Name: Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Light Buckwheat Flour; 1 cup Sorghum Flour; 1/3 cup Coconut Flour; 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda; 1 tsp Cinnamon; 1 tsp Ground Cloves; 1 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Xanthan Gum; ½ tsp Baking Powder; 3/4 cup Butter (softened); ½ cup Brown Sugar (packed); 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar; ½ cup Molasses; 1 Tbsp Milk; 2 Large Eggs; 2 tsp Vanilla extract; Additional sugar for dipping

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These soft, chewy gluten free ginger molasses cookies are one of my favourite gluten-free cookies. They definitely do justice to my gramma's original recipe - which they were inspired by!

Growing up, my grandmother made fabulous chewy ginger molasses cookies.

We always called them "Gingersnap cookies", and it wasn't til I was an adult that I realized that was actually incorrect.

I always kind of thought it was a bit weird to refer to these soft ginger molasses cookies with a word like “snaps”, but I digress...

I’ve never been one for the crispier version of these cookies. When it comes to ginger cookies, I just love the soft, chewy molasses cookies!

They’re almost like soft gingerbread cookies!, but without the need for cookie cutters.

She made the best ginger molasses cookies - chewy cookies with crisp edges, crackly tops, and just the right amount of spices.

Her ginger molasses cookies recipe was my gold standard for soft molasses cookies, RIGHT up until my body decided that gluten was the enemy!

Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies

As one of my favorite cookies ever, it was only natural that this particular recipe was the first cookie recipe I decided to make over as a gluten-free version.

With the holiday season coming up, I figure it’s about time to share my recipe!

They may not be Christmas cookies specifically, but I definitely think of them as “belonging” to this time of year.

These gluten free ginger molasses cookies definitely pass for the real thing, and do justice to her recipe - the same soft middles, crispy edge, and hit of warm spices.

It’s a holiday favorite around here, and always a welcome addition to any cookie exchange.

The best thing is that the taste and texture are exactly like the original - they don’t look, feel, or taste anything like people tend to think gluten free cookies are about.

So, you can make one batch and feed the crowd - those who are gluten free, AND those who aren’t - and they’ll all love these cookies!

Anyway, let’s get to it.

I’m not dissing gingerbread at all though, I make the BEST gluten-free gingerbread cookies! Here’s my Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe!

Ingredients

If you’ve done any of my gluten free baking recipes, these should all be really familiar, simple ingredients for you.

Most should be easy to find in any grocery store, and the couple that may be a bit more difficult to find are the BEST ones to work with - and great to have on hand!

A few notes for you:

Gluten Free Flour Mix

As with all of my gluten free baking, I prefer to use individual flours- chosen and proportioned to the specific recipe I’m designing - rather than any kind of “all purpose” gluten free flour mix.

None of those work like actual all purpose flour does, and all try to be “good enough” for everything.

Personally, I prefer my flour to be perfect *for the specific thing* - which you really only get with individual flours.

I like to compare it to spices.

You can buy an “all purpose” seasoning, like Mrs Dash. It’ll do a pretty OK job on most things, a good job on some, and just really not be an appropriate choice for others.

Or you can have a spice rack, and have endless possibilities!

Anyway, enough preaching from me...

For this recipe, I use my standard “sweet” flour ingredients, which is in the bulk of my sweet baked goods:

Light Buckwheat Flour
Sorghum Flour
Coconut Flour
Xanthan Gum

You can’t go wrong having these flours on hand - they’re great for everything from cookies, to muffins, quick breads, and more!

Molasses

Molasses aren’t something I tend to keep on hand, so I’ve made this gluten-free ginger molasses cookie recipe with basically every kind of Molasses over the years.

The brands vary slightly between Canada and the USA, and I’ve used everything from store brand regular molasses, to brand name a href="https://amzn.to/3uJmy08" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_new">Grandma's Brand Molasses), etc

They MOSTLY all work well in this recipe.

Ideally, use unsulphured molasses, as they taste better (most brands are unsulphured).

Light molasses won’t have as robust a flavour as dark molasses do - if you really love that rich molasses flavour, use dark!

Beyond that, I wouldn’t recommend using Blackstrap Molasses - it’s more bitter, and better used for savory cooking.

Great in baked beans, not so much for cookies!

