1-First, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This step ensures your cookies bake evenly and don’t stick. Now, cream the vegan butter and light brown sugar together using an electric mixer until it’s nice and smooth this is where the magic begins!

2-Next, prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal with 3 tbsp hot water and let it sit for a minute to get gooey. Add the molasses, vanilla extract, and that flax egg to your butter mixture, then beat it all together. In another bowl, sift the flour and mix in the baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, and ground cloves.

3-Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until you get a thick dough. Flour your hands and surface generously to keep things from sticking, then roll the dough into a ball and add more flour if needed. Roll it out to about ¼ inch thickness, cut out your gingerbread men with a floured cookie cutter, and place them on your baking tray.

4-Gather any scraps, re-roll them, and cut more shapes as needed. Pop them in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes if you like them soft, or up to 15 minutes for a crispier bite. Let them cool completely before you decorate. For the frosting, just mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and soy milk until it’s thick enough to hold its shape, then get creative!

5-Once your cookies are cool, whip up that frosting and decorate as you wish. It’s optional, but it really brings the fun factor (think smiles and buttons on your little gingerbread friends).