Of all the gingerbread desserts I've eaten, these Vegan Gingerbread Scones with Cranberry Glaze are my absolute favorite. Sweetened primarily with molasses, these scones have the perfect bold, yet sweet, flavor with hints of spicy ginger. Plus, they are topped with the most GORGEOUS naturally colored cranberry icing and sugared cranberries!
Tips to make vegan gingerbread scones:
Here are a few of my tips & tricks to make the absolute best vegan & eggeless ginger scones every time.
Use Frozen Grated Coconut Oil for Flaky Scones.
- I like to scoop my room temperature coconut oil into a ball, put it into a small bowl, and then freeze it for 10-15 minutes until it's solid. I don't leave it in any longer or it becomes too solid and much harder to grate.
- Next, I use a cheese grater to grate the coconut oil into the bowl.
- This essentially has the same effect as using cold butter, which is essential to creating steam pockets in the dough while baking. AKA flaky scone layers!
Use a Pastry Cutter To Form a Shaggy Scone Dough
- It's really important for the gingerbread scone dough to stay cold and keep chunks of coconut oil mixed throughout, so the less you use your hands the better
- I love using my OXO Pastry Cutter for all my scone recipes
Refreeze the dough before cutting and baking:
- After you have mixed the gingerbread scone dough and pressed it flat into a circle, throw it into the freezer for about 10 minutes.
- This helps the coconut oil re-solidify- leading to perfectly flaky scones. It also helps you cut perfect triangles with ease.
- Plus, it leads to scones that do not spread much when baking meaning they get height, but do not get flat.
FAQ & Substitutions:
Make sure to use light molasses for this recipe like this Brer Rabbit Mild Molasses. It's the same molasses I used for these amazing Gingerbread Skillet Cookies!
I don't think the brand matters, just make sure you don't use blackstrap molasses as it will give these scones a bitter taste. Sometimes, mild molasses is also called fancy molasses.
I got this deep pink color for my cranberry glaze by first cooking fresh cranberries with sugar and water until the cranberries burst. Then, I strained the cooked cranberries and saved the juice that came out. I mixed the cranberry juice with almond milk, vanilla bean, and powdered sugar until a thick glaze formed!
For extra cranberry flavor, add about ¼ cup of fresh cranberries into the gingerbread scone dough before baking.
I haven't tried it myself, but if you do a Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking mix would work best. Almond flour, coconut flour, or other flour alternatives cannot be subbed 1:1 in this recipe.
These Vegan Gingerbread Scones with cranberry glaze for are the best vegan dessert for Christmas brunch or even as dessert. Happy Holidays all & I hope you enjoy these festive treats.
-TSG
More festive vegan dessert recipes you will love:
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Vegan Gingerbread Scones with Cranberry Glaze
Ingredients
Gingerbread Scones
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 2 ¼ cups pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup almond milk or other milk alternative such as coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 5 Tablespoons light molasses
- ¼ cup sugar optional- to top scones
Cranberry Glaze
- ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2-3 teaspoons almond milk as needed
Instructions
Make the gingerbread scones
- Take your coconut oil and form into a ball. Place in a small dish and place into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- While the coconut oil is firming, add your dry ingredients to a small mixing bowl including the flour, baking powder, spices, and brown sugar. Sift together to evenly mix.
- Take your frozen coconut oil from the freezer and use a cheese grater to grate it into the dry ingredients. It's okay if larger chunks come off while you are grating. Once grated, use a pastry cutter to cut the larger coconut oil chunks into the dry ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together your almond milk, molasses, and vanilla bean paste/extract until evenly mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and coconut oil. Use a pastry cutter or fork to roughly mix the dough until you form a moist, shaggy dough.
- Turn the dough out under a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and flatten into a circle that is 1 inch in height using your hands or a rolling pin.
- Then, fold the dough in half once, then in half again so that is is layered on top of itself into a four layered triangle. Use your hands or a rolling pin to roll the dough back out into a circle 1 inch in height and then place the baking tray into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Once preheated, remove the dough from the freezer and use a very sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 even triangles. Separate the scones and place them a few inches apart on the parchment paper. Top each scone with a bit of sugar and then add to the oven to bake for 14-18 minutes until slightly browned on the outside. Remove from the oven and place each scone on a rack to cool.
Make the cranberry glaze
- While the scones are cooling, make your glaze. Add ½ cup of cranberries, 2 Tbsp of sugar, and 2 Tbsp water to a small sauce pan and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil and boil the cranberries until they all burst- about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir. Immediately strain the cranberries so that the colored flavored liquid goes into a bowl. Make sure to press as much juice as you can out of the cranberries.
- In the bowl with the cranberry juice, add in ½ tsp vanilla bean paste/extract and 1 cup powdered sugar. If the glaze is too thick, add in almond milk 1 tsp at a time. The amount of almond milk you need varies by how much juice you get out of the cranberries- so you may need none or all 3 tsp. Once mixed, you should have a pink glaze!
- Top each scone with the glaze. If you want, sugared cranberries make a wonderful topping too. Enjoy!
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