Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies
These vegan molasses cookies are the perfect one bowl holiday cookie! They’re ready in just 20 minutes, spiced with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and will have your whole house smelling like a bakery.
These vegan molasses cookies are my faaaaavorite holiday cookie. I love my peppermint cookies and all, but these are so easy to make, perfectly chewy, sweet, spiced and more.
They have a slight crisp to the edge when you first bite in, but still have a super soft center. Don’t worry, no crunchy cookies will be found around here!
This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten free and even refined sugar free! Perfect with a glass of my cinnamon spiced sangria while you bake!
These cookies might be vegan, gluten free and even refined sugar free optional, but I promise they’ll be a total hit at your holiday party. If you love this recipe, try my gluten free gingerbread loaf, vegan protein cookies or gluten free gingerbread cake next!
How to make vegan ginger cookies
PREHEAT. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
MIX WET. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the remaining wet ingredients.
ADD DRY. Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours, don’t pack them in! Mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
SCOOP. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls and roll in the sugar. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
BAKE. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the cookies have crackly tops and have mostly flattened. They’ll firm up as they cool, so take them out early for chewy cookies.
COOL & SERVE. Let cool completely, then drizzle with the optional maple icing and enjoy!
Do I need to chill the dough?
No! Sometimes chilling dough is helpful to prevent the cookies from spreading prematurely. It also allows the flavors to blend really nicely.
However, I find that when using oat flour, chilling the dough can prevent the cookies from spreading much at all. Once the dough is ready, just scoop and bake!
How to get perfectly a round shape
Most of the time, my cookies come out of the oven looking less than perfect. They don’t always spread properly, the chocolate (if there) melts into the cookie strangely etc.
To correct the shape, I use a round cookie cutter to spin around the cookie and get a perfectly round shape.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
You’re not cutting the cookies, so use one that is slightly larger than the cookie itself and spin it around the cookie to get it perfectly round. These tricks yield perfect photo worthy cookies every time!
How to store and freeze
These vegan molasses cookies will keep at room temperature for about 3-5 days. Store them in an air tight container and pop in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before eating! They’ll be good as new.
You can also freeze these before or after baking! To freeze before baking, just scoop the dough into balls and place in a freezer safe bag or container.
Freeze for up to 2 months, then bake from frozen at 325 for a few extra minutes than the recipe calls for.
To freeze after baking, allow the cookies to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 300 just until warm through the center.
Can I make them without ginger?
Yes, if you aren’t a fan of ginger, you are welcome to omit it or simply decrease. However, for the best flavor I recommend following the recipe as written!
However, keep in mind they won’t really be vegan ginger cookies without ginger!
What kind of molasses is best for cookies?
My personal favorite brand is Grandma’s molasses. I do not recommend blackstrap molasses since it is triple boiled (as opposed to double boiled like regular molasses) so it is far less sweet and even has a bitter taste.
You want to use dark, unsulfured molasses for the best flavor possible. Molasses is derived from the process of refining sugar and is naturally vegan and gluten free.
What makes molasses cookies crack?
I love the crackles on top of these! A few things are key here.
One is the leavening agents. We’re using both baking soda and powder which cause the cookies to crack as they spread as well as rise, so when they cool then collapse just slightly which creates cracks on top.
The second trick is rolling the dough in sugar before baking. This dries the surface of the dough which causes more cracks while they bake.
Try these next!
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
- Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Follow along on on instagram and subscribe to my email list for more recipes and updates. Leave a comment and rating below if you try this recipe and let us know how it turns out!
Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ¼ cup butter or refined coconut oil I recommend butter/vegan butter for best flavor
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar coconut, white or brown sugar all work
- 5 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk I used almond
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups fine blanched almond flour
- 1 ¼ cups oat flour certified GF as needed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger depending on preference, I use 1 1/4
- 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For Rolling
- 4 tablespoons sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the room temperature butter and sugar until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Beat in the remaining wet ingredients.
- Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours, don’t pack them in! Mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls and roll in the sugar.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the cookies have crackly tops and have mostly flattened. They’ll firm up as they cool, so take them out early for chewy cookies.
- I then like to use a round cookie cutter to spin around the cookie and get a perfectly round shape. You’re not cutting the cookies, so use one that is slightly larger than the cookie itself and spin it around to get it perfectly round.
- let cool completely, then drizzle with the optional maple icing and enjoy!
leave a comment and rating