holiday cookies

Name: Orange Iced Ginger Molasses Cookies
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 22
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegan butter stick, softened; 2/3 cup coconut sugar; 3 Tbsp molasses; 1 large egg, room temp; 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 3/4 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 3-4 Tbsp granulated sugar for rolling (optional!); 1 cup powdered sugar; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 3-5 tsp plant-based milk; Zest from 1 medium orange

Orange Iced Ginger Molasses Cookies (DF)

December 12, 2019 by Rachael Ng 2 Comments

When I set out to compile a list of new (and old) holiday cookie recipes for my 12 Days of Dairy-Free Cookies over on Instagram, I knew I needed a ginger cookie of some sort. Last year, I made these Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies with coconut oil, but I’ve since fallen for the tase and texture that dairy-free (vegan) butter adds to a cookie dough! For this recipe, I adapted the cookies from last holiday season, swapping the coconut oil for vegan butter and adding a delicious (and perfectly festive!) orange icing. You can think of these as the easier version of those stamped and iced gingerbread cookies that are all over the internet. No special tools required!

The dough comes together like any other traditional cookie dough. You’ll cream the butter and sugar together, add molasses and egg, and then stir in the dry ingredients. The dough will be sticky. Too sticky to scoop or roll. But popping the dough in the refrigerator uncovered allows the dough to dry out and firm up just enough to get the dough balls rolled. I don’t recommend chilling the dough for any longer as the cookies might not spread!

Once your cookies are baked and cooled, you’ll make a simple icing flavored with a bit of vanilla extract and fresh orange zest. Then you’ll dip the tops of each cookie into the glaze, careful not to submerge the sides, allow the excess icing to drip off, and voila! You’ve got beautifully iced, totally delicious, soft ginger molasses cookies!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Coconut sugar is my favorite, better-for-you sweetener. It’s low GI, unrefined, and tastes nothing like coconut. It makes a great 1:1 replacement for regular, high GI sugars like granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Molasses brings that seasonal taste we all know and love to these cookies. It also adds necessary moisture to keep these cookies nice and soft.

Egg adds moisture, fluff, and chewiness to these cookies. For a classic cookie texture, egg is best.

Yield: 22 Cookies

Orange Iced Ginger Molasses Cookies

Soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies topped with a simple icing made with fresh orange rind! A pretty and extra delicious way to enjoy your favorite ginger cookies!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

Cookies

1/2 cup vegan butter stick, softened
2/3 cup coconut sugar
3 Tbsp molasses
1 large egg, room temp
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3-4 Tbsp granulated sugar for rolling (optional!)

Orange Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3-5 tsp plant-based milk
Zest from 1 medium orange

Instructions

Make the Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring your egg to room temperature (if it's not already) by placing it in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar until fluffy. Beat in the molasses and then the egg; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients to wet and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to gently mix. The dough may seem dry when you begin mixing, but it will turn out quite sticky. Chill dough, uncovered, for 15 minutes - this helps dry it out a bit.
Scoop six dough balls 1.5 Tbsp in size. Roll each dough ball and then roll in the granulated sugar (totally optional). Place on prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 350°F for 7 minutes or until cookies have puffed up.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before gently moving to a cooling rack. Continue baking the rest of your dough. There's no need to re-chill the dough. Be sure to use a room temp baking sheet each time - this is why two baking sheets are handy!

Make the Icing

Once your cookies have totally cooled, you can make your icing. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 3 tsp of the plant-based milk. Add milk 1 tsp at a time until you've reached a thin, drip-from-your-spoon consistency. Finally, stir in the fresh orange zest.
Dip just the top of each cookie into the icing, allowing excess icing to drip off. This process is a bit tedious but necessary. Ideally, you want only the tops of the cookies iced, so be careful not to submerge the sides of the cookies while dipping. Turn each dipped cookie over and allow to set on a cooling rack.
Once icing has set, you can store cookies in an airtight container at room temp, placing a piece of parchment paper between each layer to keep the cookies from sticking to each other.

Notes

You won't use all of the icing, but it's nice to have the icing deep enough to dip (which is why I recommend mixing it in a small bowl!).
Feel free to leave the icing off. These cookies, especially when rolled in granulated sugar, are delicious and sweet as-is. Alternatively, the granulated sugar can be left off the dough balls if you're icing the cookies. I chose to do both.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Cups (vegan)

December 11, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Flaxseed meal mixes with warm water to create a thick egg replacement. You don’t taste the flax at all in this recipe, but if you’re not vegan, feel free to use large eggs instead.

Semi-sweet chocolate is the perfect chocolate for these cookie cups! With just the right amount of sweet, you can use it for both the cups and the chocolate ganache. If you like your desserts extra rich, you can use dark chocolate (72%) for the ganache.

Coconut oil is a simple, dairy-free alternative to butter in this recipe. It sets up quickly in the refrigerator, so you’ll only need to chill the dough for 30 minutes. Plus, the coconut taste doesn’t come out in the final product!

