake them until they look slightly puffed and set. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be.
Step 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 of drops of food coloring to jazz things up, too. My kids LOVE to do this themself!
Pro Tip:
Make the royal icing in advance. Store it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap against the surface.
Decorating Ideas
When it comes to cookie decorating, 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
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 the cookies 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
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store: Cookies stay fresh for up to 7 days if stored covered at room temperature.
Freeze: Unbaked cookie dough can be made ahead and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then roll out, cut, and bake as instructed. Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
These cookies are soft with crisp, well-defined edges and chewy, melt-in-your-mouth interiors. This recipe may not be for you if you like dry, crisp gingerbread cookies.
I have no substitution suggestions yielding the same texture, moisture, and flavor.
You probably added too much flour. To fix this, try picking it up and rotating it as you go. You can also use your fingers to help meld the cracking edges back together.
It will depend on the cookie cutter size, but about 24 four-inch cookies.
Absolutely! You can make the dough 3 days in advance and keep it wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. You can also refrigerate or freeze the cut-out cookies.
This cookie dough is not sturdy enough for gingerbread houses. However, reducing the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon and baking the house pieces for longer (12 – 14 minutes) might work.
Yes, you can press the cookie dough scraps together and re-roll.
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Recipe Card
Eggless Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.5 g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup (160 g) molasses
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
Important
Don’t forget to check out the step-by-step photos above in the post—they’ll guide you through the process and make everything super clear!
Instructions
Cookie dough:
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves and nutmeg. 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 the evaporated milk, 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 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.
- Dairy-Free: To make this recipe dairy-free, you can easily swap out the dairy ingredients for non-dairy alternatives. Butter: Use vegan butter instead of dairy butter. Many brands are available in stores. I usually use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks or Miyoko’s Creamery Organic Vegan Butter. For the evaporated milk, use evaporated coconut milk or evaporated oat milk, or make your own dairy-free evaporated milk with your favorite plant-based milk. Evaporated milk is just milk that has been reduced to eliminate the water content, so it’s super easy to make at home with any milk of your choice. Check out my How to Make Evaporated Milk post.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free, all-purpose flour blend. Look for a gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated for baking, as it will have the right combination of flours and starches to mimic the texture of wheat flour. My favorite is Better Batter Original Blend. I also like Doves Farm Freee Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, but this blend does not contain xanthan gum, so you need to add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup (140 g) of gluten-free flour blend.
- It’s okay to flour your hands, rolling pin, and 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 until 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 begin to brown around the edges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
This recipe was originally published in December 2015. The recipe was slightly modified, and more notes, tips, photos, and information were added to the post in November 2024 to make it as helpful as possible!
I love everything on your site, and I am so excited to try this eggless gingerbread recipe. I haven’t made this recipe yet though, as I am unsure of the weight you provided for the flour. I will follow as you have put it, 3 cups flour = 420 gr… but 1 cup of flour is typically considered 120 gr, so that is 120*3= 360 gr. Not sure if you mistyped in the recipe, or 420 is what you actually weighed out. Hoping maybe you will reply before I try the recipe, but I will still just make it as stated currently if you don’t.
Hello reclusivewitchy! Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to double-check! In my recipes, 1 cup of flour is 140 grams, so 3 cups would indeed be 420 grams. For the best results, I always recommend following the gram measurements, as they’re more precise and ensure consistency. I hope you love the gingerbread recipe as much as we do—happy baking and wishing you a joyful holiday season!