These soft & chewy gluten-free chocolate ginger cookies make a cozy holiday treat filled with gooey pockets of melted dark chocolate, warm baking spices, and earthy molasses. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post!
10 Years of Ginger Molasses Cookies
TBG turned 10 this year! To celebrate, I'm closing out 2019 with a twist on an old favorite recipe that I shared almost 10 years ago to the day. Ginger molasses cookies were my very favorite cookies at the time, and I adapted an epically great formula from Cook's Illustrated. I stirred chocolate into some of the cookies, three kinds of ginger into another portion of the dough, and some I dredged in citrus sugar.
I shared a gluten-free ginger molasses cookie recipe in 2012 which has become a fan favorite and one that I make nearly every year. This year, I couldn't get gooey chocolate cookies out of my head. So I experimented with a double chocolate variation, swapping a portion of GF oat flour for cocoa powder and stirring in dark chocolate chunks.
I'm thrilled with how these GF chocolate ginger cookies came out, and can't stop dunking warm cookies in a cool glass of milk for dessert (and lunch dessert, and breakfast dessert...) I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do!
Ingredients for GF Chocolate Ginger Cookie Success & Substitution Suggestions
- A trio of flours creates a pillowy, chewy texture. Oat flour adds earthy flavor and makes the cookies bake up soft and tender. You can try substituting sorghum flour by weight if you prefer. Sweet rice flour creates a sturdy texture, but Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF AP flour should work just as well. Tapioca flour makes the cookies extra thick and chewy. And if gluten isn't an issue for you, trade all of these flours for 200 g AP wheat flour.
- Cocoa powder adds dark chocolate flavor. I prefer dutch-process cocoa, but you can try natural cocoa if that's what you have on hand.
- Baking soda helps the cookies spread and form pretty crackles.
- Fine sea salt sharpens the flavors.
- Warm baking spices – ginger, cinnamon, and allspice – give these cookies a gingerbread vibe that sings of winter holidays.
- Melted butter is easy to incorporate – no mixer needed! You can use vegan butter for a non-dairy option; my favorite is Miyoko's.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar sweeten the dough. I prefer organic sugars which have a bit more molasses and larger crystals, but either will work.
- An egg helps the cookies puff up in the oven. But my eggless/vegan readers can substitute an egg replacement such as Just Egg, or try applesauce or aquafaba. You may need to tinker with the flour if the cookies spread too much or too little.
- Molasses adds earthy flavor, moisture, and chew. I've tried these with dark unsulphured and blackstrap molasses and both work. A lighter molasses should work too.
- Vanilla adds a topnote of flavor.
- Chopped dark chocolate melts into rich puddles within the cookies. I prefer bittersweet chocolate with around 70% cacao mass.
How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies
These gluten-free chocolate ginger cookies look a bit fancy, what with their sparkling sugar crinkles, but they're nearly as easy to make as any drop cookie. Simply stir together the melted butter with the sugars, molasses, egg, and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients and stir them into the egg mixture. Stir vigorously for about 40 strokes – this activates the sticky ingredients making for more dense, chewy cookies. Stir in the chocolate.
Chill the dough until firm, at least 1 hour and up to a few days. Scoop the cookies into balls. I like to use a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop to make uniform balls. Roll the dough balls in sugar and top with a chunk or two of chocolate. Bake and devour!
The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Enjoy these gluten-free chocolate ginger cookies warm with a glass of milk or plant milk. Or cozy up with a vegan gingersnap latte.
When cooled, these gf chocolate ginger cookies keep beautifully, airtight at room temperature, for up to 3 or 4 days. The molasses and brown sugar keep them pliable and moist and the flavors continue to emerge and meld as they sit.
Give the Gift of Gluten-Free Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Stack these in a wide-mouth mason jar tied with decorative twine for a sweet homemade edible gift. Or include them in a box with other holiday cookies.