Milk

I say “milk” in this recipe, but you can really use any kind of milk-like product you want.

When I first designed this recipe, I was using dairy milk - 2% milk, specifically.

Several years ago, I switched over to using Unsweetened Almond Milk for pretty much everything.

You’re using so little of it in this recipe - just enough to bring a little extra hydration to the dough. Whatever milk you like, use it!

Everything Else

Rounding out this gluten free ginger molasses cookie recipe, you will need:

Room temperature butter
Dark Brown Sugar
Granulated Sugar
Large Eggs
Pure Vanilla Extract
Baking Soda
Cinnamon
Ground Cloves
Ground Ginger
Salt
Baking Powder

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!

How to Make Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, spices, salt, xanthan gum, and baking power. Set aside.

In a separate bowl - the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl if you’re using an hand mixer - cream butter and sugars on high speed until fluffy.

Add molasses, eggs, and vanilla extract, beat on medium speed until everything is fully incorporated and smooth - scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times, along the way.

Add the milk, beat once again until smooth.

Turn your mixer down to low speed. Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients, carefully mixing until well incorporated and smooth.

Gather dough into a smooth ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C), line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, roll into 1 ½" cookie dough balls. You can use a cookie scoop to do this, if you like - I tend to!

Dip 1 side of each gluten free cookie dough ball into sugar, and place sugar side up on a prepared baking sheet.

Be sure to leave at least 2" between cookies - they flatten out a fair amount.

Lightly press the tops of each gluten free cookie dough ball to flatten slightly - just enough to prevent rolling around.

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cookies will be golden brown and look puffy, but flatten out as they cool.

Do not over bake - take the baking time as a suggestion only!

Allow baked cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, before transferring to a cooling rack, if you’d like.

Once cooled to room temperature, cookies can be stored in an airtight container for a week or so on the counter, longer if in the fridge.

More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes!

Looking for even more recipes for fantastic gluten free cookies that *everyone* will love? Look no further!

... and there’s even more - be sure to check out our Gluten-Free Cookies and Bars recipe section!

Sugar Free Cookie Recipes

Looking for options that are both sugar free AND gluten free? Check out these options on my low carb blog, Low Carb Hoser:

Low Carb Apple Pie Cookies
Keto Biscotti
Low Carb Candy Cane Cookies
Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Chocolate Protein Cookies
Low Carb Gingerbread Cookies
Keto Ladyfingers
Low Carb Lemon Cookies
Keto Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Low Carb Peanut Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Pecan Pie Cookies
Low Carb Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Keto Rolled Sugar Cookies
Low Carb Snickerdoodles
Keto Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Free Royal Icing
Keto Triple Chocolate Cookies

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A plate of gluten-free ginger molasses cookies.

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5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies

These soft, chewy gluten free ginger molasses cookies are one of my favour gluten-free cookies. The do justice to my gramma's original recipe!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Chilling time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: British, Holiday

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 154kcal

Equipment

2 Baking Sheets
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

1 cup Light Buckwheat Flour
1 cup Sorghum Flour
⅓ cup Coconut Flour
1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ cup Butter softened
½ cup Brown Sugar packed
½ cup Granulated Sugar
½ cup Molasses
1 tablespoon Milk
2 Large Eggs
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Additional sugar for dipping

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, spices, salt, xanthan gum, and baking power. Set aside.
In a separate bowl - the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl if you’re using an electric hand mixer - cream butter and sugars on high speed until fluffy.
Add molasses, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is fully incorporated and smooth - scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times, along the way. Add the milk, beat once again until smooth.
Turn your mixer down to low speed. Slowly add the dry ingredients mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients, carefully mixing until well incorporated and smooth.
Gather into a smooth ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C), line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, roll into 1.5" cookie dough balls.
Dip 1 side of each gluten free cookie dough ball into sugar, and place sugar side up on a prepared baking sheet. Lightly press the tops of each to flatten slightly - just enough to prevent rolling around.
Be sure to leave at least 2" between cookies - they flatten out a fair amount.
Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cookies will be golden brown and look puffy, but flatten out as they cool. Do not over bake - take the baking time as a suggestion only!
Allow baked cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Notes

Once cooled to room temperature, cookies can be stored in an airtight container for a week or so on the counter, longer if in the fridge.

Nutrition