Healthy Soft Baked Ginger Cookies
These chewy cookies are full of festive holiday flavors — and perfect for Santa on Christmas Eve! They taste really similar to gingerbread, except they're much faster and easier to make. Leftovers will keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week!) if stored in an airtight container.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses (not blackstrap!)
- 5 tbsp (75mL) honey
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the molasses and honey. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until just 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 – and see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a spoon and spatula, 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.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will make your cookies turn out dry and crumbly, rather than soft and chewy.
IMPORTANT CHILLING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Chilling the cookie dough helps prevent the cookies from overly spreading on the baking sheet. If baked right after mixing the dough, the cookies would spread into one big cookie blob on the baking sheet.
If only chilled for 30 minutes, make sure the mounds of cookie dough are as tall as they are wide. Do not flatten the cookie dough, or else your cookies will be extremely thin.
Chilling the cookie dough for more than 2 hours will prevent your cookies from spreading noticeably more, so it's generally fine to leave the mounds of cookie dough as hemispheres on the baking sheet, rather than shaping them to be taller than they are wide.
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not over-bake these cookies! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the centers still feel slightly soft and underdone. The heat from the warm baking sheet will continue to cook the centers all the way through while you let the cookies rest for 10+ minutes after pulling the pan from the oven.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour. Oat flour (gluten-free, if needed) may also be substituted, but be extra careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours.
MOLASSES NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I don’t recommend substituting anything for the molasses, if at all possible. It’s required to produce the iconic gingerbread-style flavor. Regular unsulphured molasses is best. Do not use blackstrap molasses; it’s too bitter.
However, I understand it can be hard to find molasses outside of the US, so in a pinch, you can substitute pure maple syrup, honey, or agave. They’ll produce the same cookie texture, but keep in mind your cookies will have a noticeably different flavor.
HONEY ALTERNATIVES: Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
DAIRY-FREE OPTION: Use the coconut oil option, or substitute stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one).
NUT-FREE OPTION: Use the unsalted butter option.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For a gluten-free version, use the following blend: 6 tablespoons (45g) millet flour, 6 tablespoons (45g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this. Certified gluten-free oat flour will also work, but be extra careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours.
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. They should last at least four days, if not closer to a week (or more!).
{gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.