I've been making Small Batch Vegan Molasses Cookies forever and still love the recipe. The cookies are spicy, sweet, chewy and have crackly tops. The recipe is small batch in that it bakes 14 to 16 cookies, but because it's vegan and doesn't require any eggs, it's super easy to scale down. Sometimes I make ⅓ or even ⅙ of a batch. Here's the latest photo.
Here's are some older pictures.
Vegan Molasses Cookies Oil Amount & Type
At one point someone mentioned 6 tablespoons of oil made the cookies "greasy". That might be the case if you are using really generous tablespoons, but the cookies should not be greasy if you use the correct amount of oil. Also, use fresh oil or a really neutral flavored oil. I find sunflower oil and grapeseed to be the most neutral tasting.
Tiny Changes Make a Big Impact
This recipe is easy, but in smaller batch recipes the "tiny" changes make a bigger impact. That's why some people complained that the cookies were greasy, while others felt they were perfect. My last batch of dough came out very dry, and as I looked over my ingredients I noted a few things.
- The tablespoon I was using was cheap and each tablespoon of oil only weighed about 9 ½ grams. Oil usually weighs 11-12 grams per tablespoon. The fix? Just use a weight. 66 grams of oil works.
- I used King Arthur flour in the most recent batch. KA has more protein and absorbs more water, so more dryness. Dough would be less dry with Gold Medal or lower protein. The fix is easy -- a tiny splash of liquid.
- My brown sugar was fresh, but still dry maybe due to brand or storage.
These little things added up to a dryer than usual dough. In the past I'd most likely used Gold Medal vs. King Arthur flour, measured the oil with a different spoon, and used less thirsty brown sugar. Luckily the solution to dryness is just a couple of teaspoons of cold coffee or water.
Recipe
Vegan Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (145 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (100 grams)
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (66 grams)
- 2 tablespoons molasses (40 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce, drained
- Sparkly sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F or 165 degrees C.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
- In a second bowl, mix brown sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, vanilla and drained apple sauce.
- Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and stir until mixed. Using a tablespoon measure or a small scoop, scoop up dough. Place the mounds about 2 ½ inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with sparkly sugar. Bake for about minutes. Let cool for 2 minute on sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool.
Fuzz says
I was out of eggs this morning, so I made these! They were super easy to throw together, and mine definitely didn't come out greasy at all. The edges were nice and crispy once they had cooled! I didn't have cloves, so for spices I used a half teaspoon of Ceylon cinnamon and a half teaspoon of Vietnamese cinnamon along with the ginger.
Sahra says
Oh yea, this may sound weird, but they are great with a sprinkle of salt on top!
Sahra says
These cookies are amazing! Thanks for the recipe. A few tweeks and they become my own and still come out great. I appreciate your innovation!
Phaedra says
For the butter lovers who would like to try vegan use coconut oil instead. Yummy butter
consistency in the mouth and no cholesterol!
Jamie says
Deliciousness. My neighbors agree, but most of all their little kid thought it was the best thing he'd had all day.
Anna says
Lots of vegans use molasses.
Honey is definitely not vegan because it comes from bees, but as far as I know molasses is vegan.
Maggie says
Hey there, sounds good, but I don't think molasses is vegan... ...?
reziah says
I used 4 tbsp of oil and mine came out a little different from the picture. (More like a ball shape and less like a normal flat cookie) But they were very very yummy. My husband (who is very fussy when it comes to junk food) liked them! (A victory) Thanks for posting.
Mistresstina says
Hi
I just made these cookies for a holiday party and they came out so excellent! I doubled the recipe and instead of sprinkling sugar on top I rolled them in balls and dipped in sugar before baking.
My best friend is vegan and I am always trying to find tasty things to make her. Let's just say she has eaten alot of horrible vegan food..
This is by far the best vegan recipe I have ever found and I can't wait to try your other recipes! I also love how your vegan recipes do not include any weird ingredients! I made these cookies out of all stuff I already had in my pantry. You really have a gift!
Diana says
these came out VERY well!
please post more vegan recipes!
Jen A says
Had these yesterday at the Craft magazine party at the work*shop. Soo very good. Thanks for the recipe! Jen A
Anna says
I would love to see that list! Cool!
kibbles says
Thank you so much for these cookies! I went looking online, per my boyfriends request, and viola! Even though I messed up the recipe; don't have cloves, used some banana instead of apple sauce, put in way too much molasses and tried to salvage it by "eyeing", they turned out perfect! They didn't spread out as much as your photos, but they're soft and yummy and I might eat them all before the boy gets home! Thank you again, they're mpermanently on my list of "Vegan Cookies to Feed Hesitant Omni's" 🙂
Anna says
Hélène, thanks for being the first to test out my metric measures. I agree, butter is delicious! I thought these were good too, though. I might add some crystallized ginger next time.
Hélène says
Well, I made the cookies and they turned out just fine... there's only one left and not for long!
Still, I think I'll try with butter next time, because there is nothing like the tatse of butter in cookies.
Thanks again and keep up the frenzy posting!!! We love it!
Anna says
Hi Peggy,
Thanks so much for your comment!
Peggy says
Hey - I read your blog after my kid goes to bed. I just got caught up with the last few entries and saw where someone said," I'm glad you didn't quit the blog". Me too! I have a 5 yr old daughter with severe peanut and tree nut allergies I look to your blog for inspiration and try to adapt the recipe. I love your tips! Keep blogging, I hope this short message inspires you. Your blog inspires me. Btw - if I baked everyday, I would weigh 500 lbs. I have ZERO will power!
peggy
Anna says
I bought some at a tea store in Chelsea Market in NYC. It was in ball form rather than bag and was so strong that I didn't really enjoy it. A few weeks later, back in Austin, I bought a box of the Adagio brand which comes in triangular bags. It was barn/dirt/stable tasting, but mellower. I held my nose a little at first, the slowly started to breathe it in and enjoy it. Now I crave it.
Another source is Zhi Tea. I've met the owners of the company and they are just the nicest people and dedicated to good tea. Here's a link to their pu erh.
http://www.zhitea.com/store/detail.aspx?category=14§ion=13&id=479
Kate says
For Christmas I got some pu erh tea from Teavana and I thought the exact same thing at first... it tasted like earth/dirt? I just keep thinking of the health benefits!
meredith says
Groovy. I adore black coffee, so maybe I'll like -- if I hold my nose as I drink it! But won't I look hip, dunking my vegan cookies in elixir tea! 🙂
meredith says
silly question -- but what is pu-ehr tea? You mentioned it in another post, but I didn't find any in the tea section of our store. A brand? Variety?
Glad you're feeling better.
Anna says
Meredith, it's a variety of Chinese tea with a really earth flavor. My favorite brand is by Adagio. I buy it at a liquor/gourmet store called Specs, but you can also order it on-line.
You might not like the flavor at first, because it really does tastes the way a barn smells, but it grows on you and then you start to crave it.
Jackie says
Anna, Which scale did you get? And what does "woot" mean?
Happy New Year!
Anna says
Hi Hélène,
I hope you enjoy the cookies. It will be interesting to see if the metric measurements work for an *actual* European baker ;).
Hélène says
Well I can't believe you did it! You actually included the metric...thank you so much!
These look delicious too, I can't wait to taste them with my family.
Thanks again for us poor europeans!