Gingersnap Cookies ~ the cookie that bites you back!
I love gingersnap cookies so much that the recipe below makes close to 4 dozen at a time!
But they are small and the dough freezes perfectly!
Gingersnap cookies are the perfect sandwich for my awesome pumpkin mousse recipe!
They can become very addictive, but if you have some self control you can turn these little cookies into so many other desserts!
Not to mention it’s a great alternative to graham crackers for your cheesecake crust!
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Notes for Success:
Using a #100 cookie scoop or a 1 Tablespoon Scoop for the mini cookies is really helpful, miniature cookies will yield about 40 cookies
For large bakery style cookies scoop with a 2ounce cookie scoop
Larger cookies you will get about 12 and they will bake for closer to 15 minutes
I like to use aquafaba instead of water to reconstitute the flax meal but this is optional, otherwise use water
An electric mixer is needed to achieve the creaming method on this cookie
But I have had equal success with this recipe by melting the butter as I do in my Chubby & Chewy Variety of cookies Here!
Vegan Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- Vegan Butter ¾ cup (170g)
- Light or Dark Brown Sugar 1 cup (205g)
- Molasses ¼ cup (60ml)
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- Ground Flax Seeds 1 Tablespoon (8g)
- Hot Water 3 Tablespoons (45ml) *see notes
- All Purpose Flour 2½ cups (315g)
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 Tablespoon (6g)
- Baking Soda 1½ teaspoons
- Baking Powder ¼ teaspoon
- Ground Cinnamon ½ teaspoon
- Ground Cloves ¼ teaspoon
- Ground Ginger 1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Combine the ground flax seed with the hot water and whisk smooth
- Let stand for at least 5 minutes to thicken to a paste
- Cream the vegan butter with the sugar until light and fluffy about 3-5 minutes
- Add the flax paste and whip on high speed for 10 seconds to emulsify
- Add the molasses and vanilla extract and mix well
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder and the spices
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture all at once and cream to a smooth dough
- Scoop the dough with a #100 Scoop onto a parchment lined sheet pan and sprinkle each dough ball with granulated or course sugar *optional
- Start preheating the oven to 350°F and place the scooped cookies into the refrigerator .
- Once the oven comes to temperature, bake for 12-15 minutes
Notes
Cookie dough pre-scooped into balls can be frozen for up to 2 months, stored in a ziploc bag and then thaw on the sheet pan and bake as usual
Baked cookies should be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature
Can I use coconut oil in place of the shortening?
yes just make sure it is cold before creaming since coconut oil has a very low melting point
Hey there, wow what a recipe… I’m so keen to try. Where I live, baking powder does not exist… Do you have a general rule or guide how to figure out the measurement if only baking soda is available? Thanks so much
I love these cookies but what does the flaxseed do? Can I leave them out ..have an allergy.
The flaxseed is an binding agent that acts as an egg replacer. You can leave it out here for sure, if you have another dry blend egg replacer that you prefer just use that (if not it’s OK this cookie will still work out for you)
Hi Gretchen,
Can I used WW pastry flour instead of the all purpose flour?
yes
The recipe calls for butter, but the directions say shortening. Which one?
I happened upon this recipe while looking for a vegan recipe to make for my visiting nephew and I was not disappointed. It is a great cookie for anyone, whether vegan or non-vegan. I made the recipe as written. When I make it again— and I will— I may add a bit more ginger because I am a bit of a ginger “fiend”, I guess.
I don’t have a #100 cookie scoop— or any cookie scoop for that matter— but after a quick online search I discovered it is the equivalent of .64 tbsp. So for easy measure—for other scoopless bakers out there—that is a rounded 1.5 teaspoonful. My yield employing that approximate measure was 44 cookies.
CORRECTION for the recipe directions: The 1 Teaspoon of VANILLA on the ingredient list was left out of the directions. I realized its omission late—as I was about to form the cookies— and added it at the end. No harm, no foul I’m sure, but perhaps it is best added when the molasses is added(?)
thank you for the feedback! and I will update that vanilla addition!
The recipe calls for butter, but the directions say shortening. Which one?
Ah! thank you for pointing that out! Vegan butter is essentially shortening so either will work. I have found that using Crisco though will keep them from severely spreading
Thank you. Sorry. I didn’t mean to comment that twice. Can I ask you one more question? I am making your buttercream for the pumpkin cheesecake recipe and I can only find regular vegetable shortening, not high ratio vegetable shortening. Will that work? Thank you so much for your vegan baking recipes. I’m trying to impress a boy for Thanksgiving
These are great! Will be my go-to gingersnap recipe from now on.
For some reason mine hardly spread, so I ended up with very rounded little cookies. Any ideas on what went wrong? I’m thinking it might be the type of shortening that I used; I had some nondescript “buttery sticks” in my fridge from awhile ago…
I also nearly doubled the ginger and flavour is great! I love a strong bite to my gingersnaps!
Hmm, the first thing I think of is: Creaming. Did you cream the vegan butter *or “buttery sticks” lol to light & fluffy? It’s always hard to put an exact time on that since all vegan butters are different and the temperature of that vegan butter when you start also plays in. I usually go the full 5 minutes to ensure that the sugar punctures the fat sufficiently – this is what helps cookies to spread~ but be aware that too much creaming can cause them to spread too much
When you would bake the cookies from frozen would you bake them directly out of the freezer? Or should they be somewhat thawed?
I like to let them thaw slightly, typically about 20 minutes ~ usually while the oven is preheating ~ Baking this dough from chilled is best anyway since they do have a tendency to spread when baked fresh
Any suggestions on how to reduce the 3/4 c fat?
Not here, this cookie recipe needs the fat to survive LOL
I would suggest to find another recipe that specifically focuses on healthy bakes