With crispy edges and a soft & chewy center, these gluten-free ginger snap cookies have it all. They're made with molasses, ginger, and a touch of coconut sugar and taste just like a traditional ginger snap! Each cookie is soft-baked and rolled in a cozy sugar mixture perfect for your holiday baking. Be sure to make it a big batch because these ginger snaps get even better with time!
Soft and Chewy Gluten-free Ginger Snap Cookies
Is it really the holiday baking season without a ginger molasses cookie?? I think not. The combination of spicy ginger and sweet molasses just screams warm and cozy. Exactly what I want in my holiday cookies if you ask me.
I like to call these sophisticated cookies because they are made with some classy ingredients. These are really adult-only ginger snap cookies. So whip up a warm batch, grab a cocktail, curl up next to a fire, and get ready to get COZY!
What are Soft-baked Ginger Snaps
Ginger snap cookies get their name from their crispiness. When you break them in half, they should make a snap kind of sound. This is the "traditional" ginger snap cookie at least.
However, soft and chewy ginger cookies have come about and I personally think they provide the ultimate texture. They have a bit of crispiness around the edges and on the top (due to the cinnamon sugar which I'll get to below) but have this incredible chewy inside. It's like the perfect combination of chewy and crunchy and just what we have with these gluten-free ginger snaps!
How to make chewy ginger molasses cookies
These gluten-free ginger snap cookies are so fun to make! You'll need a few typical cookie ingredients plus a few holiday baking essentials like molasses and ginger.
Step 1 : Whisk together the dry ingredients
Because these cookies require two different types of flour and a variety of spices, whisking them together is a must. This ensure the flavors and spices are well incorporated and not clumped together in one area of the dough. You can do this with a whisk like I did above or with a fork.
Step 2 : Prepare the rest of the dough
To prepare the dough, simply beat the wet ingredients together until creamy. Then add the flour mixture which you whisked together in step 1 above. The dough will be quite sticky and thick - this is good!
Step 3 : Roll in cane sugar
Finally, scoop the dough using a medium-sized cookie scoop and roll it into a ball in between your hands. Then roll the ball of dough in a shallow bowl filled with cane sugar to coat. I used organic cane sugar for this to achieve those pretty white specks. However, to make these cookies fully paleo-friendly, simply swap the cane sugar for coconut sugar.
Tips when baking these gluten-free ginger cookies
- Make sure to whisk the dry ingredients together. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Because there are some rather "sticky" ingredients used in the dough (molasses, almond butter, etc.), if you just throw the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl, spices and flours won't be evenly dispersed in the dough. So like, you could get a cookie that as all the ginger spice in it...not good. It's easy to mitigate by mixing the flours and spices together beforehand.
- If you find that your dough it too sticky to form into balls, place the mixing bowl in the fridge for a couple of minutes which will help with the stickiness. I should warn you though, you hands will get a tad messy when you roll the dough in between your hands.
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop. To really capitalize on the soft and chewy texture, use a larger cookie scoop than you might typically use. This will ensure your cookies are really soft baked.
- Leave room on the baking sheet for the cookies to spread. These cookies will spread in the oven. Be sure to leave a good 2 inches in between the dough so they don't run into each other when baked.
- Make it a big batch! Lastly, these cookies get even better with time. Like softer and chewier and just even more delicious. So if you have some left over, store them in an air-tight container out on the counter and enjoy them for the week!
Looking for more holiday cheer? Check out theses festive recipes:
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Soft and Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 14
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
With crispy edges and a soft & chewy center, these gluten-free ginger snap cookies have it all. They're made with molasses, ginger, and a touch of coconut sugar and taste just like a traditional ginger snap! Each cookie is soft-baked and rolled in a cozy sugar mixture perfect for your holiday baking. Be sure to make it a big batch because these ginger snaps get even better with time!
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cloves
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup almond butter, creamy
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 3 Tbsp molasses
- ⅓ cup organic cane sugar (sub. coconut sugar to make paleo)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cloves; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the egg, coconut sugar, and almond butter together until creamy. Add the vanilla, coconut oil, and molasses and continue to beat until well incorporated.
- Slowly fold in the flour mixture and mix until no flour clumps remain.
- Pour the cane sugar or coconut sugar into a shallow bowl. Use a medium-sized cookie scoop* to scoop the dough and roll it into balls in between your hands. Roll the ball in the bowl with the sugar to coat.
- Place the cookie dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Bake for 13 - 15 minutes until the edges are dark brown and crispy. Let cool before enjoying! To store, place cooled cookies in an air-tight container and keep out on the counter for up to a week
Notes
*Note : to achieve optimal soft and chewiness, use a slightly larger cookie scoop than you typically use. This ensure an extra soft-baked ginger cookie!
Keywords: gluten free ginger snaps, gluten free ginger cookies, ginger molasses cookies
Hi, can I use normal molasses instead of black strap?
Could I replace the coconut sugar with honey? I'm allergic to coconut
Hi Grace! Honey will be tricky with this recipe as you want a sugar with the same consistency (honey would give the batter too much liquid). Have you heard of monk fruit? I would try that or pure cane sugar or another sugar substitute that is in granular form.
Hope that helps! Let me know how it works out 🙂