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These vegan ginger molasses cookies are the BEST soft and chewy, melt-in-your-mouth cookies to make this holiday season. They require no chilling, are ready in less than an hour, and are made gluten-free. Let’s get baking!

overhead shot of vegan ginger molasses cookies on a white speckled plate with a blue towel

Ginger molasses cookies have got to be my favorite Christmas holiday cookie, with my Peppermint Meltaway Cookies following closely behind. They taste EXACTLY like the ginger molasses cookies I enjoyed growing up, yet made completely dairy-free and without eggs. As an added bonus, they’re made gluten-free with a blend of gluten-free flour and almond flour. These just might become your new favorite holiday cookie, too!

Is Molasses Vegan?

Molasses is made from the sugar production process where refined sugarcane or sugar beets are boiled to separate the sugar crystals from the liquid. Molasses is the thick, dark brown syrup-like liquid leftover from this process.

Similar to granulated sugars, molasses does not contain any animal products, but it can be considered not vegan due to the process in which it is made. After the molasses is separated from the sugar crystals, the sugar crystals are often processed through bone char to bleach it the classic white color. Although the molasses is not technically processed through bone char, this can be too close for comfort for some vegans.

To ensure your molasses is vegan, use organic molasses. Organic sugars are not bleached white and therefore do not use any bone char during production.
In addition to these vegan molasses cookies, you may also enjoy our other vegan-friendly recipes that contain molasses: Homemade Gingerbread Loaf, Vegan Gingerbread Cookies, Date-Sweetened Vegan Gingerbread Loaf, or our savory Crispy Mini Meatless Pies.

Ingredients You’ll Need

ingredients for ginger molasses cookies laid out on white board

Flaxseed: These vegan cookies are made with flax egg as a simple egg replacer. Make sure to use ground flaxseed, not whole flaxseeds.
Vegan butter: The key to making soft and chewy vegan ginger molasses cookies is to use softened vegan butter. Leave the butter out for 15-30 minutes before making this recipe to soften it up a bit and make it easier to cream with the sugar.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar compliments the rich, bold flavors in the molasses, and makes these cookies extra soft. Opt for organic brown sugar to ensure it is vegan.
Unsulphured molasses: For this recipe, you will need unsulphured molasses, NOT blackstrap molasses (blackstrap molasses is much more bitter and is not well suited for making cookies.
Vanilla: The sweet warmth of vanilla extract compliments the spices and molasses in these cookies and is the perfect addition.
Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour and almond flour for this recipe and highly recommend that blend if you are going to keep it gluten-free for best results. If you are not gluten-free, based on our experience with other recipes, we think that all purpose flour should work well.
Spices: These ginger molasses cookies call for 2 teaspoons of ground ginger which may seem like a lot but trust us! The ginger is what makes this recipe what it is and brings it to life so don’t skimp out on it! You’ll also need ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Baking soda: We used baking soda as the leavening agent in these cookies to alkalize some of the bitterness in the molasses and help these cookies brown into beautifully dark molasses cookies.
Granulated Sugar: Finishing these vegan ginger molasses cookies off by rolling them in sugar gives them their signature crunchy coating and is what makes this cookie recipe so special! If you love cookies rolled in sugar, you’ll love our Vegan Ube Sugar Cookies.

Equipment Needed

1 large, 1 medium and 1 small mixing bowl
Hand mixer or whisk
Baking sheets
Spatula or mixing spoon
Parchment paper or silicone mats
Flat bottomed cup (if not, you can use your hands)
Cooling rack

How to Make Vegan & Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies

Make a flax egg. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and water and set aside to thicken, about 10 minutes.
Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, add in the gluten-free flour, almond flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Mix together until uniform and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl or stand mixer, add in the softened vegan butter and brown sugar and cream together with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add in the remaining wet ingredients. Once the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy, add the flax egg, unsulphured molasses and vanilla. Beat again until uniform.
Add the dry ingredients. Slowly add in the dry mixture and mix until everything is uniform.
Place the remaining sugar in a bowl. Add the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar into a small bowl. This is what we are going to use to coat the ginger molasses cookies with.
Roll the cookie dough balls. Using a 1 ½ tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the dough and roll into balls. Roll each vegan molasses cookie in the remaining granulated sugar, then place them on the lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Flatten the cookies. Using a flat bottomed cup or the palm of your hands, press down the cookies lightly until the tops are flat.
Bake. Bake the vegan ginger molasses cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until golden on the edges and soft and chewy in the center.
Cool. Allow the vegan ginger molasses cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then remove and transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

overhead shot of vegan ginger molasses cookies on a white speckled tray

Storage and Freezing Instructions

Baked vegan ginger molasses cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The ginger molasses cookie dough can also be frozen unbaked for simple cookie baking in the future. Simply follow the recipe instructions through step 8. Before rolling the molasses cookie dough balls in sugar, place them on the lined baking sheet and stick the baking sheet in the freezer. Flash freeze the dough balls for 3-4 hours or until solid. Once frozen, transfer the molasses cookie dough balls to a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to bake, remove the desired number of vegan ginger molasses cookie dough balls from the freezer and allow them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, roll the cookies in granulated sugar and bake as normal!

More Vegan Cookie Recipes You May Enjoy:

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!