
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?
Yum! Ginger cookies are one of my favourite cookies, especially around Christmas time. So delicious.
I’ve never made anything for that large of a group of people. However, every Christmas I spend days on end baking about 10-12 different treats (cookies, squares, etc) and make treat platters for close family and friends. :)
That’s a great story. Those cookies look so good and I love the new cookie press.
Cutest post ever!!!!!!! :)
Gingerbread cookies are my faaaaaavourite. I’m always looking for new recipes to try. My mom’s friend makes *the best* gingerbread cookies and I begged her to give me the recipe – only I wish she hadn’t because the list was pretty scary. I am definitely going to give these a try — including the part where I crumble some in my breakfast!! :D
I don’t think I have ever had ginger cookies! I have some sort of mental aversion to ginger…
Hmm, I’m getting married next year and I haven’t found any favors that I like yet. I think I may have just found a winner :) Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Awesome.
I had a similar inspiration for my wedding- I made the cake! It was a 3-tier, the whole she-bang. 14 inch, 10 inch and six inch layers. It was a fun project for me- and my now-husband helped me a lot in the prep work!
It’s not creepy to save wedding favours. I still have your wedding Ginger cookies in our freezer as a keepsake. I think it’s the trait of being sentimental. Loved this post & pics which brought a big smile to my face — such nice memories of your day!
I made baskets of sweets for all most of my relatives last year at Christmas. In them were: lemon ricotta cookies, mocha fudge, peppermint biscotti, peppermint bark, and sugar cookies with royal icing. I don’t know if you can tell-but I am super proud of them, haha. It was a lot of fun but A LOT of work. STill looking forward to doing it this year, though :D
Ginger cookies look amazing, by the way. They might be making an appearance in this year’s Christmas basket!!
Giving cookies as wedding favors is such a great idea! I would have probably given up after making 50 and given the rest of my guests chips ahoy :-P. (If I were feeling generous they’d get pepperidge farm ones lol)
Amaaaaaazing. I just have to get myself some ground ginger and try these!
Gingerbread cookies are so yummy and yours look devine! I recently made a huge batch of coconut cupcake, which went down well with the family. The recipe is below…
http://celeryandcupcakes.wordpress.com/2010/09/26/cupcakes-no-celery/
I love your blog by the way, so many tasty recipes!
your ginger cookies look tasty. i just made these too!! i’m addicted to the chewy, spicy goodness. great idea putting it on VOO. wish i could but my batch is gone already…..
Wow what an impressive job to take on pre wedding! your cookies look and sound amazing! Perfect fall cookie :)
I loved the story you paired with this recipe and the photos! Made me smile.
Making a good ginger cookie is no small feat. I think ginger and molasses cookies are the hardest to bake..major kudos to you =)
these look soo good! do you know if blackstrap molasses goes bad? i’ve had some for a very long time and i’m not sure if it’s even good anymore.
I LOVE ginger cookies. I’ll have to keep these in mind as the holidays approach. Thanks, Angela!
My wedding was in my home town in Pennsylvania… there we have a tradition of a “cookie table” at our wedding. I lived at home the month before the wedding and was able to bake and freeze / bake and freeze / and so on until the wedding day! I madeeee hundreds and hundreds and golly maybe 10 different types?
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made some ginger cookies recently and they were awful! I think that I may have messed them up, but I am scared to use that recipe again.
Yep, my husband and I throw a Christmas party every year for our friends. It’s never been anywhere near the number of people at your wedding, but when you are used to cooking for two, cooking for a group of 20 can get intense!
BTW- those cookies look pretty unbelieveably good :)