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 so good! I probably should have made the half batch because I’m afraid I will eat them all ? Love your recipes Nora, thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays!
Hi Karen. I am glad you are loving my recipes, and especially enjoy the ginger cookies! I love them as well! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review! Happy holiday cooking!
Was this recipe developed with salted vegan butter? In other words, if I use something unsalted, should I add more salt (which is what I did for your sugar cookie recipe).
Yes, all my recipes have been developed with salted vegan butter, because only recently has unsalted been available. I find increasing the salt by perhaps 1/4 teaspoon per 1/2 cup unsalted butter works well.
These were amazing! I made some of the dough balls rolled in raw sugar (as directed), and some with just a dip of sugar on top. Definitely better with more sugar, but excellent either way! The cookies were the perfect soft-but-structurally-sound texture when cooled. Popped some in the freezer for another day. Will make these again!
I’m so glad you loved them, Megan! I am truly in love with these cookies! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments! Happy holiday cooking!
I have never baked gingerbread cookies before. We always bought them. I found this recipe that I could make without eggs, and wow! Just wow! I will make these every year – they are SO delicious!!
I’m so happy you loved the cookies, and are adding them to your cookie collection recipes! Thank you for taking time to share your fantastic review and comments! Happy holiday cooking!
I loved the taste of these cookies but once in the oven, they didn’t spread out. They retained their ball shape. So for the first batch, I went in after 12 mins and flattened them with a spoon and then let them bake another two minutes. They came out well, but not baked through in some sections. For the second batch, I tried flattening them before I put them in the oven. That seemed to work better. Is that what you do? The recipe directions don’t mention flattening them, so I wondered if I’d made a mistake with creaming the butter and that’s why they didn’t naturally spread out when baking? Thanks for your advice.
These cookies spread and flatten on their own in the oven, I’ve never had them stay in a ball when they bake. I wonder if you accidentally added a bit too much flour the first time, because that will make cookies NOT spread correctly. It’s easy enough to do if you are scooping flour. What I do for accurate flour measurements is this: spoon flour into measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. No shaking or patting it down. Hope that helps!
I LOVE all of your recipes! Thank you for sharing them! As someone who is new to vegan baking I so appreciate your delicious recipes. I have made some of your pies and now am making your cookies. They are all wonderful. I LOVE molasses/ginger cookies and these do not disappoint.
Can these cookies be made into “thumb print” cookies w jelly?
I’m sure they could, but I’ve never tried it. Sounds fun!
Can I substitute Coconut Oil (solid) for the vegan butter?
I haven’t tried it, but it probably will work.
Has anyone made these with GF flour? One of my daughters is vegan and GF. Have had lots of luck with King Arthur GF flour for other recipes. Fingers crossed someone has tried it! TIA
Hi Judy. I haven’t tried this recipe with gluten free flour, but Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour usually works well in my other cookie recipes, so I bet it would work here, too. Some have commented that Bob’s Red Mill GF worked well for them. Hopefully some others will comment on their GF experience with these cookies! Enjoy, and happy cooking!
These are delicious! I added about 4 tablespoons of candied ginger to my dough as well. My cookies didn’t spread though. They stayed in the balled shape. Is this because I added ginger or maybe from over mixing? Just trying to figure out how to make them flat cookie shaped. The flavor is perfect!
Hi there, I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies! A few things could have happened – either you accidentally added a bit too much flour, which is easy to do, or your vegan butter was too cold perhaps. Probably too much flour though! To measure correctly, spoon flour into the measuring cup, don’t shake it or pat it down at all, and level it off with a knife. Hope that helps!
I’ve been SEARCHING for the perfect vegan gingerbread molasses cookie. One with a soft, chewy center, lots of spice, the perfect amount of molasses and sweetness, and THIS COOKIE IS IT!!
I am thrilled you are loving my ginger cookies, and find them perfect! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
These cookies were fantastic! I thought I had ruined them because I grabbed the nutmeg bottle instead of cinnamon and ended up with a tablespoon of nutmeg instead of 1/2 teaspoon! Oooops. But I forged ahead since I couldn’t exactly scrape 2+ teaspoons of nutmeg off the surface of the dry ingredients. I also added about a 1/2 cup of minced crystalized ginger. I was afraid they might end up being nutmeg bombs with some ginger mixed in, but they were great! So my message to you is, don’t sweat the mistake if you make one. : ) Next time I will stick to the right amount of nutmeg, but I do recommend the crystalized ginger for some extra zip.
Hi Anne-Marie! I am so glad you shared your ‘oooops’ story! I’m thrilled the cookies turned out great for you! I appreciate you taking time to share your wonderful review and comments! Thank you!
I made this today… The cookie had the perfect texture and sweetness. I doubled the spices, as I love spicy cookies, and I also added cocoa for a chocolate-y treat. I love how easy these were to make, and quick to prep. Both vegans and non-vegans enjoyed this. This will be a new go-to!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments! The addition of cocoa sounds good! I’m thrilled these are your new go-to ginger cookies! Thanks!
can you freeze these?
Yes! They freeze very well!
I normally bake by weight so I utilized the metric measurements. Not sure if the conversions or my scale was off but I felt like these were very sweet. I ended up rolling in coffee grounds instead of the extra sugar to balance out some of the sweetness. Will definitely make again and try out with us standard measurement ms to see if there is a noticeable difference.
Will these freeze well?
They freeze very well!
Made them again for Christmas 4th year in a row they are so good I used 2 sized cookie scoops to get more cookies to have more cookies. The vegan butter Ii used got to soft to handle so I put the dough in the fridge for 30 minuites and again in between batches but once they they were easier to roll they came out perfect . They look exactly the recipe picture
I’m so glad that you are loving the cookies! That’s so fun! I appreciate you taking time to share your wonderful review and comments! Happy holiday cooking!
These are the best ginger cookies I have ever had. All of the non vegans that I gifted them to completely agree! I’ve never been asked for a recipe so many times!!
I’m so glad the cookies are a hit! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments!
I made these for the first time this evening. They made my apartment smell amazingly good as they baked. They are beautiful. They are soft, chewy, and the sugar crystals add a touch of crunch. The spice is perfectly bold and the cookie is super sweet.
These cookies are next level. I will be bringing them to family functions all throughout the holidays! Thank you.
These were FANTASTIC! This will now be my go-to recipe for ginger cookies!
My sister made these today and shared them with me. They were incredible! I will go so far as saying they are now my favorite cookie of all time, that good! She thought she baked them a little too long but they were perfect. Crispy on the edges and super soft inside.
This is my absolute favorite ginger cookie recipe! Making it for my book club right now. YUM!
We made these cookies today, and they are just marvelous, to put it mildly. We have been buying our gingersnaps, but the store has been out of our brand for a couple of weeks. We couldn’t wait any longer, and being newly vegan, I searched for a recipe to fit our need. The first one I tried left us feeling there was something missing. Today we tried this recipe, and it truly shocked us as to how good it is, and so close to what we were craving. We will be making this over and over. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. We love them.
Just made these cookies, wowoow. 10/10! They taste like fall and make the whole house smell delish. Super easy and makes TONS of cookies. Highly recommend! Thanks for the recipe.
Isn’t the aroma of baked ginger cookies in the home wonderful!? I love it! I’m so glad you loved the cookies! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!