These Soft and Chewy Vegan Ginger Snaps are a wondrous treat to enjoy especially during the holiday season. This is due to their sparkling snow-like sugar exterior and blast of ginger and cinnamon-y sweetness you get with each bite.
If you’re a fan of ginger snaps (aka: ginger cookies) especially the super soft and chewy type, then boy – do I have a recipe for you! Jeff and I both agree that these cookies go splendidly with a hot cup of coffee or tea, and their large size certainly adds to the fun, too!
Why This Recipe Works
- These cookies have a classic festive combination of ginger, cinnamon, and clove that you know and love. I roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar before baking, so each bite is the perfect balance of sweetness and warming spices.
- My tried-and-true steps create the ideal ginger snap cookie texture – soft, chewy, and melt-in-your-mouth.
- While most cookies fit in the palm of your hand, these are quite a bit larger… So each one really feels like you are enjoying a significantly special treat.
- Bonus: This recipe for vegan ginger snaps is super easy to make gluten free!
Honestly, if you bake just one batch of cookies during the holiday season, consider baking these cookies – (and that’s coming from a dedicated chocolate chip cookie lover!) They are just the perfect cookie to enjoy during the most celebrated time of year.
How To Make Soft and Chewy Vegan Ginger Snaps
- First, preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C. Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (FYI – if you have nonstick baking sheets, the parchment paper is optional! I like using it because it makes clean up a cinch.)
- Combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Using a stand or handheld mixer, cream the brown sugar, butter, and molasses until fluffy, about 1 minute. Then add the flaxseed mixture and mix again for another 30 seconds.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix on low until mostly combined. Then add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix again, this time starting on a low speed and then increasing to high as the dough becomes thick and hard to mix. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The dough will be very thick when it’s done.
- Pour the granulated sugar into a bowl or on a plate and set aside. Then form 16 golf ball–sized dough balls and place them on parchment-lined or ungreased baking sheets. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar to evenly coat.
Return the coated cookie dough balls to the baking sheet. Make sure they’re at least 3 inches (8 cms) apart from one another, as they will spread.
- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time on the top rack in your preheated oven for 9–10 minutes or until cracks form across the surface. It’s better to slightly underbake than to overbake.
Allow the ginger snaps to cool on the baking sheets for 3–5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Note: If your oven tends to run cooler, you likely want to to bake them for 11 minutes. However, if your oven runs hot, bake the cookies for just 9 minutes.
At this point, your home will be filled with the glorious scent of ginger and cinnamon…. yum….
I hope you love these soft and chewy ginger snap cookies as much as we do!!
Looking For More Vegan Cookie Recipes? Then You Have To Try My:
- Peppermint Brownie Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- 4-Ingredient Soft Peanut Butter Cookies (one of my all-time most popular recipes!)
- My Funfetti Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Peanut’s Bake Shop Cookie Kits
Recipe Tips and Variations
- I line my baking sheets with parchment paper. You can find flat parchment sheets HERE.
- Bake your cookies for 9-10 minutes only! Overcooked gingersnaps are not tasty.
- For a gluten free version, use your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour in place of regular all-purpose flour. Check the labels for all remaining ingredients to ensure they’re gluten-free as well. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is by far my favorite gluten free flour for this recipe, if you’re aiming to bake gluten free. No xanthan gum needed.
Soft and Chewy Vegan Ginger Snaps (Gluten Free Option)
These ginger snaps are a wondrous treat to enjoy especially during the holiday season. They are soft, chewy, sparkly and loaded with warming spices – YUM!
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Servings: 16 cookies
Calories: 98kcal
Ingredients
FLAX EGG:
- 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed (8 g)
- 3 Tbsp. water (45 ml)
DRY:
- 1 1/4 c. oat flour (135 g)
- 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (210 g) -OR- Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose Flour (240 g) (for gluten-free cookies)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. dried ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
WET:
- 3/4 c. vegan butter softened (170 g / 6 oz.)
- 1 c. light brown sugar packed (216 g)
- 1/4 c. molasses (56 g)
IN ADDITION:
- 1/3 c. granulated sugar for rolling (77 g)
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C. Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (FYI – if you have nonstick baking sheets, the parchment paper is optional! I like using it because it makes clean up a cinch.)
- Combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Using a stand or handheld mixer, cream the brown sugar, butter, and molasses until fluffy, about 1 minute. Then add the flaxseed mixture and mix again for another 30 seconds.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix on low until mostly combined. Then add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix again, this time starting on a low speed and then increasing to high as the dough becomes thick and hard to mix. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The dough will be very thick when it’s done.
- Pour the granulated sugar into a bowl or on a plate and set aside. Then form 16 golf ball–sized dough balls and place them on parchment-lined or ungreased baking sheets. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar to evenly coat, then return to the baking sheet, ensuring they’re at least 3 inches (8 cm) apart from one another, as they will spread.
Video
Notes
- You can find flat parchment sheets HERE
- Bake your cookies for 9-10 minutes only! Overcooked gingersnaps are not tasty.
- For a gluten free version, use your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour in place of regular all-purpose flour. Check the labels for all remaining ingredients to ensure they’re gluten-free as well. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is by far my favorite gluten free flour if you’re aiming to bake gluten free.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 2g
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Just baked these for a friend having cravings. Hoping the ginger will help her morning sickness. I used dark brown sugar, dark molasses and did use real butter but got results as good as your original. Thank you!
So happy to hear this! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Heard you guys on the Exam Room podcast. Is there any way to replace the vegan butter in this recipe?
Hi Mike, you can try mashed avocado as a 1:1 replacement, but I will say I haven’t tried it! If you do, please let me know what you think. Hope you love the cookies! They are an extra special treat.
I’ve made these twice now, my family and friends love them! Do these cookies freeze well? I’d like to have some on hand for the holidays. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much! So glad you like them. Yes, they can be frozen. I would wrap each individually in plastic wrap and then store them all in one large plastic bag, squeezing as much air out before sealing as possible. Enjoy!
These are incredible. Soft and chewy and so delicious. They stayed soft in my air tight cookie jar.
So glad you liked them, Sandra! They are definitely a big family favorite of ours. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
This recipe was just perfect As a GF and vegan version. I followed it using the oat flour and then Bulk Barn’s 1:1 GF baking flour. The cookies remained soft and chewy in my air tight cookie jar. They were deliciously flavourful.
I created balls of 1.25”, making 24-30 cookies. I spaceD them about 1.5 inches apart. The baking time was still 10 minutes exactly.
A fantastic keeper. I will make this cookie often.
Those look amazing and i like the idea of using oat flour. But why do you say they aren’t tasty if overcooked – burned i understand and yes those would not be good. But i like a crispy gingersnap and i was thinking I could bake them just a tad longer to get that. Is that not the case? Thanks.
Hi Jacquie, these cookies are on the thicker side, so they start to become overly browned almost burnt when baked longer rather than crispy. I love a crispy ginger snap, too, but this particular recipe is meant to be soft and chewy. I hope you still try it out! This is truly one of my favorite cookie recipes.
Do you think any other sugars would work? Specifically Coconut sugar or date sugar? Or dark brown sugar? I just don’t have the light brown on hand and wanted to make these🙂
Sure, dark brown sugar would work. Just keep in mind that the cookies may have a darker color than pictured. I hope you love them!
These were absolutely amazing we only had one problem they didn’t flatten out we did u a criso butter and didn’t use the oat flour what could be the reason they didn’t flatten they are just balls?
So glad you liked the flavor! I suspect it was the crisco butter that caused them not to flatten. If you have any dough left, you could always try baking again at 325° for just a few minutes more to see if that does the trick.
I ended up eating 4 of these in one go! Oops! That said, they were delicious. The only changes I made were using all white flour and halving the molasses (just a habit I have). They are also super pretty to look at because of the sugar coating
Thanks so much for this! It’s SO easy to eat four of these at once. Truly one of our favorite cookies. Happy holidays to you!
These are the only gf vegan gingersnaps that I’ve tried making that work out! They flatten nicely and have a perfectly cracked top. Chewy on the outside and soft inside. I did sub equal parts almond flour / chana flour for the oat flour as I’m celiac and although oats can be gf they have avenin in them which can cause a similar reaction to gluten. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
So happy you loved these cookies, Katie! They’re a BIG fave of ours, as well. And so happy the almond/chana mix worked as a substitute for you. Happy holidays!
Instead of oat flour, can I substitute any other gf flour?
Yes! Just add additional regular or gf all-purpose flour can be used instead.