These vegan lebkuchen cookies taste so good I might have eaten two entire cookies before they even went into the oven! The chocolate glaze adds that extra deliciousness - you won't even know they're vegan.
These Vegan Lebkuchen Cookies Are Oil-Free and Refined-Sugar-Free
I love baking! Especially when Christmas is around, it just seems like a logical thing to me. But I also like to make healthy food that is good for your body and doesn't give you a sugar shock or makes you feel like you ate too much. This year, I came up with these three simple, healthy and delicious vegan Christmas cookie recipes: vegan cinnamon star cookies, vegan orange almond speculoos cookies (coming next week) and these vegan lebkuchen cookies with a chocolate glaze.
These vegan lebkuchen cookies are made without any refined-sugar. Instead, we are using a combination of agave syrup and molasses. To add some moisture, instead of oil, we're adding almond butter and plant-based milk. I guess you could also make these gluten-free if you use a gluten-free flour blend instead of regular flour.
Vegan Lebkuchen Cookies And Chocolate Go Perfect Together
While these vegan lebkuchen cookies are delicious on their own, I decided to coat them in a dark chocolate glaze. This adds a nice sweetness but also some crunch on the outside.
Dark chocolate is great for vegan baking as it is usually vegan by default. And it has such a rich chocolate flavor that goes perfect with the Lebkuchen flavor. If you want to decorate the cookies, you could also sprinkle some chopped nuts or orange zest on top.
These Vegan Lebkuchen Cookies Are Simple to Make
You can make the dough in a big bowl with a spoon and/or using your hands so you don't need to use a food processor (and you don't have to clean it up later, yay!). To roll out the dough, I found that using cling film instead of flouring the surface is a lot easier. Also, this doesn't dry out the cookies.
Simply place the dough on a piece of parchment paper, add some cling film on top and press it down gently with your hand to form a flat disc. Then, using a rolling pin or glass, roll out the dough between the parchment paper and cling film. The cling film can then be removed easily and you are ready to cut out your cookies. I just used a glass to make round cookie shapes because that was simplest.
Vegan Lebkuchen Cookies (oil-free, refined-sugar-free)
- 15 cookies
- Prep time: 40 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
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Ingredients
- 120 g plain flour
- 40 g almonds, ground
- 5 g cocoa powder
- 2 tsp ginger, ground
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 30 g almond butter
- 20 g (~ 1 tbsp) molasses
- 50 g agave syrup
- 50 g plant-based milk
- 100 g dark chocolate
Instructions
- If you don't have ground almonds, start by processing the almonds in a blender to make almond flour.
- Add all of the dry ingredients (almonds, flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder) to a bowl and mix well.
- Add the almond butter, molasses and agave syrup to a saucepan and combine over medium-high heat so that the almond butter melts. Add to the dry ingredients and give it a quick mix.
- Add the plant-based milk and mix to form a sticky dough. Using your hands will be easier here.
- Shape a ball and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 160°C/320°F.
- Roll out the dough between parchment paper and cling film. Cut out the cookies and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the lebkuchen for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate. Dip each lebkuchen cookie into the melted chocolate. Place on the baking tray and let the chocolate cool completely.
Notes
You can store these vegan lebkuchen cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. Although they probably won't last that long!
Oh Sarah these look incredible!! I love that all your sweet things are healthy- I need to up my game, haha. I'm definitely trying these soon!
Oh thank you so much Chloe! 🙂
Yummy!!! Really delicious- thanks for sharing.
It says plain flour. Can I do quinoa flour, coconut flour, or rice flour so that it’s gluten free?
I haven't tried making this recipe gluten-free but I would use a blend of different gluten-free flours, preferably one that already comes with xanthan gum or some other binding ingredient.