Dutch-process cocoa powder has a richer chocolate flavor and deeper color.

Peppermint extract makes these peppermint cookie cups! Make sure to use peppermint extract and not mint extract (which tastes like spearmint toothpaste!).

Coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk) thickens the chocolate ganache. It’s a wonderful replacement for dairy cream, and you won’t taste any coconut in the final product.

Yield: 16 Cookie Cups

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Cups

Rich and indulgent dark chocolate peppermint cookie cups topped with a decadent chocolate ganache, creamy white chocolate drizzle, and festive peppermint pieces!

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 8 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie Cups

2 flax eggs* or 2 large eggs, room temp
6oz dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup solid coconut oil
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp peppermint extract

Toppings

5oz dairy-free semi-sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup coconut cream or full fat fat coconut milk
3-4 Tbsp dairy-free white chocolate chips
1-2 Tbsp crushed peppermint pieces
1-2 Tbsp sugar sprinkles

Instructions

Make the Cookie Cups

Make your flax eggs by combining the flaxseed meal and warm water in a small bowl; set aside to allow time to thicken. OR bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with about an inch of water and place over medium heat. Grab a heatproof bowl (one that will sit on your pot of water without touching the water), place it on your pot of water, and add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil. Stir frequently until everything is melted; set mixture aside.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt until flour and cocoa are combined; set aside.
Return to your chocolate mixture and stir in the coconut sugar. Add the flax eggs and peppermint extract and stir to combine. Finally, add the dry ingredients and stir until totally combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and liberally spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray - I used olive oil spray. Remove dough from the refrigerator and scoop 1" balls (a little more than 1.5 Tbsp). Roll dough balls smooth and place in the prepared muffin wells.
Bake at 350°F for 7-8 minutes. Immediately press small, circular wells into the tops of each cookie cup, making them as shallow or deep as you'd like. I used the top of a sesame oil bottle with a 1" bottle cap - it worked perfectly! Allow cookie cups to cool in the muffin pan.
Once your cookie cups are cool, use a butter knife to very gently loosen the top edges of each cup. Turn your muffin pan over and hit the back until all muffin cups have released - this may take a bit of finagling, but all of your cups should come out clean.

Prepare the Toppings

Using the same double boiler method as above (heatproof bowl sitting on top of a pot of simmering water), melt the chopped chocolate and coconut cream, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, stirring here and there. Ganache should thicken quite a bit.
Use a ziploc bag or piping bag fitted with a small, circular tip to pipe the ganache into each cookie cup.
Melt the white chocolate chips by microwaving in 15 second intervals until smooth, careful not to over-heat them. Pour white chocolate into a ziploc bag, snip the corner, and drizzle the chocolate over the ganache.
Immediately (and quickly!) top the cookie cups with a mix of sugar sprinkles and crushed peppermint pieces.
Store cookie cup leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

*2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp warm water
Make sure you use peppermint extract, not mint extract (which tastes like toothpaste!).
The piped ganache and melted white chocolate will begin to set soon after piping, so make haste with sprinkling the crushed peppermint pieces and sprinkles onto the tops!
It's important to bring your eggs to room temperature because cold eggs could affect the coconut oil, solidifying the melted oil into little chunks

Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars with Frosting (DF)

December 3, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

What’s better than a fresh-baked, soft ginger cookie around this time of year? Frosted ginger cookie bars! They have all the great flavors of a traditional soft ginger molasses cookie, but they’re easier and quicker to bake! Plus they’re topped with a dreamy vanilla buttercream frosting made with vegan butter. And you don’t miss out on any chewiness, because these bars have it all – soft and chewy!

The recipe for these cookie bars involves a simple dough. No refrigeration is required as the dough gets immediately pressed into a baking dish – like I said, easy. Once the bars have totally cooled, you’ll whip up my favorite vegan buttercream with just a handful of ingredients – an easy, no-fail, can’t-tell-it’s-vegan frosting. If you love molasses, spicy ginger, and the sweetness of a sugary frosting, then these bars are for you! Top them with your favorite sprinkles for an extra festive feel!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Coconut sugar is my favorite low GI, unrefined sugar. It makes for a great replacement for granulated sugar and tastes nothing like coconut. It tastes less sweet than regular sugar, which balances out the sweetness of the frosting on these bars.

Solid coconut oil beats together with the coconut sugar like in a traditional cookie dough. Feel free to use softened vegan butter instead. I don’t recommend melted (or liquid) coconut oil as I don’t know how the bars would turn out.

Egg yolk adds an extra bit of chewiness to these bars!

Vegan butter acts as the perfect dairy-free alternative to regular butter in this frosting. It’s delicious and creates the perfect frosting texture! Plus, nobody can tell the frosting is vegan!

Vegetable shortening stabilizes the vegan butter, giving it the perfect texture to swirl your frosting on top of the cookie bars!

