Vegan Ginger Cookies (Chewy & Easy Recipe!)

Name: Vegan Ginger Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup dark brown sugar; ½ cup neutral oil (canola, sunflower, vegetable); ½ cup unsweetened applesauce; ¼ cup molasses; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour; 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons cane sugar or turbinado sugar (for rolling)

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Let's make these vegan ginger cookies! With the perfect balance of spices, a chewy texture, and richness from molasses, these yummy cookies are a must-make for the holiday season!

A stack of three chewy ginger cookies, the top one with a bite out.

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Ingredient tips
Step by step pictures
Substitutions and variations
Serving
Storage
FAQs
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Recipe

If you're looking for the perfect holiday cookie to add to your Christmas cookie platter, then look no further!

These big chewy cookies have a delightfully crunchy sugar coating that will keep the whole family coming back for more.

And they will fill the kitchen with the most delicious smell of holiday spices!

These chewy vegan ginger cookies are:

Rich
Tender
Aromatic
Comforting
Easy to make
Super tasty
Plus, they're dairy-free, eggless and nut-free

Ingredient tips

Here’s everything you need to make these chewy vegan ginger spice cookies:

Ingredients: all purpose flour, oil, brown sugar, molasses, applesauce, salt, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and cane sugar.

Oil: Use a neutral flavored oil such as canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil.

Sugar: For the best texture and flavor I use two types of sugar in this cookie recipe. For the cookie dough, dark brown sugar gives a rich flavor and moist texture. And for the coating, you'll want to use a coarse sugar such as cane sugar, turbinado sugar or granulated sugar to get a good crunch. To ensure vegan friendliness, choose an organic or certified vegan brand of sugar.

Molasses: Opt for an unsulphured molasses. I used dark molasses in these cookies. You could also use blackstrap molasses which will give a stronger and slightly more bitter flavor.

Applesauce: Helps to keep the cookies soft. Use unsweetened applesauce, made from just apples. You can use homemade applesauce too, but you may need to adjust the texture of the dough depending on the thickness of your homemade applesauce.

Step by step pictures

Here’s how to make these irresistible vegan molasses cookies:

Full detailed recipe and quantities are in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Mixing the sugar and wet ingredients in a bowl.

Step 1 - In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients - oil, brown sugar, molasses, and applesauce. Beat until well combined.

Mixing the spices and wet ingredients in a bowl.

Step 2 - Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Stirring in flour to make the dough in a bowl.

Step 3 - Stir in the dry ingredients - flour, salt, and baking soda until incorporated. Chill for 30 minutes.

Twelve sugar coated balls of cookie dough on a lined baking sheet.

Step 4 - Roll dough into balls, coat in sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tip: For even sized cookies you can use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough before rolling.

Twelve freshly baked ginger cookies on a lined baking sheet.

Step 5 - Bake at 375°F/190°C for 9-11 minutes. Tap the cookie sheet on the counter to settle the cookies.

Vicky's Top Tip!
The dough should be thick but still soft.

For the perfect consistency, weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale, or measure your flour with the spoon and level method, as over-measuring flour will create a dry dough.

If your dough is too stiff, add 1-2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk.

Substitutions and variations

Gluten-Free Option: I haven't tried a gluten-free option, but if you want to try it, you can substitute the flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum.

Refined Sugar-Free: If you want to you can replace the sugar with coconut sugar, however, this will affect the final texture of the cookies and the coating won't be so crisp.

For extra fiery flavor, you can use 2 tablespoons of finely grated fresh ginger as an alternative to ground ginger or add ¼ - ½ a cup chopped crystallized ginger to the cookie dough.

Icing: As an alternative to the crunchy coating of sugar, you can drizzle a simple glaze made with powdered sugar and lemon juice on top of the cookie when they have cooled.

Serving

The cookies will still be soft when they come out of the oven, so let them cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before placing on a cooling rack. Or in your mouth 🙂

I really like these vegan ginger spice cookies with herbal tea for a cozy winter afternoon snack!

Vegan ginger cookies on a wire cooling rack.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Always store them separately from other cookies so the spiced flavor doesn't transfer.

To freeze the cookies, let them cool completely and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container lined with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 1 month and thaw at room temperature.

You can also freeze the dough in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.

The crunchy sugar coating of the cookie can be seen as it cools on a wire rack.

FAQs

How do I prevent cookies from spreading too much?

Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes helps prevent excessive spreading. Adding too much liquid can also cause spreading, so measure carefully. There's no need to flatten the balls before baking and always make sure only to put the cookies in the oven when it has finished preheating.

I hope you love these vegan ginger molasses cookies as much as I do! They're featured in our collection of 50 Delicious Vegan Christmas Cookies Everyone Will Love! - be sure to have a look for more baking inspo! Or try these:

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (Lebkuchen)

Vegan Almond Butter Cookies

Vegan Vanilla Crescent Cookies

Vegan Walnut Shortbread

Recipe