These holiday vegan ginger cookies are naturally sweetened with maple syrup and molasses. Spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, they’re full of the warm spices of the season.
The warm fragrance of ginger during the holiday season always puts me in the mood for everything Christmas!
I want to snuggle up on the couch with my fuzzy socks and flannel pajamas, wrap myself in a throw blanket, and settle in for one of those Hallmark holiday movies while I sip on vegan hot chocolate and a small plate of vegan Christmas cookies for dunking!
That is what the holidays are all about for me! If I can get my two boys to sit still long enough to give me a good cuddle while we watch a movie…well, then that’s just about as good as life gets!
These vegan ginger cookies are the perfect dessert for those lazy winter days leading up to the holidays! I love baking anything and everything ginger during this time of year!
I’ve made my vegan ginger cake, and my vegan gingerbread loaf, and now I have these healthy, guilt-free vegan ginger cookies to add to the list!
They’re on the healthier side too, as far as cookies go! They’re refined sugar-free, and oil-free, and made with whole wheat flour instead of refined flour! They can also easily be made gluten-free.
But they’re not missing any flavor! Maple syrup and molasses adds a subtle sweetness, while the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg make a bold flavor statement!
They’re perfect for dunking in tea, almond milk, or hot cocoa. These cookies are sure to disappear this holiday season!
Why you’ll love these Vegan Ginger Cookies…
- Healthy whole food plant-based ingredients.
- Oil-Free
- Refined Sugar Free
- Gluten-Free option
- Packed with warm spices
- Not overpoweringly sweet
- Perfect for a holiday cookie exchange, homemade gift, or Christmas party dessert!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
- Medium and Large Mixing Bowls
- Hand Mixer
- Spatula
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Cookie Scoop
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
For the Wet Ingredients: These cookies use almond butter instead of vegan butter to create moisture. I recommend using a raw almond butter rather than a roasted almond butter because it has a more subtle flavor. Molasses and maple syrup are used instead of refined sugars to give these cookies a gentle sweetened flavor.
For the Dry Ingredients: Sift together white whole wheat flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. This helps to evenly distribute the ingredients throughout for an even bake. It also results in a lighter, chewier cookie.
How to Make Vegan Ginger Cookies – Step by Step
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl blend together the almond butter, maple syrup, molasses, and almond milk using a hand mixer.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, beating in between with a hand mixer, until all flour has been added and the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined. The dough will be stiff. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. While dough is chilling pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Step 4: Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten the balls with your hand. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottom of cookie is a light golden brown.
Step 5: Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Top Tips for Making Vegan Ginger Cookies
- When measuring out the flour use a spoon to fill your measuring cup, rather than scooping the flour out of the flour bag. The flour can be packed in the bag, which will result in more flour than you actually need. This will ultimately result in a dense cookie.
- Make sure oven is preheated. Since the dough requires a chill time, I recommend preheating the oven once you put the dough in the refrigerator to chill.
- Lightly press the cookies down to create flattened circles after you roll the dough into balls. If you skip this step the cookies will be rounded balls, rather than flat circular cookies.
Are these ginger cookies healthy?
As far as cookies go, these are on the healthier side. They use all natural ingredients and don’t use any processed oils or butters! They are completely whole food plant-based compliant.
They are made with white whole wheat flour for added fiber, maple syrup and molasses for natural sweetness, and almond butter as a substitute for oil or vegan butters.
Each cookie has about 122 calories, 3 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber.
What is the difference between molasses cookies and ginger cookies?
The main difference between molasses cookies and gingersnap cookies is that molasses cookies are soft and chewy, while gingersnaps are crispy in texture.
This ginger cookie is something in between. It’s not quite a gingersnap, and it’s not a molasses cookie. It has a softer texture than a gingersnap, but not quite as chewy as a molasses cookie.
Recipe FAQS
Variations and Substitutions
Gluten-Free: For a gluten-free cookie substitute the white whole wheat flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend such as this Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Flour.
Add more spices: If you prefer even bolder flavors in your cookies, I recommend doubling the amount of ginger to 1 tsp, and add ¼ teaspoon of allspice, and/or ¼ teaspoon of cloves.
No almond butter? You can sub the almond butter for cashew butter. I don’t recommend using peanut butter because it has a very distinct flavor that takes away from the ginger of these cookies.
How to Store and Keep
After the cookies have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container. Store at room temperature in a cool dry place. They will keep for 3-5 days.
How to Serve
I enjoy serving these cookies with a glass of cold almond milk, or a cup of spiced ginger tea!
If you want to to dress them up a bit, dust them with powdered sugar, or top them with a vegan vanilla frosting, and decorate them with holiday sprinkles!
Check out these other vegan holiday treats!
- Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
- Vegan Shortbread Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
- Vegan Cranberry Cookies with Pistachios
- Christmas Fruit Platter
- No-Bake Vegan Snowball Cookies
- Christmas Chocolate Bark
- Vegan Peppermint Bark
If you’ve tried these Vegan Ginger Cookies please rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Recipe
Vegan Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- â…“ cup almond butter raw is best
- ½ cup maple syrup
- â…“ cup molasses
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl blend together the almond butter, maple syrup, molasses, and almond milk using a hand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, beating in between with a hand mixer, until all flour has been added and the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. While dough is chilling pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten the balls with your hand. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottom of cookie is a light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- When measuring out the flour use a spoon to fill your measuring cup, rather than scooping the flour out of the flour bag. The flour can be packed in the bag, which will result in you measuring out more flour than you actually need. This will ultimately result in a more dense cookie.
- Make sure oven is preheated. Since the dough requires a chill time, I recommend preheating the oven once you put the dough in the refrigerator to chill.
- Lightly press the cookies down to create flattened circles after you roll the dough into balls. If you skip this step the cookies will be rounded balls, rather than flat circular cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool dry place. They will keep for 3-5 days.
Chenée Lewis
The flavors in these cookies are amazing! And so perfect for the fall and holidays coming up!
Laura
These cookies are so good. They take me back to childhood when my mom used to make ginger cookies for us. I think the maple syrup really elevates them.
Maria
Our kind of bonding with the kids are cooking together. Another activity for them, I’m so excited to try this!<3
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain
These are simply amazing! I am quite the Ginger Ninja myself:)
Shelley
These are a serious nutritional upgrade from regular ginger cookies, full of almond butter and whole wheat flour, and no refined sugar. Makes total senes to use maple syrup, too – it’s the perfect flavor match for the other wonderful spices in these delicious cookies!