Yield: 16 Bars

Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars with Frosting

Soft cookie bars flavored with spicy ginger and sweet molasses - all topped with a simple, dairy-free buttercream frosting. A festive and delicious holiday treat!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

Bars

3/4 cup coconut sugar
2/3 cup coconut oil, solid
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Frosting

1/3 cup vegan butter stick, softened
3 Tbsp vegetable shortening (or more vegan butter)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
3-5 tsp plant-based milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray + parchment paper. I like to cut one long strip of paper, folding the excess over two of the edges and trimming. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat together the coconut sugar and solid coconut oil. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and molasses; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients to wet and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to combine. The dough may seem dry, but it will come together with enough mixing (and may even seem greasy).
Press the dough into your prepared baking dish, using your fingers or the back of a spoon to smooth out the top. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, being careful not to over bake the bars - you want them nice and chewy!
Allow bars to cool in the dish for at least an hour. Gently remove the whole cookie bar by running a butter knife along the edges without parchment paper, and then using the excess parchment paper to lift the bar up and out of the dish. Allow cookie bar to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Once the bar is cool, you can make the frosting. Beat together the vegan butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the powdered sugar. Add plant-based milk 1 tsp at a time until the frosting reaches a spread-able, but still-thick-enough-to-create-swirls, consistency.
Scrape all of the frosting onto the cookie bar and use an offset spatula to evenly spread over the surface, making swirls as you go along. Top with sprinkles or other topping of your choice.
Slice into 16 bars, wiping your knife clean between each slice. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Soft & Chewy Confetti Cookies (DF)

February 7, 2019 by Rachael Ng 4 Comments

It’s the holiday season! Which means I am excited for sprinkles! Take a small bowl of sprinkles and add them to a chewy sugar cookie and you’ve got me very excited for something that doesn’t include chocolate (if you know me or my recipes, you know I love chocolate!). These cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with sprinkles. You can add as much or as little sprinkles as you’d like. Do what I did and add them to the batter and roll the dough balls in sprinkles, or choose one or the other. Whatever you do, just know that people will love these cookies! Especially around the holiday season.

This recipe is pretty simple – the hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill for two hours! But once the dough is ready, you’ll shape your dough balls, dip the top and sides of each dough ball in sprinkles, and bake! And, like I mentioned, if eating a cookie covered in sprinkles is too much for you, you can skip that step. You’ll still have a delicious, chewy cookie with bits of festive colors inside!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

White granulated sugar makes these cookies irresistible, giving them a traditional chewy sugar cookie taste! The white sugar adds no extra color to the dough.

Extra light olive oil makes these cookies nice and chewy! I prefer the “light” variety simply for the color, but you can use regular olive oil or other vegetable oils. I don’t recommend using coconut oil.

Extra egg yolk also lends a hand to the chewiness of these cookies.

Vanilla extract flavors these cookies, which is why I like to use 2 whole teaspoons. You could use a mix of vanilla and almond extracts, but I prefer all vanilla.

Yield: 18 Cookies

Soft & Chewy Confetti Cookies

Soft and chewy sugar cookies loaded with your favorite holiday sprinkles! The perfect cookie for any celebration!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup white granulated sugar (or unrefined cane sugar)
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp
3/4 cup sprinkles, divided

Instructions

Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Whisk in the egg + egg yolk until mixture is completely combined and smooth. Add liquid ingredients to dry and use a large spatula or wooden spoon to gently mix until a few flour streaks remain. Gently stir in 1/4 cup of sprinkles. Cover and chill the dough for at least two hours.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 1/2 cup of sprinkles to a small bowl. Scoop cookies 1.5 Tbsp in size, rolling the dough into smooth balls – the cookies spread more evenly when rolled. Roll each dough ball in sprinkles (optional). I only rolled the top and sides of my dough balls! Place six cookies on your prepared baking sheet and slightly press down on each dough ball, reshaping as necessary into a neat circular shape.
Bake cookies at 350°F for 5-7 minutes or until cookies have spread and puffed. Be careful not to over-bake them! Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cookies will deflate and soften as they sit.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

I like adding olive oil to these cookies, but if you’re looking for something more neutral in taste, you can try grapeseed, avocado, canola, or safflower oil.

If you prefer less sprinkles, feel free to leave the sprinkles out of the batter OR only put sprinkles in the batter (and don't roll the dough balls in sprinkles).

Orange Iced Ginger Molasses Cookies (DF)

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Orange Iced Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

Orange Icing

Instructions

Notes

Recommended Products

Did you make this recipe?

More ginger recipes:

Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars with Frosting (DF)

Pumpkin Butter Sweet Rolls (V)

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies with Coconut Oil (DF)

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Cups

Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars with Frosting

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

Soft & Chewy Confetti Cookies

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

holiday cookies

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Ingredients

Cookies

Orange Icing

Instructions

Notes

Recommended Products

Did you make this recipe?

More ginger recipes:

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Ingredients

Cookie Cups

Toppings

Instructions

Notes

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More holiday recipes:

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Ingredients

Bars

Frosting

Instructions

Recommended Products

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

Did you make this recipe?

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Ingredients

Instructions

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Yield:

Serving Size:

Did you make this recipe?

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