During October and November, all of the members of my old high school marching band loaded up our instruments, uniforms, and piles of homework onto five big charter buses every Saturday morning. We left the campus by 5 am and returned after midnight to spend the entire day competing in a band review. With a parade in the morning, a field show at night, and occasionally a few orchestra performances during the day, we barely had time to rest!
Championships, our final competition of the season, fell on the Saturday right before Thanksgiving. We spent hours perfecting every note and stride during the preceding week to try to bring home the trophy that stood almost 5’ tall.
As the unofficial head section leader of the flutes during my senior year, I organized little goodie bags to pass out every weekend. I normally chose something small like a homemade muffin and orange juice, but for Championships, the other sections leaders and I went all out.
I invited them, plus two of our really close flute friends, over to my house the Friday afternoon before, and we baked more than a hundred cookies for the section. With at least four different flavors of cookie dough to mix up, we ran out of bowls and used the Tupperware top of a cake carrier to stir together the last batch of chocolate chip!
Because Championships fell so close to Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we all agreed that a spiced cookie was necessary, so we baked gingersnaps. Soft in the middle, crunchy on the outsides, and coated in glittery sugar. They disappeared from everyone’s goodie bags by 7 am, but it took a whole lot more time to flatten them to bake the night before!
These Soft-Baked Ginger Cookies are an even easier and healthier version of those. No need to roll and flatten the dough, and no refined sugar coating. They’re made with entirely wholesome clean-eating ingredients, and they still have that same wintery spicy flavor that you love!
These are cookie #4 in Cookie Week on Amy’s Healthy Baking! First we made rainbow chocolate chip, then eggnog snickerdoodles, followed by peppermint mocha cookies. Still to come are a true holiday classic!
In order to create the iconic flavor of gingerbread loves, gingerbread cookies and gingersnaps, you need two important ingredients: ginger and molasses. Although most people only use molasses during the holiday season for those ginger baked treats, we actually mix it into our homemade whole wheat bread recipes. So good! But anyway, molasses brings a warmth to the cookies that’s absolutely irresistible, so don’t skip it!
Because of the unrefined liquid sweeteners of molasses and honey, this cookie dough is wet… Very wet. When you first mix it up, you’re going to call me crazy. It looks more like thick muffin batter than cookie dough!
So chilling is mandatory! Chilling helps stiffen up the cookie dough so it won’t spread as much while baking. You can also shape the mounds of cookie dough to be taller than they are wide to further prevent spreading and create thicker cookies. Do not flatten these—they’ll turn into one big cookie blob on the baking sheet!
These Soft-Baked Ginger Cookies filled my house with the smells of Christmas, and it actually made my guy walk into the kitchen to ask what I was making. He hates almost all desserts, but… Gingersnaps and gingerbread are his main weaknesses!
So bake a batch of these as fuel for your holiday shopping or as a treat to nibble on while covering gifts in wrapping paper and bows. And I’m sure Santa wouldn’t mind a few of these cookies on Christmas Eve either!
My newly released Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes that are perfect for the holiday season! Reserve your copy here before it sells out!
| Soft-Baked Ginger Cookies | | Print |
- 1 ¼ c (150g) whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp (5g) baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp (3g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp (1g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- ¼ c (60mL) molasses
- 5 tbsp (75mL) honey
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the molasses and honey. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. (If chilling longer than 2 hours, cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap.)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
If only chilled for 30 minutes, make sure the cookie dough is as tall as it is wide. Do not flatten the cookie dough, or else the cookies will be extremely thin.
For a gluten-free version, I recommend as follows: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (35g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon (3g) xanthan gum.
Maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
More ginger cookie recipes by other food bloggers…
Ginger Cranberry Oat Cookies by Leanne Bakes
Chocolate Caramel Ginger Cookies by i am baker
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies by Gimme Some Oven
Ginger Crinkle Cookies by Yummy Healthy Easy
These cookies are delicious!! They reminded us of the soft baked snickerdoodles from Trader Joe’s. I topped them with some leftover cream cheese frosting (not healthy but I hate to waste food!) and it was an amazing combination!!
I’m so glad you loved these cookies, Campbell! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — it means a lot! 🙂 (And I love your idea of adding cream cheese frosting on top too!)
Hi Amy!
Can I substitute almond flour? Also can I substitute granulated or dark brown sugar in place of the honey?
I’m SO honored that you’d like to try more of my recipes, Sue! Yes, it should be fine to substitute almond flour in this particular recipe (although that isn’t always the case!). Because it’s less absorbent than wheat-based flour, you may want to add a bit more (ie 1-2 tablespoons, possibly up to 3, mainly because of the molasses!). If you’d rather use granulated or dark brown sugar in place of the honey, you’ll need 5 tablespoons (60g) + 2 ½ tablespoons of milk (any type!) to compensate for the missing liquid volume.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these ginger cookies!
Hello! Haven’t tried the recipe yet but it sounds amazing. I know it wouldn’t be as healthy but could I use white all purpose flour instead? Would I swap it out equally? Thank you!
Yes, that’s fine! All-purpose flour is a 1-for-1 substitute for the whole wheat flour in this recipe. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of these cookies, Robyn!
Hi
I haven’t baked this cookie recipe yet. Can these cookies be frozen after cooling? I have to travel for my father’s upcoming surgery and would like to bring him some.
You’re so kind to want to make these for your father, Adrian! He’s so lucky to have you. 🙂 Yes, these cookies freeze quite well once they’ve completely cooled to room temperature. I’d love to hear what you and your father think if you end up making them!
I live all things gingery but I cannot eat eggs in any form. What is the best egg substitute to use for this recipe – applesauce, chia or flax egg or?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Liz! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a flavorless, shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try making them!
Hi Amy,
I use the Ener-G sub (thanks to you!) The coconut oil addition for the yolk – now that sounds awesome! This is the first I’ve heard of that. Makes sense! I’m going to have to try that tweak!!! You are always my go-to for recipes! My husband wanted ginger cookies today, so of course I said to him let me see what Amy’s Healthy Baking has! He’s not in to recipes or cooking himself but even he will say “check out Amy’s” when the need arises LOL. Sending you hugs from Vegas 🤗 Michelle
Oh, wanted to ask, have you ever made poppyseed rolls? The traditional Polish ones? I would love your expert-crafted version of that traditional recipe. I grew up eating those as a child – amazingly yummy. I’m wanting to make it healthier but still maintain the yummy-ness. Not sure I have that skill though 🙃 Thought I would inquire! 🙏🏼
Oh my goodness, Michelle!! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed these cookies. Your sweet comment just put the biggest smile on my face! “Check out Amy’s” — that’s the best kind of compliment there is! 😉 I’m truly honored!
I haven’t tried making Polish poppy seed rolls before, but I’ll add that to my list of reader requests. (Makowiec, right? I want to make sure I’ve got the correct thing!) They sound wonderful!
Sending you a big virtual hug right back! ♡
Hi Amy!
I made the soft baked ginger cookies for a my baking club cookie exchange at work. I doubled the recipe so I could have some at home but unfortunately I forgot to double the butter. Even so, they were delicious and even better next day! Thank you for creating healthy recipes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Sherrie (even without doubling the butter)! It’s easy to forget things like that when we double a recipe, but I’m happy to hear they were still delicious! We’re truly honored that you would make these cookies to share with your baking club. Sounds like a fun group! 😉