Crinkled Ginger Molasses Cookies (vegan)
Soft and chewy, these bakery-worthy (but easy to make!) vegan ginger molasses cookies are made with ground ginger AND fresh ginger and have the perfect sparkling, crinkled exterior. This easy cookie recipe makes 24 delicious cookies, ready in 1 hour including chilling time!
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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 vegan ginger molasses cookies are at the top of my cozy necessities list right now.
I’ve been baking these vegan crinkle 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 have a bunch of vegan cookie recipes on the blog because 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 may 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.
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.
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!
Here’s the actual step by step in pictures…scroll down for the full detailed recipe!
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!
Ooh, and I’ll put on my dietitian hat for a second to tell you that these vegan ginger cookies are naturally egg, dairy 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.
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
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
Equipment
- handheld beaters stand mixer, or a LOT of elbow grease
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake for 11 – 12 minutes until tops are crinkled, dry and (still!) 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, store in an airtight container so they stay soft and chewy.
12 Comments on “Crinkled Ginger Molasses Cookies (vegan)”
I’ve never heard of fancy molasses. Where can that be found? Is there a brand in particular you are using?
I use Crosby’s Fancy Molasses (if you’re in Canada, it’s common!). It it is an unsulfured light/regular molasses but dark (just not blackstrap) would also work well. Happy baking!
Thanks for the quick reply. These will be delicious for Christmas.
I hope you love them! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Is there a way to make the crinkled ginger molasses cookies gluten free?
I haven’t tested this – so I can’t be sure – but I find in cookies, a good 1:1 GF flour blend typically works very well. If you do try it, please let us know what you used. I’m sure that others will want to know! And I do have an almond flour gingerbread cookie on the website too 🙂
These are truly delicious and no one will ever question that they happen to be vegan!
Like, the highest praise I can think of…thank you 🙂
Oh my , these are the most delicious cookie , and so easy to make. I made 1 batch and immediately made another,sooooo good !!
Have you tried freezing them
Hi Di,
I am so glad you like them! They honestly never last that long in my house, ha ha, but yes they should freeze well. Please let me know if you try it 🙂
My Family loves these and the are very easy to make.
I am so glad you like them! They’re a fave around here too