Christmas is here, and so is the time to bake gingerbread cookies. After all, it’s a must-have for the holiday season. Not only are they adorable, but their soothing aroma fills the entire house while baking, indicating it’s Christmas time. Nothing screams Santa Claus time like the delicious smell of gingerbread cookies.
These are usually made with eggs. However, if your kids are allergic to them, you can try this eggless gingerbread cookie and icing recipe. This will ensure your little ones don’t miss out on relishing and decorating cookies, a quintessential activity to ring in the holiday season. Let’s get baking!
Ingredients
For eggless gingerbread cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2⁄3 cup brown sugar (preferably dark brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 6 tablespoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons ginger powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
For eggless royal icing
- 2 ½ cups icing sugar
- 1⁄4 cup 60 grams aquafaba
- 1⁄4 tsp lemon juice or cream of tartar
Preparation
For eggless gingerbread cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take a large bowl, and mix butter and brown sugar till it forms a creamy texture.
- Whisk in molasses, milk, and vanilla extract till combined.
- Now, combine all your dry ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt) in a small bowl.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredient blend with the wet mixture. Combine them well till they form a dough.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/3″ thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Chill the dough in the freezer for a few minutes before cutting it into shapes with cookie cutters. We recommend dusting in some flour or powdered sugar for smoother cutting.
- Transfer the shaped cookie dough onto a flat baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-11 minutes.
- Halfway through the baking process, turn the tray around so that all the cookies have an even color.
- Remove them from the oven once the cookies are nice and brown.
- The last and most crucial step is to allow the cookies to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. If you transfer the cookies immediately, they might break.
- Once cooled completely, you can start icing your eggless gingerbread cookies.
For eggless royal icing
- Sift the icing sugar well and set it aside.
- Warm the aquafaba over a double broiler until warm to touch or up to 73 degrees Fahrenheit on a thermometer.
- Once warm, start whisking the aquafaba until foamy.
- Then add the icing sugar and lemon juice and whip until you get stiff peaks. Transfer it into a piping bag and start decorating the gingerbread cookies.
- Add a little water or lemon juice to get a thinner consistency if your icing is too thick. And if it is too thin, add more icing sugar.
Few things to keep in mind
- Make sure you are using softened butter for the eggless cookie recipe so that the sugar can blend in properly.
- Sift the icing sugar to remove any lumps. If you skip this step, the lumps from the sugar can get stuck in the piping bag tip, causing problems for your little ones when they are unleashing their inner artist.
- Always cover the icing, or it will solidify on the surface, which will lead to it not flowing as smoothly as you would like for designing purposes.
So what are you waiting for? Get the ingredients, and start baking these delicious eggless gingerbread cookies for Christmas. Your kids and guests will absolutely love them!
