We're counting down to 2025 by sharing some of our favorite cookies on Slog every day in December! by Lindsay Costello Gingerbread People Post Punk Kitchen Post Punk Kitchen’s vegan gingerbread recipe might seem an unlikely candidate for a “classic” designation, but it tastes traditional—the kind of gingerbread you’d expect from a passed-down recipe. My friend Rose is a prolific baker, churning out frankly astonishing treats for the fundraisers and gigs she organizes in Portland. When she recommended this recipe to me, she advised the following: “I deviate from script by making them into stained glass cookies, cutting out circles, and melting hard candy into the gaps while they bake.” Melting hard candy into dough gaps sounded almost comically overwhelming to my non-Rose experience level, but I was keen to try the base recipe. Lindsay Costello The foundation of this recipe is pretty simple. Nondairy milk (I used soy) is the only distinctly “vegan” ingredient here. Beyond that, Post Punk Kitchen’s Isa Chandra Moskowitz relies on baking soda and powder for leavening and oil to replace butter. (By the way, she calls for canola, but the avocado oil I had on hand worked just fine.) One strategy seemed to work in my favor here: I decided to follow all the instructions. Correctly. Like, I made the dough, and then I chilled it for one hour. Then I baked the dough for the amount of time the recipe suggested. Then I made the decorative icing and let it “set” for 30 minutes. During that time, the cookies cooled, leaving them ready to decorate. Revolutionary, I know. Lindsay Costello Lindsay Costello Speaking of decoration, this recipe includes guidance for making colorful decorative icings with natural ingredients. After accidentally spending $52 on spices—ground ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg (“I’ll have these forever now,” I rationalized)—I wasn’t about to spring for “dragonfruit powder.” Instead, I improvised with what I had: butterfly pea flower powder from a summer party and matcha from my fridge, which yielded lovely, slightly muted purple and green hues without that plasticky, “I am highly processed” food coloring look. I can count on one finger the number of times I’ve piped decorations on a cookie, so I’m pretty pleased with how cute these gingerbread girlies came out. (Yes, they are all women. Fight me.) My cat also sniffed one and wasn’t immediately disgusted, which is always a victory. The cat's name is Spaghetti! Lindsay Costello Once the cookies were cooled and decorated, I tested them out on another human being—my partner Jeremy. “If I were at a Christmas party, I would compulsively eat some of these, enjoy them, and go about my business,” he said.  Translation: These taste exactly like gingerbread cookies. Not overly “vegan” or health-conscious; not cakey; not too hard or too soft. Firm, yet chewy. The spice level is pleasant, and the lemon-vanilla decorative icing puts bright, zesty pep in each cookie’s step. My advice? Bake these if you want to bake gingerbread cookies, even if you’re not quite ready to attempt a stained glass technique. We're counting down to 2025 by sharing some of our favorite cookies on Slog every day in December! Because life is hard, and sugar helps. Will things get weird? Maybe! There may have been a small fire during the first photo shoot! But hopefully, you'll also discover some new favorite treats to enjoy this season. Track our daily recommendations here! 🍪