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free chocolate ginger cookie recipe, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Gluten-Free Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3/4 cup (125 g) Bob's Red Mill sweet rice flour (or 1 to 1 GF all-purpose flour blend)
- ½ cup (50 g) Bob's Red Mill GF oat flour (or try an equal weight of sorghum flour)
- ½ cup (45 g) dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (27 g) Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and kept warm
- 1/3 cup (100 g) molasses (I use blackstrap)
- 1/3 cup (65 g) light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar (preferably organic cane sugar), plus another 1/3 cup for rolling the cookies
- 1 large egg (2 ounces out of shell)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (170 g) chopped dark chocolate, plus a handful for the tops
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together the oat flour, sweet rice flour, cocoa powder, and tapioca flours with the baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
- In a large bowl, stir together the butter, molasses, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the flour mixture with a sturdy wooden spoon. Once the flour is incorporated, stir vigorously for 40 strokes - this activates the stickiness of the flours and makes for chewy cookies. Stir in the chocolate.
- Cover the dough and chill until firm, 1-2 hours or 1-2 days.
- When you're ready to bake, position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line 2 rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl.
- Scoop the cookies into 1" balls (a spring-loaded #40 ice cream scoop works wonders) and roll each ball in the sugar. Place the balls at least 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they are puffed and cracked, and the dough between the cracks looks underbaked, 7-10 minutes, rotating the pan after 5 minutes to ensure even baking. Repeat with the second pan.
- Let the cookies cool slightly on the pan (or if they've been overcooked, whisk the parchment and cookies straight off the sheet and onto a cooling rack), then use a thin, metal spatula to remove the cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely (the cookies will still be baking from residual heat), then store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:
- Vegan Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Lemon Bars with Almond Shortbread Crust
- Vegan & Gluten-Free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple and Oats
- Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies (and Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches)
- Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies
- Gluten-Free Blondies with Cranberries and Chestnut Flour
- Gluten-Free Cookie Bars with Coconut and Rum (aka Congo Bars)
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach
- Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Cookies
- Gluten-Free Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
- Find more GF cookie recipes in my cookbook Alternative Baker!
- Ricotta Blackberry Shortcakes with Honey and Thyme {Gluten-Free}
- Gluten Free Macaroons with Coconut, Brown Butter & Almond
These cookies look amazing! Can't wait to give them a try and gift them to my sister's family since they're gluten free!
Paige
Aw thank you Paige! Please let me know if you try them. :)
Can one use raw cacao powder?
Grazi
I haven't tested them this way but I *think* it should work. Please let me know if you try!
Amazing! This new recipe came while I had gingersnaps on my to do list. These are so good! Crispy edges. Chewy. Nice! As always your flavors are the best. What an intriguing combination!
Today I followed your recipe exactly except for egg. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free vegan egg replacer. Plus I added two tablespoons of whey protein isolate because it just seems to me that dairy protein helps if there’s no egg. The dough was quite heavy, almost like playdoh so I added another tablespoon water. They baked perfectly. Oh joy for cracked domes! So now I need at least two more batches to try no whey and then try applesauce as you suggested. Sometimes applesauce won’t hold cookies but maybe with the tapioca it will. Love these! Thank you!
Oh I'm SO glad to know that the Bob's egg replacer works here! Please let me know if you test these without the whey protein and/or with applesauce. I love having more options to give readers! Also I want to see pictures! <3
Hi Alanna,
I’ve made these twice more. Once with just the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. Those were ok. They didn’t spread so I gave them a smash. The flavor was a bit bland. Third batch I used Greek yogurt for the egg. That was a success. Better flavor and spread. Nice cracks. It’s too bad this doesn’t take pics.
**autocorrect created some confusing substitutions when I wrote this, and so I’ve revised it 😖 Apologies! *
First, as always you’re splendid Alanna. Lovely pictures, and great instructions. One small thing- I didn’t see where the amount of pepper is listed in the recipe? I went with 1/4 tsp.
And… for those who also don’t think ahead to the holiday work party, and are excited by living on the baking edge (trying out new recipes without knowing if you have all of the recommended ingredients☺️).
