These gluten-free ginger molasses cookies are the ultimate holiday cookies! They're packed with cozy flavors like cinnamon, ginger, and molasses, with perfectly chewy centers and crisp edges. Perfect for Christmas cookie boxes.
Jump to:
- You'll Love These Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies!
- Recipe Testing Notes
- Ingredients for Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Helpful Equipment
- How To Make Gluten-Free Ginger Cookies
- How A Slight Change Makes For A Softer, More Cake-Like Cookie.
- Keep Them Fresh!
- More Gluten-Free Cookies to Fill Your Cookie Tray!
- Top Recipe Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Even More Gluten-Free Cookies!
- Still Hungry? Subscribe Here!
- Recipe
- Comments and Ratings
You'll Love These Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies!
Gingerbread men are cute and all, but these cookies? They're next-level holiday magic! Packed with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, these gluten-free molasses cookies deliver all the warm, cozy flavors you love in a chewy cookie with crisp edges-kind of like the perfect mash-up of a snickerdoodle and a gingerbread cookie.
The best part? They're super easy to make with no dough chilling required, so you can whip up a batch in no time. Enjoy them just as they are, or dress them up with a drizzle of white chocolate and festive sprinkles for extra holiday cheer. These cookies are bound to be a new holiday favorite!
If you love chewy cookies, try my gluten-free double chocolate cookies and these gluten-free pumpkin oatmeal cookies, too! This list of gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes has everything you need for holiday baking!
Recipe Testing Notes
- To achieve those perfectly crinkled cookies, the combination of baking powder and baking soda is key. Baking powder gives the dough a slight puff as it bakes, while baking soda encourages the cookies to spread. As they cool, this balance creates the beautiful cracked texture without making the cookies too flat.
- Speaking of cracks, I noticed that cookies baked on a silicone mat didn't develop the same cracked texture as those baked on parchment paper. Silicone mats insulate the baking surface, preventing the bottoms of the cookies from getting hot enough for rapid spreading. Without that quick spread and puff, the cookies don't form those dramatic cracks. For the best results, stick with parchment paper!
Ingredients for Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend: Use a 1:1 flour designed for baking that includes xanthan gum, or add your own. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure flour in the testing of this recipe so that is my recommendation if you want to achieve similar results. I did not test with Bob's Red Mill, as I prefer King Arthur.
- Granulated sugar: Because molasses is already a key ingredient in this recipe, I chose white granulated sugar instead of light brown sugar. Granulated sugar helps give these cookies a nice crisp texture, while the center is still soft and chewy.
- Spices: Ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves add so much flavor and warmth.
- Molasses: Molasses is naturally gluten-free. I did not use blackstrap molasses, just regular unsulfured molasses that I found at my local grocery store.
- Butter: Use room temperature salted or unsalted butter. Many people debate about this topic but I've honestly never noticed a big difference in my baking between the two. I did not test a dairy-free substitute in this recipe. Vegan butter, like earth balance vegan buttery sticks, may work well in this recipe but I haven't tried it.
- Egg: I use large eggs in my baking. Make sure to also bring it to room temperature with your butter to ensure proper mixing.
- Baking powder and baking soda: If it has been a year or more since you've replaced these ingredients, you should get fresh ones. The leavening power can diminish over time.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is gluten-free. I have found the best prices on vanilla extract at my local Costco! I shop there regularly for even more gluten-free finds!
*Refer to the recipe card for full ingredient information.
Helpful Equipment
- Electric Mixer: I like to use some sort of mixer to ensure even and proper mixing of the ingredients. This recipe works well with either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Cookie Sheets: Use light colored cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for the best results! Avoid silicone mats for this recipe.
- Cookie Scoops: A small cookie scoop or medium cookie scoop ensures evenly sized cookies.
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How To Make Gluten-Free Ginger Cookies
- Whisk the dry ingredients-gluten-free flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt-together in a small mixing bowl.
- Next cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer-or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment-until light. Just a minute or two.
- Blend in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion evenly sized dough balls.
- Gently roll each cookie dough ball in your hands to round it out then roll the ball in granulated sugar before placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place the cookies in the center of a pre-heated oven and bake according to recipe instructions below.
- Allow the cookies to cool a few minutes on the baking sheet to set before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, you can leave the cookies on the wire rack and drizzle them with melted white chocolate. Immediately add a few sprinkles for a festive finish!
