Vegan gingerbread biscotti - these easy vegan biscotti cookies are delicious, spicy, easy to make and perfect for dunking!

They keep really well so are perfect for giving as handmade gifts. Eggless and dairy-free.

Vegan gingerbread biscotti on a white surface with a bowl of candied ginger and some ribbons.

Biscotti, also known as Cantuccini, are a crunchy, twice-baked Italian biscuit/cookie that are best eaten with a glass of sweet wine or a cup of coffee for dunking.

They are quite hard on their own, but dunking them softens them a bit, preventing you from breaking your teeth and creating a delicious flavour combination.

While they are good all year round I particularly like to bake them at Christmas. They keep really well so they make great gifts sealed up in an airtight jar; provided you can bring yourself to give any away that is!

I first made a vegan version of biscotti a while ago with my vegan biscotti with almonds and cranberries, and these vegan gingerbread biscotti are adapted from that recipe.

Despite the fact that traditionally biscotti rely quite heavily on eggs, they are actually very easy to veganise. A bit of oil and milk to replace the fat and liquid from the egg is all you need to convert them to vegan and they taste just as good as the traditional ones do.

These gingerbread ones are wonderfully spicy and warming; filled with chopped crystallised ginger to really amp up the spice!

What Do I Need To Make Vegan Gingerbread Biscotti?:

Flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tried making them gluten-free.

Oil: Any kind of neutral oil will work, I use olive. You could even use melted vegan block butter or coconut oil.

Milk: This recipe will work with any non-dairy milk (except coconut), but unsweetened soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content and therefore most closely mimics the egg.

Sugar: I prefer to use light brown soft sugar for extra flavour, but caster, granulated or coconut sugar will also work.

Treacle: You can use molasses instead.

Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice are my choices but do feel free to vary them to suit you. Pumpkin spice would work well!

Baking powder: Needed for the biscotti to rise. Don't use baking soda instead, they are not the same thing.

Crystallised ginger: This is the kind of candied ginger that is dry and coated in sugar, NOT the kind that comes in syrup (stem ginger).

Lemon zest: Orange zest would also be great; or you can just omit it.

Vanilla extract: Optional but I always like to add a bit for flavour.

Vegan ginger biscotti on a white surface.

How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Biscotti:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Whisk together the treacle, sugar, oil, milk, vanilla and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Whisk in the spices, baking powder and salt then add the flour and stir to form a stiff dough.

Add the chopped crystallised ginger and mix through. You may find it easiest to use your hands.

Step 3, the dough with the ginger added.

Divide the dough into two even pieces and shape each one into a log about 6cm wide. Place them well spaced apart on a lined baking sheet and use your hands to slightly flatten them and square off the edges.

Bake the logs for about 40 minutes until they are firm to the touch.

Remove the logs from the oven and set them aside on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.

Once the logs have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to cut them into diagonal slices about 1 ½ cm wide.

Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 10 minutes.

Turn the slices over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Top Tips:

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

The dough should be stiff and not at all sticky but shouldn't have dry patches. You may find that you need to add a teeny bit more flour or milk to achieve the right consistency.

Don’t try slicing the logs before the 20 minutes cooling time is up otherwise they will be hard to slice and crumbly.

If you want softer biscuits you can reduce the second bake time a little; and if you want really super crunchy ones you can increase it a bit.

Make sure that you use crystallised ginger, not stem ginger as that will add too much moisture.

You can swap some or all of the crystallised ginger for roughly chopped nts and/or dried fruit such as cranberries.

The biscotti will keep for several months provided they are stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

How To Slice Biscotti:

Biscotti are tricky to slice neatly, vegan or otherwise, and you will get some crumbles no matter what you do. You will get better at it with practice!

Make sure that you let the logs cool for 20 minutes before you slice them, but don't leave them to cool for too much longer than that, they need to still be warm.

You need to make sure that you use an incredibly sharp serrated knife, preferably with a narrow blade, and don’t put too much pressure on the biscotti – try and gently ‘saw’ through the crust.

If you are struggling to slice them you can try spraying the crust with a bit of water and leaving it for a minute before slicing them, this should help to soften the crust a little so it is easier to cut through.

More Vegan Christmas Cookies:

Vegan ginger biscotti in a white bag with a bowl of ginger and ribbons.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 2 votes