Soft and chewy Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies! These perfect old-fashioned molasses cookies are vegan and allergy-free. Rich with molasses and brown sugar, deliciously spiced with ginger and cinnamon, and rolled in sugar for a sweet crisp finish, these soft molasses cookies are so easy and quick to bake! A classic Christmas and holiday recipe for every cookie platter!

Perfectly soft and chewy, these gluten-free molasses cookies are just like grandma used to make! The quintessential old-fashioned cookie for the holidays, these soft molasses cookies are rich with deep molasses flavor, perfectly spiced, and subtly sweet. That first bite of tender chewiness with a hint of sparkly sugar crunch on the edges, the warm smokey sweetness of dark molasses delivers all the nostalgia you need!

What's the Difference Between Gingersnap and Molasses Cookies?

The major difference between the two cookies is that Molasses cookies are soft and chewy, while gingersnaps are crisp and crunchy (hence the "snap"). Both cookies utilize molasses and ginger for flavor but molasses cookies have much less ginger than gingersnap.

What About Gingerbread?

Gingerbread cookies, or gingerbread men, utilize a few more spices than just ginger and are softer than classic gingersnap. You typically roll out gingerbread cookie dough and bake them less than gingersnaps.

Why You'll Love These Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies

These soft cookies are like little molasses pillows! So tender and chewy, but they're gluten-free and vegan! You'll never know there's no dairy, eggs, or gluten in this recipe. Perfectly sweet but not too sweet; they're an ideal Christmas cookie everyone will love! This recipe is:

Gluten-Free
Vegan
Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
Lower in Sugar
Quick, Easy, Just 9 Simple Ingredients
Kid-Friendly
Make-Ahead & Freezer-Friendly
Perfect Christmas or Holiday Dessert

Is Molasses Gluten-Free?

Molasses is just cane sugar or beet sugar, boiled down into a thick and sticky syrup! Molasses is naturally gluten-free, it's just sugar! There are 3 varieties, mild, dark, and blackstrap. Mild or light molasses is the sweetest and least intense. Full or dark molasses is thicker and stronger in flavor, which you'll typically use in baking recipes, like this one! Blackstrap is the thickest and least sweet variety, making it great for low-sugar or savory dishes.

Ingredients For Gluten-Free Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies

Gluten-Free Flour: Your favorite blend of gluten-free all-purpose or 1-to-1 baking flour will be the base of this cookie recipe.
Baking Soda: Baking soda gives your cookies lift so they don't come out flat, plus a pinch of salt to activate it.
Spices: Ginger and cinnamon are essential to a good molasses cookie, however, I like to add a pinch of cloves as well!
Vegan Butter: For buttery soft cookies, vegan butter is the way to go! It keeps these eggless molasses cookies moist and tender too.
Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar has a richer flavor than light and goes well with actual molasses. You can use sugar-free brown sugar sweetener for a lower-sugar cookie. The brown sugar also helps keep the cookies soft!
Granulated Sugar: You'll be using granulated sugar in the cookies as well as for rolling the cookie dough balls to coat the outsides before baking them. You can use sugar-free granulated sweetener for the lower-sugar option as well.
Molasses: You want to use full or dark molasses in this recipe. Light molasses will not have a strong enough flavor and isn't thick enough for this cookie recipe. Blackstrap won't be sweet enough for the typical palette, so make sure you reach for that dark bottle instead. However, if you are going for a low-sugar cookie, using blackstrap molasses is okay! I personally love the extra bitter taste.
Vanilla Extract: A nice hint of vanilla is always delicious in a cozy holiday baking recipe!

How To Make Soft Molasses Cookies

Melt the vegan butter in the microwave before adding in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, molasses, and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the gluten-free flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a pinch of salt.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together. Mix the cookie dough together until thick and fully combined.
Chill the dough for 15-20 minutes. Stick it in the freezer for quicker chilling.

Add extra granulated sugar to a plate to prep for rolling the cookie dough balls in.
Roll 1 tablespoon of cookie dough into a ball, using your hands, before rolling the ball in the sugar to coat.

Evenly space out the rolled cookies on a lined baking sheet.
Slightly press down on the dough balls to flatten them slightly.

Bake the cookies in a preheated oven to 350°F for about 8-10 minutes, until the tops are crackled and the cookies have spread slightly.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 2-4 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack.

Baking Tips & Tricks

Chill the dough! Don't skip this step! If you want to make your life easier, you can prep the dough the night before and allow the cookie sot chill overnight. The dough must be chilled before baking since you are using hot melted butter in the recipe. The quickest way to chill the dough, and my favorite, is to stick the bowl of cookie dough in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
Measure the molasses correctly. Since molasses is super sticky, it can be hard to get every last drop out of your measuring up. Lightly grease the measuring cup with cookie spray before adding the sticky syrup. This helps the molasses slide right out into your bowl!
Feel free to add nutmeg, allspice, more ginger, etc. You can spice these molasses cookies up to your liking.
Don't overbake the cookies! 10 minutes was perfect for my oven but you may only need 8 minutes. If you don't flatten your cookies enough, you may need to bake them longer for 12 minutes. Regardless, look for a nice crackled top and a slightly crisp outer edge. The cookies should poof up and then will sink when you take them out of the oven to cool.
Allowing the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two allows the cookies to set just enough that they won't fall apart when you transfer them over to a wire rack to cool completely.

How To Store Vegan Molasses Cookies

You can store these soft molasses cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days at room temperature. These cookies will stay nice and soft when stored airtight, due to all the brown sugar soaking up extra moisture naturally.

How To Make Ahead & Freeze

You can prep the dough 2-3 days before baking and store it covered in the fridge. You can freeze unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) for up to 3 months in the freeze. Bring them to room temperature before rolling them in sugar and baking. To freeze baked cookies, allow them to freeze solid on a baking sheet before transferring them into a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before bringing them to room temperature or warm them up in the microwave to make them soft and chewy again or pop them in the oven at 250° to warm.

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