Description
Delightfully chewy vegan molasses cookies with warm spices and a cinnamon sugar coating. These plant-based treats use cashew butter and aquafaba for moisture and binding, delivering a soft yet slightly crunchy texture. Perfect for a cozy dessert or snack, they are easy to prepare and bake in under 20 minutes after chilling.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup cashew butter
- â…” cup soft brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- â…“ cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons aquafaba
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Coating
- ¼ cup granulated cane sugar (or demerara sugar)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix wet ingredients: Add the cashew butter, soft brown sugar, molasses, aquafaba, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer or large bowl. Whisk for a couple of minutes until all ingredients are thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Sift dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, sieve together the plain flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt to ensure even distribution of the spices and leavening.
- Combine dough: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the bowl or stand mixer. Mix until a cohesive dough forms. If mixing by hand, bring the dough together carefully until it is smooth. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least one hour to firm up.
- Preheat oven: While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) in preparation for baking the cookies.
- Prepare coating: In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon evenly for the rolling process.
- Shape cookies: Once chilled, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each into a ball with your hands, then roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and use the back of a spoon to gently flatten them.
- Bake cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. After baking, leave the cookies on the tray for 2 minutes to set before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store: Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container. They will be slightly firm and crunchy when fresh but will soften after the first day, lasting up to one week.
Notes
- Using aquafaba replaces eggs and helps bind the dough while keeping it vegan.
- Chilling the dough is important to get a better texture and prevent spreading while baking.
- Molasses gives a rich, deep sweetness and characteristic flavor typical of traditional molasses cookies.
- You can substitute coconut sugar for brown sugar to keep the recipe refined sugar-free.
- The cookies will firm up as they cool; do not overbake to retain chewiness.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature for best freshness.
