Ginger Molasses Cookies
You won’t be able to resist these sweet and spicy Ginger Molasses Cookies. Made in under 25 minutes (+ chill time) for the perfect fall treat. But beware, these cookies are highly addictive!
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Originally published 6/12/2013. Last updated 9/19/2018
This fall I’m taking some time to go back through some of my favorite My Darling Vegan recipes from the archives and give them some MUCH NEEDED love. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be re-sharing some of YOUR favorite recipes new and improved. Oh, don’t you worry. I will also have NEW recipes for each week.
Make sure never to miss a recipe by signing up for my newsletter.
To start us off, I am re-sharing one of my VERY FIRST recipes today.
Ginger Molasses Cookies!
I love these Ginger Molasses Cookies and I think you will too.
What are Vegan Molasses Cookies?
Imagine a chewy molasses cookie meets a ginger snap and you’ve got yourself a ginger molasses cookie. It’s a soft, slightly chewy, slightly cakey, sweet and spicy cookie that is perfect to pair with your afternoon matcha lattes or herbal teas. In other words, the perfect fall cookie.
So good!
How to make a Ginger Molasses Cookie:
Do you remember those vegan snickerdoodles from the other week? The process is very similar.
Step One – Mix together the dry ingredients.
That’s the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Whisk them together until the spices are well blended into the flour.
Step two – Whip the butter and sugar.
Whip the sugar and butter until they are light and fluffy. Next, add the oil and molasses. Fortunately for us, the combination of oil and molasses act as the binder (egg replacer) and we don’t need any other egg substitutions for this vegan cookie recipe.
Once they are added, the dough will start to look curdled. Don’t worry about this. When the dry ingredients are added, the dough will sort itself out.
Step three – add the dry ingredients
Add the dry ingredients until they are just combined. Be careful not to overmix or the dough will become gummy and dense. Once the flour and spices have completely incorporated, turn off the mixer. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
Step four – bake the cookies
Once the dough has chilled, roll it into balls about 1 rounded tablespoon big and coat them with granulated sugar. Place them on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Cookies should feel slightly underdone when pulled from the oven. They will continue to bake on the baking tray.
Allow them to continue to cook on the baking sheet outside of the oven for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Wait, is granulated sugar vegan?
I get this question a lot! Enough that I’ve written a comprehensive guide on it. The short answer is: sometimes. Make sure to look for sugar that is labeled organic, natural, unrefined, or vegan.
Chewy Cookies v. Cakey Cookies
By pulling out the cookies when they are slightly underdone, you are giving the cookie that delicious chewy inside.
As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE chewy cookies, but if you are looking for a more cakey texture, you can alter this recipe in a few ways.
- Add an extra 1/4 cup of flour
- Substitute granulated sugar for brown sugar
- Bake the cookies for a few minutes longer. Closer to the 13-minute mark.
I’ve tried both, and despite my affinity to chewy cookies, I love them either way. And, more importantly, I think you will, too.
Serving and storing vegan molasses cookies
These cookies can be eaten right out of the oven or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you don’t plan on eating them right away, the extra dough can be frozen for fresh cookies when the craving hits.
To do this, roll all the dough into balls. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer to freeze all the way through. Once frozen, transfer your cookie dough into a large ziplock bag and return to the freezer. You can store the cookies this way for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, remove from freezer, roll in sugar, and bake!
However, I don’t foresee a lot of leftovers with these Ginger Molasses Cookies. They are the epitome of fall – sweet, spicy, warm, comforting, and 100% satisfying and they are also highly addictive.
You won’t be able to resist these sweet and spicy Ginger Molasses Cookies. Made in under 25 minutes (+ chill time) for the perfect fall treat. But beware, these cookies are highly addictive!
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Ginger Molasses Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 148 kcal
Author: Sarah McMinn
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, I use Earth Balance
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for coating
- In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and powder, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl or stand up mixer beat vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add oil and molasses and mix to combine. In several batches add the dry ingredients until a dough begins to form. Be careful not to over-mix.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Place rolling sugar in a small bowl. Spoon out 1 rounded tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Coat with sugar and place the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, leaving about two inches between cookies.
