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!
Love this easy & delicious cookie & recipe
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
2nd year Im making these. My favorite Ginger Cookie recipe! Thankyou Nora! Merry Christmas ?
You’re welcome! Merry Christmas to you too!
So delicious!!! I followed the recipe as is, using metric measurements for greater accuracy. They’re crisp but soften as you chew them. Love them 😀 Can’t wait for my coworkers to try!
So good! I used 9 oz white whole wheat flour and 5.6 oz all purpose flour. I creamed the vegan butter with brown sugar for 90 seconds. Used #20 scoop, made 24, 4” cookies. Baked 13 min at 350*
Yum!!!
I have loved all your recipes, Nora! And these look delicious… I’m hoping to make these soon and possibly freeze them. Do you know if they freeze well?
They freeze very well. Thanks so much!
Awesome recipe, thank you! Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect. Soft inside, crackly on the outside, perfect flavor combo. Exactly what I was looking for, thanks!
Great to hear! Thanks!
So delicious and foolproof. Love your recipes Nora!
Thanks!
Sooooo freaking delicious! Chewy and soft— would 1000% make again!
Hi can this be made with any replacements for molasses ?
I haven’t tested it with anything else so it’s hard for me to say, sorry! Maybe maple syrup?
These are delish! My favorite cookie and I’m not a vegan. I looked for vegan recipes because of food allergies in the family. I have made these with both refined and unrefined coconut oil and both are very good. The cookies made with unrefined coconut oil had the slightest taste of coconut which surprisingly was fine with the molasses and spices.
I followed the recipe almost exactly as written and the cookies just remained as a ball in the oven. I don’t have an electric mixer so just used a whisk to whip the earth balance and brown sugar. That may have been the issue.
Hi! Yes, I think the problem may have been with your technique. If you don’t have a hand mixer, don’t use a whisk but instead a strong spoon and really get the vegan butter and brown sugar completely combined and smooth. If it doesn’t get mixed well, the cookies won’t turn out. Your arm will get a workout, but it can be done! Also, make sure your vegan butter isn’t too cold and hard, or the cookies will have a hard time spreading. But you also don’t want it melted, just barely softened. Hope that helps!
The first time I made these I had the same problem but they tasted so good I had another try. The next time I took them out of the oven after just a few minutes and lightly pressed them down with the back of a wooden spoon before popping them back in – they spread and cracked perfectly.
Just made these as part of a vegan cookie trio tin for my kids teachers. They’re so good! And there were some leftovers for me .. he he he ?
So delicious and I love to have enough to share! I added some chopped candied ginger, because, well….ginger!!!
Amazing.
These are so delicious and I can’t wait to bring to Christmas dinner. Love the soft middle.
I have never made a recipe of Nora’s that isn’t amazing. With most blogs, you find some recipes you love and then some recipes you try that are just okay. However, with Nora’s blog, every single recipe I have tried has been simply incredible. I have made her vanilla cake, chocolate cake, stuffing, chocolate chip cookies, thumbprint cookies, and these cookies and all have blown me away. These have the perfect amount of sweetness, a great balance of spices, and a great texture once cooled. Halved the recipe but wish I hadn’t…
Wow, thanks so much for the great comment! It makes my day!
Love these cookies took out the last batch now I used the smallest cookie scooper so I cooked them for only 9 minutes and it made 70 cookies. I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. I coated the first 2 batches in the coconut sugar then switched to regular sugar so you could actually see the sugar coating. Very yummy and made them for 3 years in a row
Great recipe! Easy to follow and the cookies are delicious!
Thanks!
Do you use fresh of powdered ginger?
Powdered ginger.
I made these last year for Christmas and they were a hit. I made them with the smallest cookie dough scooper but can’t remember how long I cooked the smaller cookies maybe 8-10 minute . I also made your vegan snickerdoodles yum
These cookies are fabulous! I’m not a vegan but a vegan shared your recipe with me. I want to make your chocolate crinkle cookies next.
Made these exactly as the recipe said and they turned out perfect! They are ever so slightly crisp on the outside, and nice and chewy in the middle. They look just like the pictures too! Will definitely be making these again!!!
That’s so great to hear!
Made these-so easy and so good!
I made these last year for my sister and they were amazing. Received the compliment of “can’t even tell they’re vegan”
I made these cookies this evening as the recipe is written except without nutmeg (I am out) and I added 1/8 tsp cloves. I love them, we love them, you should all make them.
I used MELT vegan butter, all purpose flour as noted, and used raw “turbinado” sugar for rolling.
Tonight I am betty crocker.