My vegan Molasses Ginger Cookies are moist and chewy. Spicy and sweet. In each bite, you can taste the bold, dark molasses flavor mingling with the warm tones of ginger and cinnamon spice...
And did you know that molasses is quite healthy for you? Think of it as healthy black goop. Read my Molasses 101 and learn facts like this: "there is 3.5 mg of high quality iron in every Tablespoon of molasses."
Molasses on a plate..
Easy to make. You'll need to have ginger and molasses on hand - but the remaining ingredients are probably already in your kitchen. Try these cozy cookies today! Get my vegan recipe (and see more photos) below..
Molasses Ginger Cookies
vegan, makes 20 cookies
2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
¼+ cup water (see notes)
¼ - ⅓ cup molasses
⅓ cup melted vegan buttery spread
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
Notes:
* I used white whole wheat flour from Trader Joe's. Any flour variety will work though.
* Adding more molasses will make the cookies darker and bolder. But don't add more than ½ cup - because the flavor will be too strong. Molasses is bold.
* If you sub the butter spread w/ veg oil like canola, add in an extra dash of salt.
* If your dough seems too dry - simply add water in 1 teaspoon intervals until the dough meshes perfectly - in a Playdough like consistency.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Soften the vegan butter spread in the microwave. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, ginger powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda/powder. Mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the softened buttery spread, molasses, vanilla extract, grated ginger and water.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir by hand well until all the ingredients are blended into a moist ball of dough. The dough will seem dry at first, but keep stirring and folding and it will come together. If needed add in extra water one spoonful at a time until the dough consistency is reached.
6. If you want perfectly shaped ginger cookies, you can freeze the dough for ½ hour then roll out the dough to cookie cutter circle shapes for baking. Or you can simply roll the dough into moist balls, dip in a coating of sugar and bake. I tried both versions and was pleased with both. (If you want crunchier, thinner Gingersnaps - roll the dough out thin, cut into thin circle shapes and bake.)
7. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Fluffy, but not hard. Cookies will firm up when they cool. Note: do not over-bake - or you will get gingerSNAPS instead of cookie chews.
8. Allow the cookies to cool at least 15 minutes before serving. They will harden as they cool as well as overnight.
Tara Chantal Hopkins says
I love this recipe! Out of habit, I made some modifications:-) I used oil, only 1/4 cup of sugar, and aquafaba instead of water; I like a bite, so I added some freshly ground pepper to the batter - and some to the sugar I rolled the first batch in; second batch, I just added some pepper on top.
Ang says
I would like to substitute Coconut Oil for vegan butter. Would it be the same measurement you think? 1/3 cup?
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes, also add 1/8 tsp salt along with the oil
Mel says
WOW!!! These were awesome and I really enjoyed! Thanks so much for sharing a kind and yummy recipe!
novice baker says
made these yesterday with 1/3 cup molasses, they did come out very soft but firmed up after sitting, as promised
they were fantastic! thanks so much for sharing
Vi says
I just made these and found the ginger flavor too strong. I will make again though, I'll just fiddle a bit with the recipe. I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup spelt flour and coconut oil (1/4 cup only) instead of EB. I didn't have baking soda and as far as I could tell, it didn't make a difference. Although I found your recipe on another person's site, I'll thank YOU for sharing 🙂 I'm always searching for vegan recipes.
Kathy Patalsky says
the ginger is very strong on these cookies,that is how I love them, but please feel free to adjust spices in all my recipes to suit your taste buds. I tend to like BOLD and spicier-style flavors. 🙂 Thank you for reporting back!
Vi says
YES! Lol. The ginger in these cookies is very strong. I'd never made ginger cookies before and thought it sounded like too much ginger but figured I'd follow it properly (ginger wise anyway). Perhaps a note somewhere in your write up about these cookies could include a warning that the ginger flavor is much more than the "warm tone" you did mention 🙂 Being vegan only for the past 6 months (and LOVING it!), I'm thrilled to have found your site!
Holly Jacobs says
Hi, Yes, I did exactly that. I'm so glad you posted on here. I wanted to make these again and had misplaced the version I printed out. Good Luck and happy eating!
tothesky says
How much do you use? I tried today but they came out a little too soggy and soft. The taste of ginger and cinnamon wasn't coming quite through as well. But I did half all the quantities listed in this recipe so perhaps I made an error with some conversion.
tothesky says
Can I substitute the vegan spread with coconut oil?
Katie says
Are the ones in the photos the ones that you froze for a bit? My cookies have fantastic flavor and a great, soft and chewy texture, but the dough spread out and got really really flat. I'm not sure if the dough was a bit to moist as well, rolling them in to balls wasn't really an option, though I added some extra flour, so I kind of just plopped them on the cookie sheet. Any thoughts for future batches? I look forward to making them again!
Liz Nelson says
I've made these countless times now...they're a favorite with everyone I decide to share them with! Sooooo good, beyond words. And so easy to make. I usually add some minced up candied ginger, about 2 tbsp or so. Just a little extra gingery-ness!
Kathy Patalsky says
You can double roll them in sugar! Or add a few Tbsp of sugar to the recipe.
Nikki says
My hubby wanted them a bit sweeter...any tips?
stacey says
I love how easy this recipe is! They are sooooo tasty! I have a question: When you roll the dough into balls, do you flatten them on the cookie sheet before baking? The recipe didn't specify, so my first batch wasn't flattened. I saw that they became fluffy so I ended up flattening the rest of the batches and they came out amazing 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
I'd do about 1/2-1 tsp. More if u like them extra spicy.
Nelva Jean says
Could I substitute ginger powder for fresh, if so what's the equivelan?
Beth2983 says
Delicious!! Used wholemeal flour and still just as good. I plan to share this recipe!
Upma1223 says
Great recipe.. but maybe i goofed up a lil.. i used self rising flour instead of all purpose and still added BS + BP.. is the slight bitter taste cos of that. And i also had some crystallised ginger lying in my pantry which i tore into small bits n added to the dough.. love love ginger cookies..m gonna eat all of these but sm1 tell me where i may hv gone wrong...tku.. Cheers to a great n easy recipe tho..!!
Debbie says
Just tried this recipe and followed one of the suggestions for making a gluten free cookie for a family member that needs that...added a syrup made from ginger liqueur reduction for a blast of ginger spice...went over very well and moving on to the senate bean soup!
FurbyWithESP says
These were amazing! The whole batch was gone in ~10 minutes.
Liz says
I've made these twice now...and will make them again and again. SO scrumptious! Thank you 🙂
Mizmelodia says
I made these gluten free by using 1 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup sorgum flour 1/4 teff and 1/4 arrowroot powder. I also used blended apple and sunflower oil as a substitute for the Earth Balance, they turned out amazing!
HollyJ says
Hi, these look amazing. I'm a novice baker and wondering if this recipe work with cookie cutters to make them look like gingerbread men or will they not keep that shape when cooked?
Kathy Patalsky says
fixed it! Sorry about the text error!! The gingersnap texture makes for a delicious crumb crust.