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Enjoy two cookies in one with these easy soft pumpkin molasses cookies, ready in just 30 minutes. They’re soft, slightly chewy, thick, and perfectly flavored for fall with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and rich molasses!
Super Soft and Chewy Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
If you’re a fan of pumpkin cookies, gingersnaps, and gingerbread cookies, get ready to meet your latest obsession with these sweet and soft vegan pumpkin ginger cookies with molasses. These soft, chewy, wonderfully spiced vegan pumpkin cookies combine pumpkin puree with generous amounts of ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves with sticky, rich molasses. You are in for a treat!
Now, you’ll never see us turning down a big batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. However, these pumpkin ginger cookies are perfect for when you want vegan pumpkin cookies enhanced to a whole new level of flavor. The combination of spices makes for intense warmth and slight heat that are perfect for enjoying with a glass of your favorite dairy-free milk or black tea.
It’s not just the fragrant, spicy flavor that’s impressive, but the texture too. The combination of pumpkin puree, molasses, and sugar helps make thick and soft cookies with a slightly chewy middle, crisp edges, and the familiar crinkles and cracks along the sugar-crusted top.
Best of all, these dairy-free pumpkin cookies are very simple to prepare and require just a dozen simple ingredients, a couple of bowls, and are simple enough that the whole family can get involved.
If you can bring yourself to share, these fall cookies are also a great addition to fall potlucks, parties, and the holidays (even Christmas), alongside other delicious flavor mashups like chocolate pumpkin pie!
The Ingredients
This easy vegan pumpkin molasses cookies recipe relies on just 10 inexpensive, simple pantry staples for a budget-friendly fall treat.
- Pumpkin: Use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Homemade pumpkin puree will also work if you drain it to the same consistency first.
- Oil: Use a neutral oil like canola oil. Vegan butter like Miyoko’s/Earth Balance should also work.
- Molasses: This gives the vegan pumpkin ginger cookies a soft, chewy texture and gingerbread flavor. Use any molasses except blackstrap molasses.
- Sugar: You’ll need a combination of regular white sugar (or light brown sugar— unrefined coconut sugar should also work, but the flavor will differ) for the cookie dough and a coarse granulated sugar like turbinado sugar to sprinkle over the cookies.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure, natural vanilla for the best flavor.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour.
For vegan, gluten-free pumpkin ginger cookies: We recommend using an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking soda: To provide lift and keep these thick and soft pumpkin cookies from being stodgy/dense.
- Flax meal: Will work with the liquids to become an egg-replacing ‘binder’ in these eggless pumpkin cookies.
- Spices: The spices used in these pumpkin gingersnap cookies aren’t a complete gingerbread spice mix. But more so than pumpkin spice, with a combination of:
- Ground ginger
- Cinnamon
- Ground cloves
- Sea salt (don’t use table salt as the ratios will be way off)
If you want even more of a classic pumpkin gingerbread cookie taste, add 1 teaspoon of Allspice to the spice blend and a small pinch of nutmeg and black pepper. Alternatively, substitute the individual spices (minus the salt) for 2 teaspoons of gingerbread spice.
How to Make Soft Pumpkin Molasses Cookies?
These pumpkin molasses cookies are so wonderfully soft, chewy, and surprisingly simple to prepare!
- 1) First, preheat the oven to 350F/175C and lightly oil or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- 2) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and all the spices. Whisk well and set aside.
- 3) Whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, oil, molasses, flax meal, and vanilla in a second medium bowl. Mix until smooth and uniform.
- 4) Combine the two mixtures and stir until just combined into a tacky dough.
Be careful not to over-mix the batter as it will overwork the gluten and the cookies will turn out dense.
- 5) Divide the cookie dough into heaped tablespoon portions, roll them into balls, and transfer them to the prepared cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
The dough is tacky, so it can help to wet your hands with water or a little oil when rolling the dough.
- 6) Sprinkle the cookies with the turbinado sugar (or roll the dough in the sugar), then bake them for between 12-14 minutes until they are set but still soft.
