by 
These Soft Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread Cookies will be a holiday staple! They’re incredibly soft, chewy and flavorful from the molasses and warm spices.
Who loves gingerbread cookies?! I’ve come to love gingerbread flavored everything in my adult years, despite my family not making gingerbread cookies too often when I was a kid.
We were much more enthralled with making batch after batch of Magic Cookie Bars during the holidays. However, I got a few requests this year for some classic gingerbread cookies and decided to accept the challenge!
Also a gingerbread lover? You’re going to love these gingerbread scones, gingerbread blondies, and easy vegan gingerbread cookie granola!
What makes these Gingerbread Cookies delicious?
These gluten free gingerbread cookies are so flavorful and rich they 100% converted me into a gingerbread loving lady! Here’s why you’ll love them:
- Rich molasses flavor
- Soft texture
- Crisp outer texture
- Warming spices
- Refined-sugar free
- Quick & easy to make! (no chilling required)
- Paleo and vegan!
What you need to make gingerbread cookies
Surprisingly, I knocked these healthy gingerbread cookies out of the park on my first try (not to toot my own horn or anything). These vegan cookies come together super quickly and there’s no need for a stand mixer or chilling of the dough required! Here’s what you need to make them:
- Almond Butter
- Molasses
- Softened Coconut Oil
- Coconut Sugar
- Flax Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Coconut flour
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
Can you make these gingerbread cookies vegan?
Yes! To make these gingerbread cookies you’ll simply use flax eggs! To make one flax egg you will simply mix 2.5 TBSP water + 1 TBSP flaxseed meal and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Once it’s thick, you’ll use the flax mixture just as you would a regular egg. For this recipe, you will need two flax eggs total.
Non-vegan version: If you aren’t vegan or don’t have flax on hand, you can easily use regular eggs. Just use one egg + one egg yolk to get the same texture.
Tips for making soft gluten-free gingerbread cookies
Coconut flour: Coconut flour keeps the cookies grain-free and paleo while also helping to create a delicious texture. I don’t recommend substituting for other flours here as coconut flour is very absorbent.
Flatten cookies: After the dough is ready, you will roll the dough balls into a coconut sugar/cinnamon/ginger mixture. After this, I recommend flattening out the cookies a bit as they do not spread as easily on their own when baking.
Softened coconut oil: Make sure your coconut oil is slightly soft, similar to a butter texture. This helps create a soft, puffy cookie texture.
For softer cookies: You can bake these gingerbread cookies on the shorter side for 10-11 minutes if you prefer a softer cookie texture. If you prefer crispier edges, leave them in the oven for an extra few minutes.
If you love these gingerbread cookies, check out these healthy holiday treats!
- Chocolate Chunk Gingerbread Blondies
- Gluten Free Vegan Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
- Thick & Chewy Paleo Snickerdoodle Cookies
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons 25g virgin coconut oil (solid and slightly softened, similar to softened butter)
- ⅓ cup 80g almond butter
- ¼ cup 85g molasses
- ½ cup (77g) coconut sugar
- 2 flax eggs, 2 tablespoons flax meal + 5 tablespoons water – whisk them together and let sit for 5 minutes to gel – see notes for info about using real eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, skip if you’re using salted almond butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup 64g coconut flour
To roll the dough in
- ⅓ cup (51g) coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl or stand mixer, beat together the coconut oil, almond butter, molasses, and coconut sugar until smooth. Add the flax eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add the ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and coconut flour to the wet ingredients. Mix until well incorporated.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the coconut sugar, cinnamon, and ground ginger to roll the dough in.
- Use a small or medium sized cookie scoop to form cookies and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press down slightly to flatten – note that the cookies won’t spread very much, so press them down to the thickness you prefer.
- Bake for 11 minutes or until the cookies have puffed and are cooked through. You can bake for an extra minute or two for crispier edges.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Hi! Wondering if you can use a cookie cutter with this recipe to make gingerbread men? Or would it be too wet/sticky?
Hi Stephanie, it’s definitely too sticky for that, and they puff up so they wouldn’t keep their shape well.
Hi! I want to make these so bad, but have one question: My husband is highly allergic to Tree Nuts (so every but BUT a peanut) which means almond butter is a no. Can I use normal peanut butter or what do you suggest?
Hi Hope! Peanut butter would work but might affect the flavor, and Sunbutter would also work to keep them nut-free. Enjoy!
Hi! If I want to use unsalted butter instead of coconut oil, would the ration be 1:1? Or should I use slightly more/less than 2 tablespoons of butter?
Hi Erin, yes you sub butter 1:1 so you’ll use the same amount. Enjoy!
Hi,
Thank you for this recipe. The texture on these cookies is wonderful! The taste is also good, except I do find them a bit overly salty. Also, I made the recipe exactly as you wrote it, and unless I was going to make the cookies bite size, I found the recipe only yielded eight (small-medium size) cookies. I thought I might bring your attention to this, since the same thing happened when I made your brownies. The flavour was great, but the amount of batter the recipe yielded for the listed pan size resulted in exceptionally thin brownies. Best, Olivia
Hi Olivia, so glad you like the cookies! Did you use kosher salt? If you used regular table salt instead, that can be why it’s too salty. Very odd about the smaller yield – did you make any ingredient changes to the recipe?
Mine came out very salty too. I’m now realizing it’s probably because I used salted almond butter. Next time if I’m using salted almond butter I will try without adding salt. Or should I just use unsalted almond butter? Oh well! My mistake ! (Might want to add a reminder in the recipe to use unsalted almond butter for people like me that didn’t think of that—just a suggestion)
Hi Jen, I think your assumption is the right one! I’ll add a note to use unsalted almond butter & skip the salt if it’s salted. Thanks for your feedback!
These are amazing!!! I love how fluffy and chewy they are! Thank you for the incredible recipe!!
So thrilled you’re loving them Kristen!
Made these last night and oh my goodness they were the perfect taste and texture. I didn’t have any allspice so I used cloves, came out great! I followed everything else to a T and they came out moist and flavorful. Will definitely be making these again soon!
So thrilled you’re loving them! Thanks for sharing your feedback with me, Erin :)
uau! these cookies are awesome! I used honey as I didn’t have molasses and the texture and taste are amazing.
My boys said they want those again shaped as a gingerman
thanks for the recipe
So glad you guys loved them! Thanks for sharing your feedback Laia :)
Just tried making these. Did half the recipe and used 1 egg, and used 1 Tbsp of cane sugar instead of 1/2 Cup of coconut sugar. They came out great, although I left them in for 20 min at 325 degrees and the whole cookie is basically crunchy. Will try 15 minutes next time. Great recipe!
Hi Emily – 20 minutes is double the called for baking time, so that’s why they turned out crunchy. You should only bake for 10-11 minutes, as the recipe calls for.
I cut the coconut sugar because I didn’t have any, and these are still delicious!!! Super fluffy and moist. Thanks for the recipe :)
So thrilled they’re still delicious and you’re enjoying them! Thanks for the feedback, Liz :)
I wanna make these soon for Xmas because I have to bake it all in advance. Can I store them for 10 days? Will they harden or ….?
I definitely would not recommend baking them now and just letting them sit for 10 days – they won’t be nearly as good. My favorite way to prep cookies in advance to prep everything right until baking, including forming the cookie dough balls, and then freezing those on a baking sheet. Once they’re hard, throw them in a zip bag or airtight container, and then bake the day or the day before you need them. Hope this helps!