Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies are everyone’s favorite holiday cookie! They’re filled with molasses and warm winter spices and decorated with a crisp sugar coating. Easy to make in 1 bowl!
Fill your cookie boxes with even more classic vegan Christmas cookies, like my Vegan Snowball Cookies, my Vegan Sugar Cookies, and these Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies!
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“Just made these and they came out perfectly! I’m seriously in love with these and can’t believe they are vegan!” – Courtney
These Vegan Ginger Cookies are always some of the first cookies I bake around the holidays. They’re full of molasses, brown sugar, and cozy winter spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Usually, I have to bake a few batches because of how incredibly chewy and irresistible they are!
Believe me when I say I tested these vegan ginger molasses cookies until they were absolutely perfect. After a days-long cookie-baking marathon, I finally nailed the recipe! With gorgeous cracks on the outside and an irresistible soft chew on the inside, they were well worth the effort.
Why you’ll love these chewy ginger cookies
- Seriously chewy – The cookies I first tested were too puffy and cake-like. I’m happy to say that this now-perfect recipe gives you some seriously soft and chewy ginger cookies every time.
- Coated in sugar – I mean, just look at the glistening sugar granules surrounding the cookies. It’s gorgeous to look at, sweet in flavor, and makes them that much more eye-catching.
- Easy 1-bowl recipe – Just like my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, these ginger cookies are oh-so easy to make in only one bowl!
These easy ginger cookies are perfect for sharing with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. If you want to treat them to even more ginger cookies, try my Vegan Gingerbread Cookies or these Gingerbread Latte Cookies next!
How to make vegan ginger cookies
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Start by beating the vegan butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Next, beat in the molasses and vanilla.
Add 2 cups of flour and the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix on low speed to combine, then add the remaining flour. Mix again until incorporated.
Roll 2 tablespoons of cookie dough at a time into balls (or 1 tablespoon for smaller cookies), then roll each one in a bowl of sugar until coated. Place the balls on a prepared baking sheet.
Recipe Tip
You can always skip the sugar coating or roll the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar instead, just like with my Ginger Crinkle Cookies.
Bake the ginger molasses cookies until they begin to crack on top. They’ll look a little soft coming out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Set them aside to cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!
Chewy vs. crisp ginger cookies
As-is, these cookies are all about the chew. If you want crispier cookies, like vegan gingersnaps, bake them for 14 to 15 minutes instead.
Frequently asked questions
I usually use unsulphured blackstrap molasses, but these cookies are flexible in terms of what molasses you use.
Yes, that should be fine. A few of my readers have made these with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour (like King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour) and had great results!
I haven’t tested it, but softened coconut oil (not melted) should work. Your cookies may spread a little more in the oven, but they will still be very delicious.
Absolutely. Roll the cookie dough balls, place them on the baking sheet, and freeze until they’re solid. Transfer the balls to a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the balls at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before coating in sugar and baking.
They’ll stay soft and chewy for about 3 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also store them in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Vegan Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the molasses and vanilla, and beat in until smooth. Scrape the sides as needed with a spatula.
- Add 2 cups of flour to the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the flour. Mix on low speed to combine. Now add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and mix until incorporated. The dough will be quite thick, but not dry.
- Fill a small bowl with the cup of sugar for rolling.
- Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of dough for large cookies (1 tablespoon for small cookies), roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the sugar until completely coated.
- Place on the prepared baking sheets, and bake for 11-12 minutes, until they begin to crack on top. They will look very soft, but they firm up a lot as they cool. If you over bake, they will be crispy.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For better cracks in the cookies: After a few minutes in the oven, sprinkle a little bit of cold water (I just flick it in the pan with my hands, about a teaspoon) on the pan. Cracks will form! (I learned this from my grandma)
- This recipe makes 36 large cookies, or about 48 small cookies. You can always cut the recipe in half if you don’t want that many. They are perfect for sharing with friends, neighbors or co-workers!
- Make sure to correctly measure your flour, or the cookies may not turn out right. To do this, use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup. Don’t pat the flour down or tap the cup. Use a knife to level off the top of the cup.
- If you want crispier cookies, like gingersnaps, simply bake these a bit longer, 14-15 minutes, and they will be quite crisp!
Nutrition
12/22/18- I found after further recipe testing that it was unnecessary to chill the cookie dough before baking the cookies, so I removed that step, making this recipe even easier!
These cookies are A-MA-ZING, I just can’t believe how good they turned out. My BF just loved them, and me too of course. It is true that they are kind of sweet and filling, but come on, it is winter, what better than feeding yourself with cookies? Haha. Such a nice recipe, no one could tell it is vegan.
That’s so great to hear!
Wow! These cookies are so delicious! Chewy & perfectly balanced spice. Thank you for the recipe ?
You’re welcome!
Made these almost exactly as written (used course whole wheat flour), baked for 12 minutes and they were absolutely perfect! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
These are incredible. However, very VERY sweet. I’m going to experiment with using less sugar (and swapping some sugar out for dates).
I tried out putting a little cayenne into a few of my cookies, which you can do since the dough is so pliable, just work some in to a few of the cookies. It was good!
Hi! If I want to make these ahead of time by two days, can the cookie dough chill for that long?
