Vegan Whole Wheat Gingerbread People

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses (I used organic blackstrap)

2 tsps baking soda

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 tbsp apple sauce

3 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

**Preheat oven to 350F**

In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and molasses to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Add coconut oil and stir until melted. Stir in applesauce. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Turn the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper big enough to fit onto your cookie sheet. You may need to sprinkle some flour if the dough gets too tacky. Roll out the dough a little at a time and cut out your gingerbread men at about 1/4 inch thickness. Peel off the dough from around the gingerbread men and add it to the remaining dough to make the next cookie.

Repeat this process until your parchment paper is full and the cookies are at least 1/2 an inch apart. Transfer the parchment paper (with the cookies on it) onto your cookie sheet and bake for about 8-12 minutes.

**I know that's a vague time frame, but every oven is different and mine seems to cook overly fast. I would just keep a close eye on them and take them out when they start browning.**

Note: Let the cookies cool a bit on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a drying rack with a wide, flat spatula. They will be too soft at first.