This recipe is a paid collaboration with MYO Protein.
If you’re looking for a delicious vegan gingerbread recipe then look no further!! When MYO protein told me they had a gingerbread protein flavour I knew I had to make another gingerbread house using it! Check out their new flavour available on their website here.
There are 3 elements to this recipe: the gingerbread, the royal icing and the construction.
The gingerbread recipe here is absolutely delicious and can be used for any kind of gingerbread biscuit.
My recipe for royal icing below is suitable for icing gingerbread cookies and it’s the “base” recipe for this house. However, you’ll find that you’ll need different consistencies to achieve different effects. You will need the base recipe for drawing. This is what I used for the windows, tiling, Christmas trees and the doors. You can then add 1 tbsp cornstarch to the royal icing to make it thicker. A thicker batter *can* help stick pieces together too but I prefer to use melted sugar.
What vegan butter to use?
When looking for a vegan butter I always recommend choosing those with at least 75% fat. When it has less than 75% fat, it typically has a higher water content which can disrupt the baking process. Some good vegan butters use complex mixtures of fats and proteins to emulate dairy butter. Look out for ingredients like Shea butter of fava bean protein as these lead to a more flavourful bake.
Best way to stick the pieces together?
As mentioned above, it can be done with royal icing. However I recommend using melted sugar because its is rock hard once set and will allow you to pick up and move the gingerbread house around freely. Just take a cup of caster sugar and place it on a hot pan for 5 minutes. Once it starts to melt, stir with a silicone spatula. We are aiming for an amber-coloured liquid sugar.
How long does the gingerbread house last?
This gingerbread cookie recipe will last for a surprisingly long amount of time. I had this house exposed in my kitchen for a week and it tasted just as good as the day I baked it. I would however advise not keeping it longer than 2-3 days out in the open or 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.
How do you know when the cookies are done?
These cookies only take 10-12 minutes to bake so you might as well sit around and watch them spread! They are ready when the edges start to turn a darker golden brown. It is possible your oven might have heat spots and they will cook unevenly so don’t be afraid to rotate the tray half way through.
While you’re here, feel free to check out all my biscuit recipes or my aquafaba recipes!
For this recipe you’ll need:
- mixing bowl
- baking tray with parchment
Gingerbread House (vegan)
This delicious vegan gingerbread house is a guaranteed crowd pleaser over the Christmas period. It requires no fussy ingredients or techniques and can be used for all your gingerbread needs!
Ingredients
- Gingerbread cookies:
- 480g plain flour
- 220g vegan block butter
- 160g brown sugar
- 180g golden syrup
- 2 scoops (40g) MYO gingerbread protein powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp ground ginger, 3 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground allspice
- pinch of salt
- Royal icing:
- 60g aquafaba
- 300g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- gel food colouring (optional)
- Other:
- 150g caster sugar (for sticking the house together)
Directions
- Step 1 Pre-heat the oven to 180C/356F.
- Step 2 In a large mixing bowl sieve together the dry ingredients (flour, MYO gingerbread protein powder, spices, baking soda, and salt).
- Step 3 Place a saucepan on the stove on a medium heat and add in the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved (the mixture will become glossy and smooth).
- Step 4 Pour the liquid sugar mix into the dry mix and stir with a spoon. The dough will eventually come together and it will be cool enough to squeeze together with your hands.
- Step 5 Once it is combined, cover the bowl and place it into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
- Step 6 Once chilled, roll the dough out to 4-6mm thick, depending on how thin you prefer your cookies.
- Step 7 Now cut out 6 pieces of gingerbread for the house (2 side walls, 2 front/back walls and 2 roof pieces). See the measurements at the bottom of this recipe or feel free to make your own. This recipe leaves plenty of dough spare for extra gingerbread characters, festive trees or even a chimney!
- Step 8 Place the gingerbread pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment and bake for 10-12 minutes. For any intricate smaller pieces, bake for 8 minutes. I bake my cookies in multiple batches to reduce a risk of uneven baking. If they spread at all you can use a sharp knife to push or cut the edges afterwards.
- Step 9 Leave the cookies on a rack to cool completely.
- Step 10 Royal icing: Place the aquafaba in a large bowl (or stand mixer) and use an electric whisk on medium speed until foamy soft peaks.
- Step 11 Start spooning in icing sugar until fully incorporated.
- Step 12 Finally add in the vanilla and whisk for a further 1 minute.
- Step 13 Depending on the consistency, you may wish to add more icing sugar to make it more viscous or thin it out with some water. A test to see if it is ready is to agitate the royal icing with a spoon and it should return to a smooth surface after 15 seconds.
- Step 14 Place the icings into small piping bags or make your own with parchment paper.
- Step 15 Decorate your gingerbread pieces as you wish before you construct the house.
- Step 16 To construct the gingerbread house, pour some caster sugar into a pan on the stove and turn on a low-medium heat. Keep an eye on the sugar as it slowly turns into an amber liquid. Stir occasionally to melt all the sugar.
- Step 17 Once ready, use the melted sugar as glue to stick the house together. I like to pick up whole pieces of the gingerbread, dunk it in the sugar and then hold it together for 20 seconds until it sets.
- Step 18 Do the finishing touches on the house and then serve!