- 7) Finally, remove the vegan pumpkin ginger cookies from the oven, let them cool for 5-6 minutes on the baking tray, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
FAQs
Not exactly. While the two use almost entirely the same ingredients, the ratio of them differentiates the two. For example, pumpkin spice is primarily cinnamon-based. In comparison, gingerbread spice obviously contains more ginger—usually containing a balance of ginger and cinnamon (and often allspice).
These vegan molasses cookies use a spice mixture that lies between both; heavy on the ginger, yet not as spicy and aromatic as gingerbread spice.
You may be able to replace a small amount of the oil with unsweetened applesauce. However, we don’t recommend replacing it all, as the texture of the pumpkin molasses cookies will change.
You can refrigerate the pumpkin gingersnap cookie dough for up to 2 days before baking the cookies. If anything, this gives the ingredients more time to meld for even better tasting cookies.
Absolutely. Our favorite option is making a simple vegan cream cheese frosting with plant-basedcream cheese, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla. Alternatively, make a simple glaze using dairy-free milk (about 1 tbsp) instead of vegan cream cheese.
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
- Measure the flour correctly: Fluff it up in its bag, then spoon it into the measuring cup, using the back of a knife to level it.
- The dough is sticky: Don’t be concerned if it seems too sticky for cookie dough. That’s just the molasses at play- it’s perfectly normal. To help roll the cookie dough, wet your hands first with water (or oil).
- If it’s still too hard to work with: Chill the dough in the fridge for a short while before rolling it into balls.
- Don’t flatten the cookies: As they bake, they spread just enough to form the perfect thick, rounded vegan pumpkin gingersnap cookies.
- Don’t overbake the cookies: They should still be soft when you remove them from the oven. The residual heat will further cook them, and then they set as they cool for the perfect soft and chewy consistency.
- Don’t sub the molasses: It really helps to ‘make’ the flavor of this vegan pumpkin cookie recipe, and they won’t be the same with a substitute.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Triple Ginger Cookies
- Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- California Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Soft Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
- 1 cup of sugar
- ½ cup of pumpkin
- ½ cup of canola oil
- ¼ cup of molasses
- 1 tablespoon of flax meal
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar (or other coarse sugar) (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Lightly oil a large baking sheet.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves. Mix well. Set aside.
- In a second medium bowl, whisk together sugar, pumpkin, oil, molasses, flax meal, and vanilla until smooth and uniform.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.
- Dough will probably be a bit sticky. If so, wet your hands with water to prevent sticking and roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls. Place on a baking sheet, leaving a couple inches of space between each. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are set but not hard.
- Remove from the oven. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 or 6 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly: Fluff it up in its back, then spoon it into the measuring cup, using the back of a knife to level it.
- The dough is sticky: Don’t be concerned if it seems too sticky for cookie dough. That’s just the molasses at play- it’s perfectly normal. To help roll the cookie dough, wet your hands first with water (or oil).
- If it’s still too hard to work with: Chill the dough in the fridge for a short while before rolling it into balls.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
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First of all, this recipe is delicious.
However, I could not get my cookies to be as round as yours. I first followed the recipe exactly, and they came out super flat. Then, I refrigerated the dough before I shaped the next batch – still flat. For the last few cookies, I refrigerated the dough again, plus baked them for only 10 minutes. Still flat! What could be going on?
I made these. I did reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons and increased the molasses to 1/2 cup. That’s it and they were still awesome.
So glad you enjoyed it! They’re so tasty!
These cookies look amazing
Perfect cookies to bake during the holidays and the best friend to a delicious cup of tea 🙂
Pumpkin and molasses go so well together! These spiced cookies are wonderful!
These come out so delicious and with just the right texture!
Love how soft and chewy these cookies are! I have a feeling I’ll be making these often!
You and me both! They’re a goodie!
Love the texture and the combo of molasses and spices!
Same! So sweet and packed with delicious spice – all in one bite!
love how soft these cookies turn out! so good!
I made these last week for my family and they were a hit! They are so, so soft! My kids said I should definitely make them again!
That’s so awesome to hear! They’re a crowd pleaser for sure!