Part gingersnap, part chocolate cookie, cake-like and just sweet enough, this gluten-free Molasses Cookie is destined to be a new family favorite!
I don’t know what it is about cold weather, but it could be October or January, and if it’s chilly, I’m in the mood for a gingersnap. This twist on the traditional will please all palates — chocolate lovers are placated by the chips that offer a sweet counterbalance to the molasses, and any kid loves a cookie rolled in sugar! The peanut butter-chocolate fans in my midst are thrilled with that option, and I love that the figs bring a moist, cake-like texture to these chewy cookies, and that they pair so well with the ginger and cinnamon.
Gluten Free Molasses Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 tsp. Ener-G® Egg Replacer + 1 Tbs. warm water (or 1 large egg white)
- 3 Tbs. Blackstrap Molasses
- 3/4 cup stemmed, finely chopped figs (may also use dates -not dried- here)
- 1 1/2 cups gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 tsp. ginger (ground)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon (ground)
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder, gluten-free
- 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life® is gluten, soy, dairy & nut-free), optional
- 1/4 cup peanut butter chips, optional
- 1/2 cup Demerara sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Beat brown sugar and oil until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together Ener-G Egg Replacer and water, or the egg white. Add to the brown sugar mixture, together with the molasses. Stir in the chopped figs to incorporate.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl (including chocolate and/or peanut butter chips, if using). Slowly stir into the molasses mixture. The dough will be thick and taffy-like when combined.
Pinch off tablespoon-sized pieces of dough, and roll in your hands to form a ball. Roll in the Demerara sugar (you may use regular granulated sugar instead, but the sugar will be absorbed into the cookies more than those pictured here).
Place rolled and sugared balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The cookies will not spread much, if any, so they can be placed only 1-2 inches apart. Bake in center rack of preheated oven for 9 minutes. The cookies may have cracked slightly and be crispy at the edges, but they should still be soft and cake-like in the centers.
Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Yield: 2 ½ – 3 dozen cookies.
These look perfect! I love the combo of chocolate and fig, and I’ve been making a good chocolate fig cookie for awhile…but molasses in there too! That’s a new one and I’m excited to try it! Thanks for the great idea.
These look so good, Jules! I have dates on hand so I’ll use those.
Shirley
I hope you love them, Shirley!
~jules
These are perfect! I love soft ginger cookies!
Thanks, Rebecca! The figs are lovely in this cookie!
~jules
What can I use in place of figs?I can’t find any in my midwestern town.
Norie – can you find dates? Those work well here too!
What is Demerera sugar?
Cindy, Demerera sugar is unrefined cane sugar that is in larger crystals so it’s used for decorating and adding to the tops of cookies, tarts, pies, etc. You can use regular sugar here instead, no worries!
Perfect! I just bought a big bag of organic figs at Costco. Gonna make these and post on my blog at http://www.glutenfreediva.com with a link to this post!!! Thx!!!!
Fantastic Ellen! Hope you enjoy!
I thought that many grocery store brands of peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips had barley flour in them?
Also, are your figs fresh or dried? Thank you!
Diana – you are correct about the butterscotch chips, in particular. Nestle Butterscotch Chips have barley in them, so watch out! Check the ingredients on peanut butter chips – they should be GF but will contain dairy. The figs I use in this recipe are dried, but you could even used bagged dates, if you wanted (they’re still soft but not exactly fresh).
Looks Yummy!
Great healthy recipe. Can you please share about information about preheating the oven and how long to bake.
Thanks
Niv – the preheat info and bake time are listed in the recipe above: 350 F for approximately 9 minutes.
Hmmm, maybe bits of ginger and dried cranberries instead of chips?
Lynn – that would be a delicious variation!