Molasses Ginger Cookies
Molasses Ginger Cookies
Making biscuits and slices to satisfy my long skinny husband’s sweet tooth is the biggest cooking challenge of all if we strictly adhere to our wheat free diet. He really enjoys a bite sized biscotti style treat with his coffee. He’s bored with all the variations of nutty meringues, and I’m bored with the limited number of plain treats I can make for him. Any worthwhile recipe I can add to my limited repertoire is noteworthy.
I’m not too fussed about alternative sugar sources, it’s still sugar after all, but with coconut sugar in the pantry I followed this recipe to the letter, except I couldn’t resist doubling the measure of spices. These cookies with a chewy heart are surprisingly light to eat and the molasses and spices meld to a delicious moreish flavour reminiscent of gingerbread cake.
60g chestnut flour
60g spelt flour
1 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 egg
4 tablespoons molasses
Extra sugar for decoration
Sift the dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl, then use a wire whisk to stir in the coconut sugar.
Beat the egg, oils and molasses until thick and the colour lightens.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a sticky batter.
Chill the biscuit batter for a minimum of 1 hour. This is essential for ease of handling.
Preheat the oven to 170C and line two ovenproof trays with baking paper.
Oil a dessertspoon. Drop heaped dessertspoons full of dough onto the paper lined trays allowing plenty of space between for the biscuits to spread.
Sprinkle the tops with a little extra sugar.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are firm and the top surfaces crazed.
Allow the biscuits to cool for 10 minutes on the trays before transferring them to a cooling wire.
Store in an airtight container.
Make 2 dozen
Recipe sourced from Kelliesfoodtoglow.com
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36 comments on “Molasses Ginger Cookies”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
I’ve been making these Molasses Sugar Cookies – gluten variety, however – since I was a little girl. These cookies were one of the first things my grandmother taught us to make. I like your inclusion of chestnut flour, though. Must try this!
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I had no idea of the provenance of these cookies when I made them, but they seem to be a sentimental American favourite. We loved them!
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It’s been tricky finding jars of molasses here in the UK – usually health food shops – but I try to make sure I have some on hand specifically for these cookies. Treacle just isn’t quite the same. You may be right about that American sentimental attachment!
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Interesting variation of molasses cookies, which are a traditional New England favorite. I have not seen chestnut flour around my local markets but since I’m not gluten free, I might use your spices in a recipe with flour. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I had no idea when I made these cookies Clara that they had a well loved American provenance. The flavour was fantastic.
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I’ve a bottle of molasses that I’ve never opened. It’s on the back of a cupboard shelf and I’m always surprised when I see it back there. I think I’ve just found a recipe that’s worth bringing that bottle out of the shadows. I’ve a couple of relatives that have gluten-related issues and these would be nice to have on hand should they visit over the holidays.
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The deep spicy flavours would be perfect for a northern Christmas John. We’ll be eating tropical fruit!
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Oh, I know you will and as strange as it might seem to me, I would love to experience one Christmas Down Under. Talk about a change of pace! 😀
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We spent had a northern Christmas in London in 2011 so we could experience our Christmas traditions in context. I realized then that what was special at Christmas for me was happy people full of cheer celebrating on the streets, at sidewalk cafes, in the parks and gardens, a very public and inclusive reverie, where in London it all happened behind closed doors which made it quite lonely for strangers. You’d be very welcome John!
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YUM!! I have a whopping jar of molasses in the pantry, that only gets pulled out for baked beans or chilli con carne. Time to make something sweet with it. Have never used chestnut flour, but very happy for any excuse to visit the Mediterranean Wholesalers!
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These biscuits were quite a treat, enjoy, and happy I gave you a reason to visit the Med Wholesaler, I love it too, it’s like a to Italy light
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Indeed. After trawling the aisles I always finish with a cannoli… that’s the best bit!
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I’m glad you like this recipe. 🙂 I like them quite spicy too, but I usually write up recipes for less than my palate desires. Chestnut flour is a real treat to bake with. I have made pasta with it too.
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Your molasses cookies were fabulous Kelly, thanks for the delicious recipe. Do you have a recipe for chestnut flour on your blog? It’s something I’d like to try.
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Thanks! No, I buy it here in the UK. It’s pretty easy to get here. My latest post also uses chestnut flour to make gnocchi. Pretty successful with added potato and roasted squash added.
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These look lovely, and quite festive with all those spices. I’ve never heard of coconut sugar but will definitely be on the lookout for it now. Does it actually taste coconutty?
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Just slightly, but not enough to contribute any flavour. i’d use brown sugar as a sub.
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Thank you 🙂 I love coconut so any excuse to get extra flavour in is a happy one for me! But I’ll try with brown sugar until I find the coconut one.
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Ginger, spices and molasses, hoo ha! You will have a happy hubby there! May I ask where you get your chestnut flour from please Mrs Recipe? I am having trouble finding any lately.
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Hi Cheery, beware, these contain spelt but I think they’d be OK with a mix of rice flour and GF plain flour. We have a specialty Italian importer in Melb with a supermarket attached, Mediterranean importers. My go to place for all things Italian. That doesn’t help you one bit does it? I follow a sydney blogger who cooks with chestnut flour quite a bit, I’ll ask her where she gets it from.
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Thanks so much! I had thought to try them with the spelt for the boys then do a swap out of gluten free flour next time. I used to get it at Thomas Dux but haven’t seen it for a bit. There is a gourmet deli that isn’t too far away that I haven’t tried lately so will pop in there soon. But if you do hear of where she gets hers from, that would be grand. 😁
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All Sydney blogger said was Italian delis. I was hoping she would be more specific. Good luck
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These look great, Sandra. I’ve never seen molasses here; I’ll have to look for it.
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Fabulous, almost like a Dutch biscuit. Glad to know that the chestnit flour and a bit of splet works: useful to have another GF recipe.
Yes I agree, sugar is sugar.
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Spelt is not GF (I used to think so, too)
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I have read that also, although some Gluten Intolerant folk seem to handle it well enough.
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I’m pretty sure those people do not actually suffer from celiac disease, but rather have chosen not to eat wheat. There are many more people who eat wheat-free or gluten-free than actually have celiac disease.
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Yes there are many more people who don’t have coeliac disease that choose not to eat wheat. I am one of those people and my choice is based on FODMAP intolerance. I do not digest short chain carbohydrates efficiently and suffer digestive disorders if I include them in my diet. It is not only wheat that must be excluded but many fruits, vegetables and additives.
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Thanks for clearing up my confusion and also to Sandra.
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Yes I’m well aware but it is modern wheat that causes me angst, but not spelt which only contains stretchy, not bouncy gluten
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Not GF Francesca, but wheat free. It’s a subtle difference I know but believe me my belly knows the difference.
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Ah yes, the two are confusing me. I think you have mentioned this before. I still see Spelt as a wheat , ancient form and variant that it is. Many cannot tolerate it either.
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That’s funny Sandra, normally we say “Give the man meat” but in your case it is “Give the man a biscuit”. 😀
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Spot on Glenda!
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I’ve been looking for a chewy type biscuit, Sandra. I actually have molasses in my pantry – I’ve been using it as a marinade. 🙂
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I love the sweet salty characteristic of molasses, its good in lots of things!
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