Gift Idea: VonShef Stand Mixer + Vegan Recipe

It is that time of year again when the nights are drawing in and all I want to do is be cosy, eat all of the comfort food and bake everything, especially gingerbread men. I love making gingerbread men cookies because they are so easy to make and I have a vegan recipe which makes perfect vegan gingerbread man every time!

The only thing I don't like about baking is the clean up afterwards and getting dough all over my hands, so incomes the VonShef stand mixer to the rescue. I do have a KitchenAid mixer but it's quite big and bulky as well as being very heavy so this is a great alternative as it's lighter, easier to move around and just as easy to clean/use.

The *Vonshef 1260W Black Stand Mixer (£74.99 - SALE) from Domu comes with three different attachments including a beater, whisk and kneading attachment which means that you can make cake, cookies, meringue, bread and more very easily and quickly without all of the mess. I have the black option but it also comes in silver, red and cream. It has a dishwasher safe 5.5 L stainless steel bowl with a detachable splashguard. It has six speed settings which is less than a KitchenAid but it seems almost as powerful on the highest setting. 

A couple of weeks ago it was the Macmillan coffee morning and I made some chocolate cupcakes as well are some vegan chocolate brownies to be sold and I used the stand mixer for the first time for these two bakes. It was very easy to use, foolproof, quick and the cleanup was very easy. The brownies and cupcakes all sold, there wasn't one left!

I forgot to photograph the brownies *oops* but you can see the cupcakes - if you follow me on Instagram (@ofbeautyand) then you will have seen some of the process. However today's recipe is going to be one of my favourites and it's perfect for the upcoming festive season as I'll share my vegan gingerbread cookie recipe with you today!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of plain flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of margarine
1/4 cup of golden syrup
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 - 3 teaspoons of cinnamon (depending on how much you want to use)

The recipe take around 25 minutes in total including the 15-18 minute bake time and the recipe can be changed slightly if needed. You could use dark brown sugar and more of less cinnamon; also you could add more spices too such as ginger, clove or a touch of vanilla. I personally use lots of cinnamon as I adore it but you can add as much or as little as you want. I get around 20 gingerbread men from this recipe but it all depends on the size of your cookie cutter and how thin/thick you roll out your dough.

I have made this particular recipe around ten times now over the past couple of christmases when I first discovered it (I've no idea where) and adapted it. It is vegan so there is no dairy and just to let you know, I always use Vitalite margarine to make these cookies as you can't taste it in the recipe but you could use other plant based spreads but I don't know how it will turn out with others such as olive oil or soya spread.

Step One: 

Combine all of the ingredients in your stand mixer or a large bowl if you don't have a stand mixer and knead for a few minutes making sure everything is very well combined. If you sieve all of the dry ingredients first then you would get lumps int he dough.

Step Two: 

Onto a lightly flowered surface roll out the dough, I usually roll it out to around a £2 coin sized thickness but you can choose any thickness you want - thinner biscuits will be harder and bake slightly quicker and thicker biscuits will be softer and bake slightly longer (only by a couple of minutes).

Step Three: 

Use any size or shape cookie cutter you want to cut out your shapes from the gingerbread dough. I have this cute gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter from Sass and Bell that I use all the time and I definitely recommend although I don't know if it's available now. I can get quite a lot of gingerbread men out of the dough but it depends on how thick do you want each biscuit to be, if they are thinner then you will get more gingerbread men from the dough - don't make them too thin as they will be too hard and they might catch while baking.

Step Four: 

Place all of your gingerbread man carefully onto a lined baking tray, I always use a silicon baking mat as it means they won't stick. Bake for around 15 to 18 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (for a fan oven) – keep an eye on them!

Step Five: 

Leave all your gingerbread man to cool on a baking rack, they will become a little firmer as they cool. You can iced them or decorate them when they are cool - they are best served warm and fresh. If you are going to keep them then place in an airtight container and consume within about 5 to 6 days.

Overall I cannot recommend the VonShef 1260W black stand mixer enough as it is a fantastic and cheaper alternative to a KitchenAid that does the same job and while it may not have the incredible build quality of the KitchenAid, it is still wonderful and I'd definitely recommend it. It's very quick and easy to use as well as easy to clean and it makes baking anything from cookies and bread to meringue and cake less messy and more enjoyable. I will be using it a lot during the festive season and you may see it in a gift guide coming soon so stay tuned.

 Have you tried using a stand mixer? Do you have one on your Christmas Wish List?