Soft and chewy and utterly perfect, these bakery-worthy ginger molasses cookies are made with ground AND fresh ginger and have the perfect sparkling, crinkled exterior. Naturally vegan!
Winter has never been my thing but given that it is a not insignificant part of the year, I am learning to love it. Baths are a must. Snowshoeing and hot chocolate, a given. When the days get shorter – and colder – curling up with a good book, a cup of tea and a cookie or two is a balm for my winter weary soul. And these ginger molasses cookies are at the top of my cozy necessities list right now.
I’ve been baking these cookies for a couple of months already and everyone raves about them. I mean, what’s not to love? They’re tender, chewy, and radiate a spicy warmth – without being heavy or cloying – from ground and fresh ginger as well as a trio of supporting actors: cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.
I love popping on a Christmas playlist and baking cookies around the holidays, it just snaps me into a festive mood immediately. Even if – especially if? – the rest of my day has been a total dud. Between these, my orange cardamom shortbread and the monster cookies in my latest plant-based cookbook, Plant Magic, my holiday cookie cravings are covered.
Ginger molasses cookies have secured holiday classic status but actually, I’m such a ginger fan that I will happily eat these all year long. They’re pretty easy to make too…so they’re perfect for toting to a cookie swap, or gifting.
Ooh, and I’ll put on my dietitian hat for a second to tell you that these cookies are naturally vegan (no eggs or dairy here!) and nut free so they’re great for all sorts of eaters…because everyone deserves a treat. Need a gluten free option? My almond flour gingerbread cookies are fan-freaking-tastic.
How to make these vegan ginger molasses cookies
You’ll have these crinkled, sparkling beauties ready in one hour…including the chilling time! I highly recommend you make a double batch as these don’t last long. Even my youngest – who gives me the “is this healthy” side eye every time I present her with a new cookie – gobbles these up in multiples.
First, raid the pantry for ingredients: you’ll need flour (I do 50:50 white and whole wheat but up to you!), baking soda and powder, ground and fresh ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, vegan butter, brown sugar, fancy molasses, vanilla and cane sugar for rolling.
The fresh ginger adds another dimension to the ginger flavour, more fresh warmth than heavy spice. I know someone will ask, so yes, you can omit the fresh ginger if you don’t have any on hand!
Another common question: can you use blackstrap molasses?
I usually can’t resist adding more nutrition to a recipe, and blackstrap molasses is super nutritious – packed with iron, calcium and more. But it’s also salty, bitter and has a lower sugar content…and I wanted these ginger molasses cookies to have a nostalgic flavour so I opted for fancy molasses, which has a brighter flavour so I could use less sugar in this recipe…which is another go-to move for me. So I don’t recommend substituting blackstrap molasses here…if you do try it, maybe firmly pack the brown sugar measurement and then let me know how it goes in the comments!
Okay….ingredients convo aside, here’s a preview of the actual step by step…scroll down for the full detailed recipe.
- Step One: You know the drill, we’re gonna whisk up the dry ingredients. So pop the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a medium bowl and whisk away.
- Step Two: In another bowl, whip the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well-combined. Then add in the molasses, fresh ginger and vanilla until well incorporated.
- Step Three: Add the dry ingredients and beat until it starts to come together. Then I like to use my hands to form into a dough ball and pop the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
- Step Four: Scoop one tablespoon balls, swirl them in cane sugar and gently press down to ½ inch (1 cm) on a parchment lined sheet. You’ll have room for all 24 cookies on a large baking sheet as they don’t spread very far.
- Step Five: Bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes until the tops are dry and crinkled but very soft…the cookies aren’t fully cooked at this point, but that’s what you want so they stay chewy! Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature (they cook further as they cool)
Once cool, you want to store these cookies in an airtight container so they stay soft and chewy.
More incredibly delicious, not too sweet holiday cookies
- Quick Vegan Snowball Cookies with Almond Flour
- Soft-baked Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Vegan Shortbread (with Almond Flour)
Crinkled Ginger Molasses Cookies
Equipment
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handheld beaters stand mixer, or a LOT of elbow grease
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour I like 1 cup each white and whole wheat
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger add ½ tsp extra if not using fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter or baking sticks I use Earth Balance, let soften for 10 min.
- ½ lightly packed cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup fancy molasses NOT blackstrap molasses
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For rolling
- ¼ cup cane sugar
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
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Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
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Using handheld beaters or a stand mixer, whip the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix until well-incorporated.
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Pour the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and beat until starting to come together. Form into a dough ball and chill for 30 minutes.
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Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon (15 ml) – I like a cookie scoop for this! – and roll into a ball. Roll in the sugar and gently press down on the cookie sheet to about ½ inch (1 cm) thickness. You should have room for all 24 cookies on a large cookie sheet, they don’t spread much.
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Bake for 11 – 12 minutes until tops are crinkled, dry and (still!) soft. Remove the baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. This step is important, as the cookies continue to firm up as they cool!
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Once cool, store in an airtight container so they stay soft and chewy.
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