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 fall spiced sangria while you bake!
How to make this recipe
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. Transfer the dough to the fridge for about 20 minutes.
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.
Let cool completely, then drizzle with the optional maple icing and enjoy!
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. 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!
Frequently asked questions
How long do they keep? 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.
What kind of molasses is best? 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.
Can I make them without ginger? Yes, if you aren’t a fan of ginger, you are welcome to omit it. However, for the best flavor I recommend following the recipe as written!
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
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Chewy 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
- 1 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.
- Add the dough to the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- 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!
Michelle Miller says
Made with brown sugar and vegan butter. Love, love, love these. Make these on a regular basis.
Claire Cary says
Thanks Michelle! So glad you’re enjoying them!
Brigitte says
WoW so good so so good and healthy ! I used 1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar , I added just more ginger and allspice I like my cookies spicy . I got 15 cookies I didn’t roll in sugar so I am wondering if it’s why they didn’t flattened too much , they are thicker than yours , I baked mine 16 minutes because I like crunchy but next time 14 will be perfect . I will definitely bake more , I will reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup and roll the cookies in sugar to see the difference . I don’t like to sweet ! Awesome healthy cookies you don’t feel guilty eating them .
Denice says
I could just eat the raw dough and be a happy girl! So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Claire Cary says
Same! Sometimes I do hah!
Melody says
These turned out great! I used 1/2 cup coconut sugar instead of 2/3. I doubled all the spices and added fresh ginger. I like em spicy! I didn’t roll in sugar or frost. Very good recipe. Thank you!
Claire Cary says
Love the addition of fresh ginger! So happy you enjoyed these!
brooke says
These cookies were absolutely amazing! We made them for Christmas and everyone really enjoyed them. They were so easy to make with simple and clean ingredients – making for a perfect recipe!
Claire Cary says
Thanks Brooke! These are such a favorite of mine, so glad you all enjoyed!
Elizabeth says
I made These today with coconut sugar and blackstrap molasses and they still came out amazing! Question: better stored in fridge or counter? Giving them away tomorrow and want them to still be crisp outside and chewy inside. Thank you!
Claire Cary says
yay! So glad that worked out. I’d recommend room temperature in a container to keep them fresh!
Elizabeth says
Worked great – thank you!
Melissa says
Made these yesterday. They taste even better than traditional gingerbread cookies. I made my own glaze with condensed coconut milk, maple syrup and peanut butter. Instead of rolling in sugar I rolled them out and cut them with a cookie cutter. The cookies kept their shape perfectly in my (toaster) oven. I forgot to add in the ginger but they were still delicious. Will definitely make again this week
Claire Cary says
omg so glad they turned out well even without the ginger!! Also good to know they worked out as cutout cookies!