How A Slight Change Makes For A Softer, More Cake-Like Cookie.
If you're curious about baking science and how small changes can make a big difference in your baking, I thought you'd like to see this! Mixing more air into your cookies can create an entirely different texture without changing the ingredients at all.
If you cream the butter and sugar for a few extra minutes, until very light and fluffy, and mix the molasses and egg into the batter a bit longer than normal, the result will be a softer, more cake-like version of these cookies.
The extra air incorporated into the dough gives them a lighter, fluffier texture. Check out the difference below-you can see these cookies are much thicker and I can attest they were also softer and not as chewy!
Keep Them Fresh!
Store these gluten-free molasses cookies tightly sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days to keep them soft and fresh.
If you want to save them for a longer period, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
Place them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper; remove as much air as possible from the bag-a vacuum sealer is a great option!
When ready to enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature, and they'll taste just as delicious as the day they were baked!
More Gluten-Free Cookies to Fill Your Cookie Tray!
Top Recipe Tips
- Cookie scoop size: You can use either a 1-Tablespoon or 1.5-Tablespoon sized cookie scoop, depending on your preference. The smaller 1-tablespoon size produces more cookies, making it ideal for a holiday cookie exchange. The larger 1.5-Tablespoon scoop gives you a slightly bigger cookie, with even chewier centers and crisp edges that feel like a real treat.
- Don't over bake: The cookies will continue to cook and set up a bit as they cool, so if you want that chewy texture-don't over bake! The center should look set and the edges lightly browned.
- For the best results: Measure ingredients by weight using a digital kitchen scale. Click the "metric" button on the recipe card to access these measurements. Ingredients with smaller amounts (less than 10 grams) are listed in teaspoons.
- Most of my cookie recipes are smaller batch recipes. If you need a large quantity for the holidays, be sure to check the recipe card for approximate yield and adjust the batch accordingly. Clicking the 2x button will double the recipe for you!
Recipe FAQs
No, this recipe was not designed for rolling into gingerbread men. I would recommend looking for a recipe designed for that, since the dough is likely stiffer and the resulting cookie more crisp.
This recipe is all about the molasses. If you don't like that flavor, I would recommend you try my gluten-free snickerdoodle recipe! It's more like a sugar cookie with a hint of cinnamon.
No, this recipe is not designed for these flours which will behave very differently than the gluten-free baking flour blends. If you'd like to bake with those flours, I recommend looking for a recipe that calls for it in the ingredients.
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Recipe
Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar (plus ½ cup for rolling)
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup gluten-free flour blend
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ½ cup white chocolate (optional for decoration)
- festive sprinkles (optional for decoration)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream ½ cup butter and ½ cup granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup molasses, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cup gluten-free flour blend, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon table salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, blending on low speed until well combined. Don't over-mix.
- Use a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough. Gently roll each scoop into a ball, then roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are just set.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until they firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To add a festive touch, place ½ cup white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth and melted. Use a fork or piping bag to drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled cookies. Immediately add festive sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet so they stick. Let the chocolate set at room temperature before stacking.
Notes
Nutrition
* Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should be used as an estimate only. See the nutrition policy for more information.
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Amy F says
We absolutely loved these cookies. They'll be our go-to GF for the family. I've also made the chocolate cookies and had fantastic results. I can't wait to try all of them as we've never had this good of an outcome with other gf recipes. Thanks!
Katie Olesen says
I'm so happy you are enjoying the recipes, Amy! You should try the peanut butter ones next!
Dee says
These cookies were easy to make and scoop. They are a bit too salty for me; 1/4 tsp would probably have been enough. Also, mine did not spread at all. I ended up with tasty cookie balls.
Lucy says
These are perfect— I’m testing Christmas cookies and for whatever reason I’ve never made ginger snaps. Possibly because most I’ve eaten are harder than we like, so I’m very grateful that you included a tip for softer cookies on creaming the butter/sugar a few minutes longer, which I followed with great results! They’re crisp on the edge but tender in the raised middle just exactly as my family prefers. We sampled a few after we baked the whole recipe, but have wrapped and frozen the rest for our family party in a couple weeks!
Katie Olesen says
I am so glad that tip was helpful and that you enjoyed the cookies!
Kathy says
These are so good!
Frankie says
Followed the recipe to the T (using the weights! Thank YOU for that) and omg these are my new favorite Holiday Cookies!