Bake for 10-13 minutes until the edges begin to firm. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. They will continue to harden as they cool. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cookies to cool completely.
Recipe Video
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you could freeze the dough according to this method.
Jordan Brackin says
After chilling would these work with cookie cutters ? This is my fav cookie recipe but never tried to make shapes. Thanks
Sarah says
I think so. The dough is kind of stiff so it might be difficult to roll but I imagine you could make it work!
Brigid says
I plan to make up the cookies and then freeze them. Do I put the cookie dough in the oven frozen and then do you double your baking time?
Sarah says
I would take them out and let them thaw about 10-15 minutes before putting them in the oven then bake the as normal.
Maria says
I made these and they were delicious! Used vegan margarine instead or earth balance and shortening instead of coconut oil because that’s what I had but they were fanatic anyway!!!
Jordan says
Has anyone successfully used whole wheat flour? Ive made these with all purpose and they are amazing. Do you think whole wheat would change the taste and texture?
Sarah says
They would change the taste and texture. I would recommend starting with 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat and see how that tastes.
Joi Poulin says
can i sub margarine for the earth balance?
Lorinda says
Hi, I have used the same molasses cookie recipe for probably 25 years. They were my son’s favorite. Well he eats vegan now so I have been looking for a replacement. I added ground cloves and ground ginger since those were in my old recipe. Just took them out of the oven, they are a hit! We will have an inter-denominational Christmas meal, 3 Keto, 2 Vegan and 4 Omnivores. We are a very non judgemental family. Thanks for helping.
Carol says
Where do I click to print your recipes?
Sarah says
I just added a recipe card plugin so you can print it. It should work now!
Kat says
Made these for a vegan friend and I subbed ~ 1/3 cup pumpkin puree for the vegan butter since I didn’t have any and they are perfect! Puffed up, soft on the inside, pumpkin flavor is not overwhelming.
Cat says
I used coconut oil (an equal amount) instead of Earth Balance and they turned out marvelous!!! I used extra virgin, so it does have a coconut flavor, which reminds me of butter. But, I’m sure you can use refined, if you don’t want the slight coconut flavor. Thanks so much for this recipe! I like to make vegan versions of all the non-vegan cookies I crave at the grocery store. These more than satisfied my fall cookie craving!
MADI says
I was just wondering if I could make this with normal butter?
Kate says
These were fantastic. Much better than I expected considering how quick and easy they are. Thank you for this great recipe!
Jennifer says
These were awesomely perfect!! Thanks!!
Sarah says
Thank you, Jennifer.
GS says
Yum!! I just made these and they came out v soft and chewy. I substituted vegan butter for 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. I didn’t have canola oil so instead used olive oil. Did not affect taste.
Sarah says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your substitution. Good to know.
SarahL says
Made these this afternoon – yum! The dough was a bit dry for sugar to stick to once I’d rolled it into balls so I skipped that step. I had to hide them in the top cupboard so my son would stop eating them. This recipe will definitely be a keeper 🙂
Luciana says
I just made these and they are delicious! I baked these for exactly 10 minutes and immediately moved them onto a wire rack. I got fifteen cookies out of one batch (using a cookie scoop for uniformity), and they aren’t as puffy as the pictures on here, they are quite flat. Should I make them larger next time or add an extra 1/4 tsp of baking powder?
Still, they might not make it to tomorrow!
Sarah says
I’m glad you liked them so much! I’m going to have to go back and look at this recipe – it’s been a long time. But I would suggest keeping them mostly round (only slightly flattening them) before baking and if that still doesn’t work out for you, it wouldn’t hurt to put in an extra 1/4 tsp of baking powder, that little amount wouldn’t affect the taste.
Amanda says
Do you flatten the cookies before baking, for leave them as balls?
Sarah says
Yes, I slightly flattened them (not much!) before baking. I’ll make sure to note that in the recipe. Thanks!
Hannah says
If I were to make these ahead of time and freeze them, would they be hard once I thaw them out or stay chewy? Have you tried freezing a batch?
