These vegan ginger cookies are super crunchy and made in a ‘gingersnap’ style for a perfect holiday cookie. Packed with ginger flavor.
I’ve long been a fan of ginger cookies and specifically gingersnap cookies. I love crunchy cookies so we based this recipe on a classic crunchy gingersnap cookie.
A gingersnap cookie (as opposed to a regular ginger cookie) needs to be crunchy, so that it ‘snaps’ when you bite into it or break it in half.
It’s the classic crunchy cookie, basically. So of course these cookies need to have some snap. And they definitely do.
Of course if you prefer your cookies super soft then check out our vegan molasses cookies. They’re similar to these but soft and chewy instead of snappy and crunchy.
And if you love all things ginger then also check out our classic vegan gingerbread cookies, vegan gingerbread loaf and our vegan gingerbread cake.
How To Make Vegan Ginger Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add vegan butter and brown sugar to your stand mixer and cream them together.
- Add molasses and vanilla extract and mix in.
- Sift all purpose flour into a bowl and add baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir in with a spoon until crumbly.
- Add 2 Tbsp non-dairy milk and mix. You should get a very thick cookie dough. However, if you still have crumbles and it’s not yet sticking together then add another 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk. Only do this if you really need it though.
- Break off pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Place them evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray. Aim to get 20 cookies from the batch.
- Roll the balls in white granulated sugar and return to the parchment lined tray.
- Flatten the cookies with a fork.
- Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. If you want them more on the softer side then bake for 10 minutes, if you want more snap/crunch then bake for 12 minutes and if you want them super crunchy then you can bake them for up to 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
- The cookies will be soft when they come out the oven. Allow them to cool and firm up directly on the tray before moving them.
Ingredient Notes
Vegan Butter: Only a quarter cup of vegan butter is used in this recipe, but it’s the perfect amount for this recipe. It’s possible that you could substitute it for coconut oil (solid form). We haven’t tested this with coconut oil but this is based on reader feedback in other cookie recipes.
Molasses: The molasses should be unsulphured molasses. Grandma’s is a good brand if it’s available to you otherwise just use any molasses that says unsulphured somewhere on the label. If you can’t get molasses at all, then you can substitute something like maple syrup, but you will lose that richness of flavor that you get from the molasses.
Non-dairy milk. Before you add the non-dairy milk (we used soy), your dough will be very crumbly. The non-dairy milk is what makes it form into a cookie dough. However, you only need a small amount (2-3 Tbsp). It’s important that you only use as much as needed so that it forms into a cookie dough, and no more than that.
Chef’s Tips
Flatten with a fork. Once you roll the dough into balls, you then roll them in granulated sugar and then flatten them with a fork. This helps to ensure even baking which also makes them crunchier.
Baking time. We found 12 minutes to be perfect, but if you want them REALLY crunchy, you can bake them up to 15 minutes. Just keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
Make Them Gluten-Free
If you’d like to try these cookies as gluten-free then I recommend using a gluten free all purpose flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour is a good brand that we have used many times before and recommend.
We have not tested these particular cookies as gluten-free but this is my recommendation based on other cookie recipes that we have tested.
Storing and Freezing
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for a week.
They are also freezer friendly up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Vegan Butter (56g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- ¼ cup Unsulphured Molasses (60ml)
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Allspice
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- 2-3 Tbsp Non-Dairy Milk
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g) for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cream vegan butter and brown sugar together and then add molasses and vanilla extract and mix in.
- Sift all purpose flour into a bowl and add baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir in with a spoon until crumbly.
- Add 2 Tbsp non-dairy milk and mix. You should get a very thick cookie dough. However, if you still have crumbles and it’s not yet ‘sticking together’ then add another 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk. Only do this if you really need it though.
- Break off pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Place them evenly onto your parchment lined baking tray. Aim to get 20 cookies from the batch.
- Roll the balls in white granulated sugar and return to the parchment lined tray.
- Flatten the cookies with a fork.
- Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. If you want more on the softer side then bake for 10 minutes, if you want more snap/crunch then bake for 12 minutes and if you want them super crunchy then you can bake them for up to 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
- The cookies will be soft when they come out the oven. Allow them to cool and firm up directly on the tray before moving them.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method (spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup). Or weigh it on a food scale.
- Molasses: The molasses should be unsulphured molasses. Grandma’s is a good brand if it’s available to you otherwise just use any molasses that says unsulphured somewhere on the label. If you can’t get molasses at all, then you can substitute something like maple syrup, but you will lose that richness of flavor that you get from the molasses.
- Gluten-Free: If you’d like to try these cookies as gluten-free then I recommend using a gluten free all purpose flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour is a good brand that we have used before and recommend. We have not tested these particular cookies as gluten-free but this is my recommendation based on other cookie recipes that we have tested.
- Storing and Freezing: Store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for a week. They are also freezer friendly up to 3 months.
- This recipe was first published April 2017. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips, but the recipe itself is unchanged.
Can you freeze the dough? If so, how long?
Yes you can! You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature before rolling it into balls and baking.
Yummmm! This recipe is full of spices and flavor. I baked mine 10 min instead of 12 min and they are a perfect chewy. My new favorite!❤️ Thank you, Alison 🙏
Awesome! Thanks so much Ronni!
Thanks for this recipe, these cookies are delicious! I made a batch today. I didn’t have any Allspice, so omitted that, and used half wholemeal spelt flour to half plain flour, so needed a little extra soy milk, using 3 1/2 tbsp in all. I made 26 decent size cookies, cooked a couple and froze the rest for later.
Awesome! So happy they came out great! Thanks so much for sharing Diane!
Allison,
Is it possible to replace the molasses with honey?
Hi Farrah, it’s possible yes, but it won’t have that classic ginger cookie flavor, which does come about in part from the molasses. 🙂
Made these last night, so excellent. Used gf flour.. Made 25 cookies, may try even smaller balls next time around. I like my cookies to have a sharp bite, so will play around with spices next time. This recipe is a definite keeper.
Awesome Kitty! So happy they worked out great with gf flour! 🙂
I just made these, although i didnt have molasses and used treacle, they are absolutely delicious. Thank you, i make a lot of your recipes and all are great.
So glad they were delicious! Thanks for posting!
I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter and the mix was dry, so I added 1 flax egg (3 tbsp water 11/2 tbsp of ground fax) they turned out very good. The spices in the recipe are perfect! Thanks
These taste nice and spicy. I didn’t have allspice and I don’t like cloves so left them out. To create even sized cookies I weighed the dough and halved it so that with each half measure I could divide it into the right number of cookies.
I did though find them a bit too sweet so omitted rolling them in whte sugar, and would like to know by how much I could reduce the amount of sugar in the basic dough.
I just couldn’t find the baking temperature but I’m going with 350•
Sorry about that! Whoops! Yes 350°F is correct.
Hi! Can I use margarine instead of vegan butter?
Yes! 🙂
Thank you for including metric measurements!!!
You’re welcome Lynn!
Made these with blackstrap molases and Bobs red mill gluten free flour. They are nice and crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy in the middle. May try baking them a bit longer next time but the taste is amazing thankyou!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Sarah!
Very easy to make and they taste so good! I made them for my friend’s birthday and it was a big success.
Wonderful! Thanks Karina!
Can you use regular butter also? Or coconut oil?
Regular butter yes, coconut oil should also be okay.
FINALLY! A vegan GINGER SNAP cookie recipe!!! Thank you!! I’m going to make them gluten free too. All cookies should snap! Lol
Awesome Jenna! Hope you love the recipe! 🙂