If you love big ginger flavor and soft, chewy cookies, you'll love these gluten-free ginger cookies. They're everything a classic ginger cookie should be: light and tender when you bite in, perfectly chewy, with warm spices, deep molasses, and crackled tops-and no one will guess they are gluten-free. There's an easy dairy-free option too.
These gluten-free ginger cookies are soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth spice cookies with delicate crackled tops and a classic flavor that's pure nostalgia. They're a natural fit for holiday cookie baking, but simple enough to enjoy year-round. The dough comes together quickly with basic pantry ingredients, chills briefly, then bakes into soft, crackly-topped drop cookies-no rolling or cutting required. Easy enough for a weeknight and special enough for holiday gifting.
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What Makes These Ginger Cookies So Good
- Soft, chewy texture - Tender centers with lightly crisp, crinkled tops, like classic bakery ginger cookies.
- Easy drop-cookie dough - No cutting. Just mix, scoop, roll in sugar, and bake.
- Warm ginger-molasses flavor - Bold ginger, warm spices, and deep molasses sweetness in every bite.
- Gluten-free (and no one will know) - The texture is so good that most people won't believe these are gluten-free.
- Perfect for holidays and beyond - Great for gluten-free Christmas cookie trays and gifting, but simple enough to bake any time you're craving a cozy cookie.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Unsalted butter - Provides richness and that soft, chewy cookie texture. DF option below.
- Light brown sugar - Adds moisture and caramel notes that pair great with ginger.
- Granulated sugar - For the classic crinkly tops and encourages gentle spreading.
- Molasses - The heart of ginger cookie flavor, brings warmth, color, and chew. Use unsulfured molasses. Most stores only carry blackstrap, it works fine and gives a strong bold flavor vs. a milder molasses. Both work.
- Egg - Binds and gives structure to the dough.
- Vanilla extract - Softens and rounds out the spice.
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour - A 1:1 blend, I bake with King Arthur GF M4M.
- Baking soda - For proper spread and the signature crackle.
- Baking powder - Just a touch of lift for lighter centers.
- Spices - Ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of clove.
- Coarse sugar (optional) - For rolling cookie balls before baking for a crinkly, sparkly finish, try turbinado sugar, demarara sugar, or a coarse sugar.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, and salt.
Chef's Tip - How Soft Should Butter Be for Cookies
For the best creaming and cookie texture, your butter should be truly soft, not just slightly cool. It should press easily with a fingertip and look smooth and pliable. I often set the butter out the night before so it's ready to cream properly with the sugar in the morning. Too-firm butter won't aerate well and can lead to thicker, less crinkly cookies. Avoid softening butter in the microwave, as it can melt unevenly and ruin the texture.
Substitutions and Variations
- For dairy-free ginger cookies - Use stick-style plant butter, not soft tub spreads. Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, Country Crock Plant Butter, Violife Plant Butter, Trader Joe's Vegan Butter, and Miyoko's all bake with good flavor and reliable structure.
Chef's Tip - Why Creaming Butter & Sugar Matters
Creaming butter and sugar properly whips tiny air pockets into the dough, which helps cookies bake up lighter with better spread and texture. Beat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture looks pale, fluffy, and slightly increased in volume-not just blended. Under-creamed dough leads to denser cookies with less crinkle.
How to Bake Gluten-Free Ginger Cookies
Cookie tips - For rolling the dough into balls before coating in sugar, wear food-safe gloves, then roll right after chilling. The warmth from your hands softens the dough quickly, making it harder to handle. Gloves keep the dough cooler and much easier to work with, and keep your hands cleaner. For even portioning and cookies size, use a #40 cookie scoop or a #50 cookie scoop (about 1 ½ tablespoons).
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- With an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugars and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
- Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla, until smooth and creamy.
- Whip the creamed butter and sugar now with molasses and egg until fluffy and smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and powder, spices, and salt.
- Blend the batter until well combined and smooth on medium speed. Dough is ready to chill, covered, for 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Portion cookie dough, roll into balls then roll in sugar. Place balls on the cookies sheet. Bake at 350°F for 12-13 minutes. They will still be a bit soft.
Chef's Tip - The Best Liner for Baking Ginger Cookies: Parchment vs. Silpat:
For the best spread and browning, bake ginger cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, not silicone baking mats. Parchment allows the dough to spread naturally and crisp at the edges, while Silpat tends to limit spread and produces thicker, softer cookies (unless that is what you want). Grab a pack of the pre-cut sheets and you'll never know how you lived without them!
How to Store & Freeze Ginger Cookies
- Room Temperature - Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They stay soft and chewy.
- Freeze Baked Cookies - Freeze fully cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container with parchment between layers for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Freeze the Dough - Scoop the chilled dough into balls, freeze solid, then store in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Recipes FAQs
Yes. The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Scoop and bake straight from the fridge, adding an extra minute if needed.
Absolutely. Scoop the ginger cookie dough into balls, freeze until firm, then store in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen and add 1-2 minutes to the bake time. Another option for freezing, use a silicone cookie dough freezer tray.
This usually means the butter was too cold, the dough was over-chilled, or the flour was slightly over-measured. Let the dough warm for 5-10 minutes and try again. Baking on parchment (not Silpat) also helps.
The key to soft gluten-free cookies is balancing moisture and bake time. This recipe uses a mix of brown sugar and molasses, which both help the cookies stay tender. Avoid overbaking-pull the cookies from the oven when the centers still look slightly soft, as they'll finish setting on the baking sheet. Storing them in an airtight container once cooled also helps maintain their chewy texture.
More Cookie & Treat Recipes
Crispy, chewy, crackly, or chocolatey, pick your favorite and give some of these cookie recipes a try.
If You Make These Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Ginger Cookies
Equipment
- Half sheet baking tray
- #40 disher/cookie scoop optional but super handy
- Food handle gloves
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter **at room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses mild, medium, or blackstrap
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups GF flour blend I use King Arthur M4M
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar
- With a hand mixer, beat the room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla, and beat another minute.
Add dry ingredients
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt, and mix on medium speed just combined, 1-2 minutes. Dough will be stiff. Refrigerate dough for 30-45 minutes (not overnight).
Bake cookies
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° (standard bake). Line a half sheet baking pan with parchment.
- With food handler gloves and using a #40-#50 cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons), portion the cookie dough, the. with your hands, gently roll the portion into a ball, then into a small bowl of sugar to coat the outside.
- Place the sugared cookie balls on the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, until the edge are set, the center is still a bit soft. They will set further upon cooling. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet then remove to cool fully on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
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Audrey Mojica says
Recipe was super easy to follow and I was able to find all the ingredients easily at my local market. They tasted fabulous and will now be a regular rotation in my cookie baking! Thank you Sally!!
Sally Cameron says
Thank you for commenting Audrey and I'm so glad you loved them! I've already got to make more myself!