Two days should be fine, just take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before trying to roll, the dough will get very hard. Thanks!
DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG these are good!! Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
I can’t praise this recipe enough! I followed the recipe exactly and the ginger cookies came out perfectly. I did flick some water on the cookies prior to baking as suggested by another person. Not sure if it helped with getting the “cracked” look on top, but they did turn out just like your pictures. I shaped the cookies into 1 1/4 TBSP. balls and baked for 11 minutes 30 seconds. Since oven temps vary, I suggest watching the cookies at the 11 minute mark. They will look puffy, but it does flatten as it cools. The cookies were slightly crispy on the outside and moist and chewy in the inside. Absolutely delicious!!!
Would these work to cut out into gingerbread men?
I haven’t tried it, but I am working on a gingerbread people recipe! 🙂 So stay tuned.
Hi!
Really delicious recipe 🙂 have tried it a few times, for some reason most of the times they did not get that beautiful crack. Only managed it once, any idea what could be the problem? Also changed up the spices to make a turmeric and agave one which was really yummy 🙂
Sorry I forgot that I did comment on this and only now saw your reply. I do think we may have forgotten to add the flour in bits, could this also be the reason? We are definitely measuring the flour correctly but also scaling the recipe to make a larger amount of cookies. Always seems to be a different story when that is done!
Sometimes when you scale a recipe up it can affect the outcome. Maybe try making a batch as written and see if you have better luck!
Hi there! Well, for best results follow the recipe exactly, ingredients and all. The other thing you can do is flick a little water on them before baking. It’s a trick my grandma taught me. 🙂
Delicious….I cooked two batches. One at 12 min which burned the bottoms of the cookies and the other batch for 10 min which was perfect timing. Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I used half regular all purpose flour and half white whole wheat.
You’re so welcome!
I read the recipe and made the cookies immediately. Absolutely delicious! Just perfect!
Thanks!!
I absolutely love these cookies! I found the batter a bit dry, maybe because I used while wheat flour. So I added two flax eggs and they turn out perfect!
These cookies are amazing and the recipe make so many! I think I’ve literally had 15 today (though I’m my defense I did make them pretty small). The recipe was very easy to follow. Can’t wait to share these with some non-vegans so they can see what great vegan food tastes like! ?
I’m glad to hear they’re amazing!
I love all your recipes!! Can you substitute agave for molasses or is agave not think enough?
You probably could but you will be missing that rich molasses flavor, so I don’t recommend leaving it out unless you need to. I’m sure they will turn out but they might not be as chewy or moist either.
Amazing cookies!!! Followed the recipe to a tee and out came the most delicious soft chewy cookies. Thank you!!
Yay! Thank you!
Is it possible to make these into cookie bars?
I haven’t tried it so it would take some experimenting, maybe though!
these are great!
Delicious cookie! But ours didn’t spread and crinkle as nicely, any idea why?
You may have added a bit too much flour, so they didn’t spread as well. Make sure to measure everything accurately for the best results.
If we increased the amount of spices in the cookies would that also count then as too much dry ingredients, and should we then take that amount of flour away? Wanted a bit more ginger flavour.
Also noticed we forgot to add the flour in batches, would that effect it as well?
I don’t think you would need to reduce the flour for adding more spices. Just add some more ginger. 🙂 That could make a difference, yes.
Have you ever tried fresh ginger in this recipe?
I haven’t, but it would probably work.
I made these today, and they’re easily one of the best molasses cookies I’ve tried. I used olive oil instead of butter, and only put in 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and they turned out great. I did have to add about 1/4 cup water to the batter to make it stick together better, but the flavor of these cookies is so delightfully gingery.
The best ginger cookie I have tasted!! crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
I made these with vegan margarine and they turned out amazing
The taste is great but they’re not chewy. They’re crumbly. They weren’t spreading while they were cooking, so I panicked and went in and flattened them, even though that wasn’t in the instructions. Could this result be because I used Demerara style instead of packable brown sugar?
Yes, it is because you did not use brown sugar, which is much more moist than demerara style sugar. They will be chewy with brown sugar.
So I made these, but with coconut oil. Coconut oil with brown sugar will not cream, and after the addition of the molasses, began to separate. I countered this by using a bit of almond milk to emulsify, and it became a lovely creamy mixture for the rest of the recipe. So, in short, if using coconut oil instead of vegan butter, a small amount of vegan milk (I used 1/4 cup) will keep things together.
Thank you! A great recipe!
Thanks for this tip! The recipe looks awesome. I was hoping someone hacked it for coconut oil!
Hi, do you think I could make this without a mixer?
Yes, you could, it will just require some arm work. 🙂
Amazing recipe! I baked them 13 mins for the perfect gingersnap. The spices are spot on and these cookies are absolutely gorgeous! No one would ever tell that these are vegan. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Fab recipe – being in the UK I weighed the ingredients. I went for 250g of veggie marg, quadrupled the ginger, doubled the cinammon, used wholemeal spelt flour (reduced slightly for the extra volume of spice) and knocked off 150g from the sugar.
I also added ginger to the rolling sugar.
Came out just like the pic and taste amazing ! Still sweet !
Thank you for such a Fab recipe – am on a food exclusion diet and finding it quite hard. These have eased my pain !
So glad they were good!