These gluten free ginger molasses cookies are chewy and have a delicious, distinct spiced flavor. They are the kind of holiday cookie that uses simple pantry ingredients, including gluten free flour, sugar, molasses, and lots of spices like ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and black pepper. Dust them with powdered sugar or drizzle with vanilla icing. You can make a batch of these cookies in an hour.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: My Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies are chewy and boldly spiced, and they are just as good when I make them dairy-free with plant-based butter. This recipe makes a great Christmas cookie recipe and is great for cookie exhange parties.
These gluten free ginger molasses cookies are chewy with crisp edges and a bold spice flavor. I make them for Mr. Fearless Dining, whose old work team ate spicy gingersnaps while coding late into the night. I have made them so many times, testing lots of different flavors. I know some bloggers steer away from using blackstrap molasses, but in this boldly spiced recipe, I encourage you to use it.
If you prefer a milder cookie, these Gluten Free Molasses Cookies are for you. If you prefer more gingerbread flavor, these Gluten Free Gingerdoodles are a family favorite.
These cookies are featured in my Gluten Free Cookies From Around the World holiday digital cookbook. If you love making cookies from around the world, or are looking for a few new holiday cookies to add to your cookie tin, this is a great recipe.
Testing Notes From My Kitchen
I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure. I like this blend because it is easy to find at many grocery stores, and it works really well for cookies. I also tested a dairy-free version using Earth Balance, because so many of my readers are also dairy-free. These cookies were just as good using a plant-based butter.
The main challenge I had with this recipe was balancing the wet and dry ingredients to control the cookie spread. Because this recipe uses molasses, I had to make it a few times to balance these two liquid ingredients. Too much molasses meant too little spread while baking, and too much butter left out the stronger molasses flavor. Molasses makes these cookies chewy and helps keep them from spreading too much. When I added too much, the cookies barely spread. When I added too much butter, the cookies lost the strong molasses flavor.
Ingredient Notes and Easy Swaps:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using King Arthur Measure for Measure. It is a great blend for cookies and easy to find at most grocery stores or on Amazon. Other blends will work, but you may need to adjust the moisture levels by adding more flour or butter. Every blend varies in starch-to-grain content. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
- Binder – Binders are the magic that holds your gluten free baked goods together. If your blend doesn’t have one, please add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the dry ingredients. Learn Why Binders are Important in Gluten-Free Baking.
- Sugar – I tested this recipe using both light and dark sugar. The dark sugar has a little more molasses flavor, but both work very well in this recipe.
- Baking Soda – I used baking soda in this cookie recipe because molasses is somewhat acidic. The acid needs baking soda to help the rise.
- Molasses – My testing was done using Blackstrap Molasses. It has a stronger molasses flavor, and I found it really boosted the spiciness from the cloves and cinnamon. If you want a little less molasses flavor, use regular molasses.
- Eggs – Use large eggs. Eggs help bind the cookies and add chewiness.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, omit any additional salt. Butter that is melted in this recipe instead of being creamed, which holds less air and usually gives a denser, chewier cookie.
- Spices – Ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and black pepper. Black pepper adds some extra spice, which tastes delicious when combined with ginger and cinnamon.
Check out all of my gluten free cookie recipes, and find a few more spiced cookie favorites, including these German Gluten Free Pfeffernusse Cookies and Gluten Free Lebkuchen. To learn more about making gluten free cookies, see my Gluten Free Cookie Guide, which organizes my cookie recipes by type.
How to Make Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. There are a lot of different spice flavors, and a whisk helps make sure they mix evenly.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, microwave the butter and molasses for 25 seconds. Stir them together and then whisk in the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix together into the cookie dough.
Step 3: Cookie dough check…since every gluten free flour blend varies so widely, if you didn’t use a blend I tested, it is important to compare your photo to mine to make sure you have the right dough consistency.
If your cookie dough is much wetter, add more flour. If your dough seems dry and hard, add more melted butter.
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Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it. This is optional, but it gives the rice flour time to soften, which helps eliminate any potential grittiness.
Step 4: Use a small spoon or cookie scoop to make dough balls. Roll them in your hand so they are all rounded evenly. Place the dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
👀 Sandi Says: If you prefer to spray the cookie sheet, I recommend using this Gluten Free Baking Spray. Not all brands are gluten free, so I really like the Tourangelle brand.
Step 5: Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. I slide the parchment paper off the hot cookie sheet onto the cooling rack. Leaving the cookies on a hot pan can make them overbake.
When the cookies have cooled off to room temperature, dust them with powdered sugar. If you need help baking gluten free cookies, my Gluten Free Troubleshooting Guide is filled with tips and fixes. I also love talking about my favorite cookie-baking tools.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
If your cookies spread too much, you may have used a starchier blend than I did, or you didn’t chill the cookie dough. If you did chill the dough, it is the starch content in your flour blend. Next time, add 1-2 TBSP of additional gluten free flour.
Why are my cookies too crunchy?
If your cookies are crunchy, you overbaked the cookies or left them to cool on the hot cookie sheet. Bake them for 1-2 minutes less and be sure to remove them from the cookie sheet after a minute or two.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, regular molasses works well in this recipe. The main difference is that blackstrap molasses will give a bolder flavor.
Yes. I tested Earth Balance dairy-free butter, and it worked well in this recipe.
The grittiness comes from gluten free flour blends that contain white and/or brown rice flour. If it isn’t milled extra fine, it can be gritty. To avoid gritty cookies, let the cookie dough rest for at least 15 minutes. It lets the rice flour soften.
More Gluten Free Holiday Cookie Recipes:
If gingerbread is your favorite, I pulled all of my gluten free gingerbread dessert recipes together. All of my gluten free holiday cookie recipes are perfect for a Gluten Free Cookie Exchange Party.
- Gluten Free Vanilla Kipferl (Austria)
- Gluten Free Pfeffernusse (Germany)
- Chai Spiced Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
- Gluten Free Spritz (German)
Did you make this Recipe?
💬 I would love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment! Your feedback helps others (and helps me keep improving these recipes for you). ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bold, Chewy Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend See Notes
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup molasses See Notes
- 1 large egg
Method
- Add 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper to a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. There are a lot of different spice flavors, and a whisk helps make sure they mix evenly.
- In a smaller bowl, microwave the 1/2 cup butter and 1/3 cup molasses for 25 seconds. Stir them together and then whisk in 1 large egg.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix together into the cookie dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 30 minutes. This is optional, but it gives the rice flour time to soften, which helps eliminate any potential grittiness.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
- Use a small spoon or cookie scoop to make dough balls. Roll them in your hand so they are all rounded evenly. Place the dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. I slide the parchment paper off the hot cookie sheet onto the cooling rack. Leaving the cookies on a hot pan can make them overbake. (Baking time will vary depending on the cookie size.)
- When the cookies have cooled off to room temperature, dust them with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Notes
- I tested this recipe using King Arthur Measure for Measure. It is a great blend for cookies and is easy to find at most grocery stores or on Amazon. Other blends will work, but you may need to adjust the moisture levels by adding more flour or butter. Every blend varies in starch-to-grain content.
- I used unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, omit the additional salt.
- I tested the recipe with both blackstrap and regular molasses. The blackstrap adds a bolder flavor, which works well with the ginger, clove, pepper, and cinnamon spices.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container or zipper bag.
Private Notes
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Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