Sarah says
I would suggest making the dough and freezing that. Then you can bake off as many as you like, whenever you like, and they will be fresh and chewy every time. To make it even easier, pre-scoop them, let them freeze on a cookie sheet, then once they are frozen solid you can put them in a plastic bag. that way you don’t have to try and scoop frozen cookie dough.
Sarah O. says
I made these today for a vegan friend, and I was in disbelief at how good they turned out to be. I used applesauce in place of the vegan butter, and I subbed in soy flour because she’s also gluten-free (I know… I know) and seriously, they were perfect. Huge and chewy with soft, sweet interiors and beautiful tawny color. I cannot thank you enough for this recipe, it is smashing!
Sarah says
I’m glad they were such a hit! I will try it with the applesauce next time for a healthier alternative!
Mel says
Hi! I’m new at vegan baking, so I subbed the oil with coconut oil- only as they were baking, did I start to worry that they would harden. And they did, like a molasses biscuit – but they were delicious! I will try them again with some other kind of oil (sunflower or corn ok?) as we don’t have canola here. My only problem was that the dough was never doughy- it was more crumbly. I still managed to press them together and they held fine, but I may have overcooked them a bit because they weren’t getting flat as in your picture. I will definitely be making these again with the right oil and without over baking- what a great way to eat my molasses 😀
Sarah says
I’m glad you tried them. Corn or vegetable oil would work fine next time. Enjoy!
CIRCE says
Could you use coconut oil as a ‘vegan butter’? Or do you think that’d make them too solid, since the oil is harder at room temperature than butter?
Sarah says
Coconut oil would, like you said, probably make them no longer “chewy” molasses cookies. You could try Coconut Butter, which you can find at most health food stores or well stocked grocery stores. The consistency is much more like butter and I believe it would work quite well.
Katrina says
Hi! I made a double batch of these yesterday, and while they look great and taste super yummy, they are crunchy, not chewy! I thought maybe after sitting a day, they’d soften, but no such luck. Any idea why that would happen? Could I have baked them too long? I might try my mom’s old trick of putting a slice of apple in the container with them!
Sarah says
I’m sorry, how disappointing! My best guess is that they were over-baked, but without seeing them I can only guess. I took a quick look at the recipe and I can’t think of another reason they would have turned out that way unless there was a substitution of ingredients.
If you rolled your cookies smaller than mine, they would have taken less time. Or if your oven is not accurate, you might also have run a problem of over-baked. I hope this helps.
Emily says
I made these for Thanksgiving dessert to go with a pumpkin pie spread, and they were absolutely amazing! My entire non-vegan family has been begging me to make them again ever since! I had been craving gingerbread-type baked goods for months, and with Thanksgiving I finally had an excuse to make some- so seasonal! I’ve already made two more batches since Thanksgiving, and I’m planning on using these as part of holiday gifts- as well as making them for Christmas! Thank you so much for the recipe- SO delicious!!!
Aruna says
Interesting. 🙂
Would it work if subbed 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar for the white sugar and molasses? Would there be enough molasses in that sugar?
I don’t have molasses, but I do have an unopened package of dark brown sugar that I never got around to using.
Sarah says
There isn’t enough molasses in brown sugar for that to work, sadly. I’m not sure how it would taste. Good, probably, but certainly different.
Stephanie says
Do you think I could replace the Earth Balance with veggie oil? These look AMAZING!
Sarah says
You can sub if you’re having a hard time getting Earth Balance overseas. The texture will be different (a little flatter and denser) but it shouldn’t affect the flavor much and I believe they would still be delicious! Let me know how they turn out.
Stephanie says
Awesome, thanks Sarah! Can’t wait to try these 🙂
Kylie @ immaeatthat says
YUM. You have me craving some sweet spiced cookies now! And yay for fiesta dishes! I have the same mugs:)
Jade says
these sound beauuutiful! can’t wait to try them out..my housemates will love these. am always inspired by your creative blog posts..thanks for sharing 🙂 x
Sarah says
Thank you!
Annie says
It’s the cracks that get me – they just beg to be eaten!
Thank you so much for joining the Potluck!