What would a holiday season be without cookies? It's the time of year when we gather with family and friends to make memories, decorate gingerbread houses, and give each other thoughtful gifts. Vegan or not, you're going to need some delicious holiday cookie recipes in your life! Here is one for chewy vegan ginger spice cookies that will bring warmth into your home this winter.
Best Vegan Holiday Cookies
Spice cookies are one of my favorites and I tend to eat them all year long. This is the first year we have gone Vegan. But no worries, if you aren't ready for Vegan, I'll walk you through how to make the needed changes. (It's so easy)
This cookie is thin like ginger snap cookies, but soft and chewy like a cookie should be with crispier edges. They’re full of molasses, brown sugar, and delicious holiday spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I’m sure you are going to LOVE them. And the best part, no decorating like gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies!
Ingredients & Notes
This recipe is delicious and simple if you go vegan or non-vegan. All it takes is two ingredients to make the switch, Earth Balance Vegan Butter for those who want their butter animal free, but you can use regular unsalted butter if going with non-vegan. And you will need to do a nut milk replacement with an egg in place of a nut milk product. And that's it. Simple changes for your easy vegan or non-vegan Christmas cookies.
I used almond milk in my cookies, but any nut variety milk that you have will work perfectly fine for the recipe.
Steps to Make the Vegan Molasses Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. In a medium sized bowl combine the following: flour, crystallized ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer combine butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and fresh ginger. You can also use a hand mixer and a separate bowl if you don't have a stand mixer. Slowly drizzle in the molasses until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients in two additions to the wet ingredients, alternating between the dry ingredients and the milk. Once combined, chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll dough and coat dough balls with sugar. Place 10 cookies on a cookie sheet and bake.
FAQ & Pro Tips For Vegan Cookies
Yes! These cookies are designed to have a chewy texture, but to change you would simply roll the dough smaller, use about 1.5 tablespoons of dough instead of 2. Then bake for a minute or two longer. This will definitely firm up the center if that is what you are looking for.
I'd go with yes. Not so much to prevent spreading, but more so to prevent it from sticking to your hands when rolling it. The dough is very soft, so I would recommend the chill.
When you remove the cookies from the oven, gently tap the baking sheet on the counter. That will immediately reduce the puffiness.
Keep the cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Yes, definitely. Place them in a ziploc freezer bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 60 days. Let thaw at room temperature when ready to eat.
Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups AP Flour (240 grams)
- 3 tablespoons Crystallized Ginger, Finely Chopped (36 grams)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger (2.25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (2.5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda (6.75 grams)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (2 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (1.5 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves (.85 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon White Pepper (.6 grams)
- ½ cup Earth Balance or Other Vegan Butter (115 grams)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (106 grams)
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar Plus More for rolling (100 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Minced Ginger (18.5 grams)
- ¼ cup Molasses (85 grams)
- ¼ cup Non Dairy Milk (60 mL)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, crystallized ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, cloves, and pepper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or use a handheld electric mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and fresh minced ginger.
- Drizzle molasses into the mixer bowl while mixing until the dough is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients in two additions. Pour the milk in between each addition of dry ingredients and mix the batter until just combined. The dough will be quite soft. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Put the additional sugar (about ½ cup) into a small bowl. Using about a tablespoon of cookie dough, roll the dough into balls and roll around in the sugar to coat all sides. My cookies were 38.5 grams of dough per ball.
- Place the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to leave about 3 - 4 inches between each cookie to give them room to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should look set and the top should have a bit of crinkle.
- Remove cookies from the oven. As they bake, they will puff up and then flatten. If they puffed up in the oven but didn't flatten as much as you want, it helps to gently tap the baking sheet on the countertop. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe for chewy vegan ginger cookies brings the warmth of winter into your home. It's an easy vegan Christmas cookie perfect for holiday cookie exchanges, or edible gifts. If you’re not a vegan, or don't want to make these yourself, we have plenty more recipes on our blog that will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth this holiday season! What are some of your favorite cookie recipes? Comment below and let us know!
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Geetanjali Tung says
Love ginger cookies! Need to try this vegan version.
serena says
Enjoy 🙂
Mihaela | https://theworldisanoyster.com/ says
Beautiful cookies - and perfect with a hot coffee!
serena says
They are so good with coffee 🙂
Emily Flint says
These are some of my favorite cookies, so chewy and delicious!
serena says
Thanks Emily!
Amy says
I love ginger anything! These really were so chewy and delicious!
serena says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Swathi says
This chewy ginger cookies looks delicious
serena says
Thanks so much!
Amy Roskelley says
WHAT??!?! These cookies are SO GOOD!!
serena says
They really are so yummy! One of my favorites
Kayla DiMaggio says
These vegan ginger cookies are so delicious! I love all the flavors!
serena says
Thanks so much Kayla!
Audrey says
These are perfect!
serena says
Thanks!