Indulge in the holiday spirit with our Chewy Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies - soft, chewy, and bursting with festive spices. Perfect for your holiday cookie tin!
It's time for holiday baking with the perfect holiday cookie that's gluten free, refined sugar free (no brown sugar or white sugar in this cookie recipe), vegan (with flax egg) and paleo friendly, like my chocolate fudge tahini cookies and flourless almond butter cookies.
As the holiday season approaches, fill your home with the irresistible aroma of freshly baked cookies that everyone will love! Ready in under 30 minutes, no chilling required, plus they're dairy free! The ultimate holiday treat that's bound to win over any crowd!
These gluten-free almond flour cookies are perfect for your holiday cookie exchange, and are an invitation to celebrate the season with every chewy, spiced bit.
So gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and let's create a batch of cookies that capture the essence of the holidays, Christmas, or simply to pair with a warm cup of cocoa.
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Why You'll Love this recipe
- Festive flavors: a delightful blend of warm spices for that perfect holiday taste in gluten-free cookies. Ginger molasses is a classic holiday flavor.
- One bowl: the easiest kind of recipe, and the best part is less dishes, especially if you weigh your ingredients!
- Under 30 minutes: quick to whip up and bake, these no-chill chewy molasses cookies will become your favorite cookies!
- Soft and chewy: experience the joy of bite-after-bite of irresistibly chewy cookies.
- Versatile: ideal for holiday cookie tins, exchanges, or cozy evenings by the fireplace.
Serve these chewy ginger molasses cookies alongside these peppermint coconut macaroons, chocolate covered raspberry bites or this delicious low sugar carrot cake.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make gluten free ginger molasses cookies:
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour adds a nutty richness to the cookies and is a great gluten free alternative to all purpose flour. I like to use Bob's Red Mill super-fine blanched almond flour, not almond meal.
- Coconut flour gives a nice crumb and makes the cookie a little more dense, like in this banana bread recipe.
- Blackstrap molasses infuses a distinct, richer more robust molasses flavor, though any molasses will work.
- Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener that complements the spices.
- Warm spices like ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice for that festive touch.
See recipe card below for all ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- For a nut-free option, try using tiger nut flour, it's slightly sweet, nutty and earthy in flavor, similar to almond flour.
- Swap ground ginger for a tablespoon of fresh ginger like in these ginger apple muffins.
- Use a flax egg for a vegan option: 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water; let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Coconut sugar can be substituted with equal amounts of maple syrup. The dough will be slightly stickier and may need to be refrigerated before baking. Or swap with Lakanto Golden Monkfruit sweetener.
- You can try to substitute vegan butter for coconut oil though it may not be a 1:1 swap so you'll need to experiment to reach the desired texture.
- Try adding dark chocolate chunks for a tasty twist.
- Next time try rolling the dough in maple sugar.
I have not tested this recipe with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please share how it turned out in the comments below!
How to Make Almond Flour Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add coconut oil, coconut sugar, molasses, egg and vanilla extract to a large or medium bowl.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda and sea salt.
- Mix until well combined and a dough forms. Let sit for a few minutes for flours to absorb liquids.
- Add extra coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener, or both to a small bowl for rolling cookie dough.
- With cookie scoop, scoop dough into your hands and roll into balls. Roll through coconut sugar and place on cookie sheet.
- Gently flatten to about ¼-inch thickness. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
Hint: Resting dough for a few minutes before handling allows flours to absorb liquid, soften, thicken and reduces stickiness.
Expert Tips
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature for the best results.
- I like to use parchment paper on the cookie sheet for easy cookie removal and cleanup.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- Feel free to shape the cookies to your liking, but keep in mind that they won't spread while baking.
- For optimal results, I recommend weighing the ingredients when making these delicious cookies.
Common Questions
I don't recommend trying different flours like a gluten-free flour blend, as I have not tested the recipe with other flours. The only substitution I would suggest is to use tiger nut flour in place of almond flour for a nut free cookie. Tigernut flour brings a naturally sweet and nutty flavor. It also provides a slightly coarser texture, bringing a pleasant crunch to cookies.
While there's no exact substitute for molasses, you can try maple syrup or honey, though you will not have the same caramel-like flavor. I have not tested the recipe with these substitutes.
This recipe is designed for drop cookies, but you can experiment with rolling the dough and using cookie cutters. Adjust the baking time accordingly, checking around 6 or 7 minutes.
Storage
- Make the cookie dough ahead of time, and refrigerate for a few hour or overnight. This can enhance the flavor and make it easier to handle.
Once cookies are baked, store in an airtight container at room temperature for two day, or in the fridge for up to a week. - To freeze, place in an single layer in an airtight container or zip-top bag, separating layers with parchment paper. Freeze for up to three months.
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Recipe
Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies
Equipment
- 1 large bowl
- 1 small bowl
- 1 cookie sheet or baking sheet
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (56 grams) unrefined coconut oil, melted and cooled
- ¼ cup (38 grams) coconut sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 3 tablespoons molasses, I use blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg at room temperature, or 1 flax egg*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup (144 grams) blanched almond flour, extra fine
- ¼ cup (32 grams) coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger, or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil, coconut sugar, molasses, egg and vanilla.
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined and dough forms.
- Add extra coconut sugar or monkfruit sweetener to a small bowl for rolling cookie dough.
- With a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop cookie dough into your hand and roll into a ball.
- Roll cookie dough balls in coconut sugar and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Gently flatten the dough with your hand or bottom of a glass to about ¼-inch thick. Cookies will not spread in oven.
- Repeat until all dough is finished, scraping sides of bowl with rubber spatula to scoop up all the goodness.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before tranferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- For best results, ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
- I recommend weighing the ingredients when making these delicious cookies.
- *Use a flax egg for a vegan option: 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water; let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for two days and in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Julia Straford
I LOVED these cookies. Unbelievably good! Perfect for the holiday season and my family had a lot of fun making them together.
Highly recommend!
Jacqui Wilson
Hi Julia,
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies. We love them too!