I didn’t have sweet rice flour, just white rice flour, and my food processor stopped working, so home made oat flour was a no go. I ended up using white rice flour, increasing the tapioca by 2.5T, and subbing sorghum. They’ve baked up interestingly. The flavor of ginger, cocoa, and molasses -with that light hint of allspice and cinnamon is novel to me and really lovely. The texture of my cookies ended up being soft, moist, fragile, and slightly gritty. I bet that’s from the white flour instead of sweet rice (which is more sticky I think). Also interesting, the first two sheets to come out of the oven-the cookies were a mix of looking just like Alanna’s vs spreading with ragged edges. The last sheet? Exact same time in the oven? Came out picture perfect.
Love the chemistry experiment aspect of trying different flour combos. Love your blog and work always, Alanna!
Thank you for the note and for trying my recipe with some different flours! Thanks for catching the pepper error. My original recipe used pepper but I left it out of this one since I didn't feel the chocolate version needed it, and then forgot to delete it from the copy/pasted instructions. It's fixed now! :)
I'm not surprised the cookies made with these flours were more fragile and a little gritty. Both sorghum and white rice flour can have a sharper, grittier texture than sweet rice and oat flour. Upping the tapioca was a great call though! Still better than no cookies, right?!
Also interesting about some of the cookies spreading more than others. Do you think the dough was thoroughly stirred together? Sometimes the culprit can be if parts of the dough contain more butter than others.
Thanks so much for experimenting with these and for the sweet note! :)
Another keeper, Alanna! I mixed these up right before Christmas and we baked them Christmas Eve. They were an immediate hit and they are keeping well, as I’m trying to exercise restraint and not eat as many as I’d like :-) Next time around I think adding finely chopped candied ginger would be nice - what do you think? I look forward to your posts in the coming year. I never thought gf baking could be so good! Best wishes for a happy New Year!
Awww thank you so much for trying my recipe Trish - I'm so glad you loved these! They do keep nicely, don't they? I think finely chopped candied ginger would be DELICIOUS. Please let me know if you try it! And if you feel inspired to give this recipe a star rating, I'd be so appreciative! Wishing you a happy new year filled with much GF baking too. <3
A terrific recipe that keeps so well! My apologies for not rating this the first time around :-)
Oh not at all! I really appreciate it :D
These are my new go-to Christmas gift cookies! I made a double batch with regular old wheat flour for the cookie exchange at my husband’s workplace, and they were a huge hit! People said they “tasted like Christmas.” Thanks for the great, easy recipe! Been a long-time follower of your blog.
Ahhh I'm so glad they were a hit and that they worked well with AP wheat flour! Thanks a bunch for the sweet note and for following along all these years - it means the world to me. :)
The ginger cookie recipe from Alternative Baker is my staple ginger cookie. However, I can’t find mesquite flour in France...this cookie was just as good. I added pecans, crystallized ginger pieces and spelt flour.
I'm so glad they were a hit! Those modifications sound delicious. :)
These are decadent! Soft, chewy, rich, complex with the spices, mm-mmm! They stayed perfectly soft for many days stored in a closed tupperware. I gave a few out to friends and everyone loved them. I would cut the sugar a smidge to my taste next time. Thank you!
You've been a busy cookie baker! I'm so glad you liked these. Thanks for the note about cutting the sugar, that's helpful to know. Let me know if you try it with less next time!
Have you, or do you know if anyone has had success making a grain free version of these?
Hi May,
I think you could sub cassava for the sweet rice flour, and tiger nut (or almond) flour for the oat flour. OR I think you could adapt this paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe by adding spices, subbing in some molasses for some maple syrup, and using some cocoa powder in place of half of the tiger nut flour. Now I'm craving this so badly!
Is the dutch process cocoa essential to these cookies? (not swappable for regular cocoa)
oops sorry nvm! Read through it thoroughly this time!
No worries! Please let me know what you try. :)