Two weeks before we got hitched, I made 375 Soft Ginger Cookies.
For some crazy idea unbeknownst to me, I decided that I was going to bake all of our guests delicious wedding favours as a token of our appreciation for their attendance.
How hard could it be, right?
[Is it creepy that I saved two of these favours and I still have them 2 years later!?]
Don’t answer that. ;)
Amazingly, I finished the favours just in the nick of time with special thanks to my ‘Little Elves’ who worked tirelessly wrapping and labelling the cookies…
The girls and I tended to more important things, like getting our hands and feet polished for the big day…
…getting our hair buffed…
And curled into a coif…
…celebrating on the town…
And trying not to get too confused at the wedding rehearsal…
Not long after our entrance into the reception ballroom, I realized that many of our guests had already dug into the cookies and polished off every last crumb! [I swear we didn’t deprive them of appetizers either!]
These were just some darn good cookies.
Our guests went a little crazy over them…
As did the boys…
[However, that could have been the wine talking, I can’t be sure.]
Eric’s Uncle Steve came up to me during the reception and told me something I will never forget:
“Angela, I didn’t think I would ever say this, but these Ginger Cookies are better than my mother’s ginger cookies that I grew up eating my whole life…’
Again, that could have been the wine talking.
All I remember thinking is, ‘Ohhh, yo mama gonna whip yo ass.’
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Wedded Bliss Soft Ginger Cookies
I adapted these soft and moist ginger cookies to make them vegan and they turned out even better than I remember. They also freeze wonderfully. I carefully froze the cookies in plastic wrap + ziplock bags (double wrapped) leading up to the wedding and they were as fresh as ever on the big day!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick
- 1/2 cup organic white sugar
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Flax or chia egg (1 tsp ground chia or flax + 4 tbsp almond milk)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour* (see note below)
- Turbinado sugar, for garnish
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease with butter. Mix flax or chia egg in small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the Earth Balance and sugar until combined. Now add the molasses, maple syrup, flax/chia egg, and vanilla and beat for another 60 seconds or so. In a medium sized bowl sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, sea salt, optional cloves). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet while beating with a mixer to combine. Beat until smooth and mixed well, about 20-30 seconds. With slightly wet hands, shape the dough into 1-1.5 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Carefully flatten ball slightly with hand and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. If making 1 inch balls, bake for no longer than 10 minutes at 350F. If making larger cookies, bake for 11-12 minutes. Cookies will slightly firm up after removing from oven. Makes 26 small cookies.
Note: I tested the cookies with an equal mixture of whole wheat and white flours (1.25 cups each) and the all white flour cookies were by far the best tasting. The whole wheat version cookies were a bit tough and I would not suggest using whole wheat flour.
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The first batch I made last night turned out ok, but not perfect. They were cracked and not as moist as I wanted them to be…I knew another trial was necessary.
This morning I was back at it at 5:45am, making my second batch!!!
Luckily this batch turned out just right.
I was so smitten by them, I crumbled a ginger cookie on top of my Gingerbread Vegan Overnight Oats!
Outrageous.
And now I shall squeeze in a run before I get baking Glo Bars. It is finally not raining outside so I think I might have to hit the great outdoors and bundle up in my warm running clothes. I need some sunshine in a major way.
Have you ever baked or cooked something for a large group of people? What did you make and what was it for?
I just wanted to say… these ginger cookies have been such a hit… with my family, my friends, and even my significant other!!! (And he is not usually a fan of anything “vegan!”) He actually said last night “You should make those ginger cookies again!” :)
i have made these 3 times now! they are sooooooooo good, i added carob chips too which was really great. thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Wow they are awesome. Just made them today and they taste beyond my expectations. Thank you so much for the recipe.
hi, Angela,
I was just wondering what kind of all-purpose flour you use in place of whole wheat all-purpose flour? is there a certain type or brand you would recommend? :)
My big baking projects always seem to revolve around the kids and school events. Since it seems I’m the only woman in Israel who has ever heard of basic holiday cookie dough (for making shaped and then iced snowmen, trees, pumpkins etc at the holidays), this is my go to recipe. Of course, having grown up in the States and not in a Jewish family may have something to do with my customs being different from the other mothers here ;-). The important thing is that the kids in school all think I’m the most fabulous baker in the world for bringing frosted dinosaur cookies to school (or frosted hearts, or frosted stars of David, etc). The fact that these cookies are soooo easy to make is neither here nor there in the world of being a hero in kids’ eyes ;-).
I love this idea for wedding favors! May I ask about how much it cost you to make them? We’re putting together our wedding budget now, but I have no idea how to budget for bulk-cookie making :-P
I have all the ingredients and want to make these for my boyfriend.
Is it really 1 teaspoon flax for the flax egg? (not tablespoon?)
Thanks!!
Just made these with spelt flour instead of all-purpose, and they came out great!
Hi Angela
I just found your blog today!! I’m planning to make your pumpkin chia dessert with these cookies and wanted to know how sweet the cookies were and would it be possible to leave out the sugar and if so, would leaving out all of it be ok or just some and use a replacement.
Thanks
So easy and so yum! My go-to-recipe for edible gifts or to bring a bowl of goodies to a party. Speaking of, better get baking for tonight
Angela – Seriously the BEST Ginger Cookies EVER! I made these this past weekend. I only modified 3 things, The Earth Balance Butter, Ginger, Flour
Notes on mods: The 1/2 c Earth balance made it 1/4c (and added 1/4c Coconut oil)
I actually ran out of Ginger Powder only had about 3/4tsp (used 2 tsp of FRESH Ginger along with the little bit of powder I had)
The Flour = I used a combination since you stated the whole wheat flour made them tough, and typically if I do have a regular kind of flour thats the one I have. SO I used a combination (1/2 c Whole Wheat Flour, 1c Oat Flour, 1c White flour) I actually still had just a bit of white flour left yay.
I will say my cookies came out a lighter color that what yours appear to have and I know I put in the Blackstrap Molasses thats always my favorite – I remember licking the jar!
My son is top 8 allergy free right now so I used GF flour (Namaste brand) and also quinoa milk in place of nut milk. I also didn’t own a cookie press so I pressed them with the back of a round glass bottom by running it under hot water every now and again before pressing so as not to stick. They came out so well that my husband who is not on a restricted diet ate 1/2 the batch. Will definitely be making them again. Thanks for the recipe! I’ve posted it on an allergy free site I use and explained what I did to accommodate. :)
I discovered these last year, my tummy isn’t really a fan of eggs and dairy so I tend to search for vegan dessert recipes. These are super yummy! This year I tried it with a GF 1-to-1 baking flour sub (and a few other minor substitutions since I didn’t have quite all of the ingredients. i.e. little less molasses and use brown sugar and some water instead of maple syrup.) Anyway the taste was fine but the texture seems a bit grainy. Still pretty soft and probably super enjoyable for GF eaters.
Thanks!
Hey Lisa,
I also find that GF mixes can be a bit grainy. I’m glad they still worked out okay even with the swaps! If you find a GF flour that you find works really well I’d love to hear about it. Happy baking! :)
These are my go to ginger molasses cookie! They always turn out super soft and delicious! I have also had luck making them with regular butter and an egg versus the vegan butter and flax egg.
I made these cookies when I was in the US and I loved them! Now I’m oversees and I can’t find vegan butter here. I wonder if I can replace butter with vegetable oil. Would it work?