Vegan gingerbread cookies make the holidays festive and inclusive

With Christmas coming up soon, you mayalready have visions of gingerbread cookiesdancing in your head.

And if you don't, Marianthi Kostacertainly does.

Kostais a chef and instructor at Algonquin College's school of hospitality and tourism. She dropped into CBC Radio's All In A Daystudios recently with avegan-friendly version of the popular holiday treat.

The recipe was created bya chef at the school, Anthony Bond, who has since died.

Kosta said getting the texture and flavour just right involved lots of experimentation. She said she wanted to share a cookie recipethat everyone could enjoy including those who don't consume animal products.

"We want everybody to feel special this time of year," she said.

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies with Vegan Royal Icing

Ingredients (cookies):

• 1 kgbread flour
• 400 gshortening
• 400 gfine granulated sugar
• 20 gground ginger
• 10 gsalt
• 20 gbaking soda
• 400 gfancy molasses
• 100 mlwater

Ingredients (icing):

• 85 mlaquafaba (chickpea water)
• 900 gicing sugar
• 5 mlvanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. In a bowl mix together sugar, fancy molasses and water. Whisk until combined.
3. Using the bowl of a mixer, add the rest of the ingredients. Using the paddle attachment, mix well until combined.
4. Pour in the molasses mixture and blend until smooth.
5. Place the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to use.
6. Roll the dough out to a little less than-inch thick and press out cookies in the pattern of your choice.
7. Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before handling.
9. For the icing,pour the aquafaba into a clean mixer bowl and, using the whisk attachment, whip until it starts to foam and turns white.
10. Gradually add the icing sugar while whisking until it's all incorporated.
11. Mix in the vanilla extract.
12. Take each cookie and spread the icing on top using a spatula or for a cleaner, more detailed look a piping bag with a fine-tip nozzle. You can use food colouring to change the icing's colour, if you'd like.
13. Allow cookies to dry for about an hour before packing them or giving them away.