eggless gingerbread cookies recipe with step by step photos – spiced and ginger flavored cookies made with whole wheat flour (atta).
gingerbread cake and gingerbread cookies or gingerbread men cookies are popular in the west during this season. every year around this time, i do make ginger bread cake and fruit cake. ginger being a warming spice, is good to be included in the food in winters. we also add ginger in our everyday tea.
ginger bread cakes or cookies are usually made with molasses. in this recipe i have used kakvi instead of molasses. kakvi is a molasses like thick syrup made from sugar cane juice. its a syrup which is made while preparing jaggery. the sweetness in kakvi is comparable to that of honey. kakvi is available in some parts of maharashtra, india.
quoted from wikipedia:
molasses (काकवी), a byproduct of the production of jaggery, is used in rural maharashtra and karnataka as a sweetener. it contains many minerals not found in ordinary sugar and is considered beneficial to health in traditional ayurvedic medicine. it is an ingredient of many sweet delicacies, such as gur ka chawal (“jaggery rice”), a traditional rajasthani or punjabi dish.
these gingerbread cookies are sweet with a soft, firm texture. the aromatic ginger, cinnamon and cloves infuse a great deal of flavor in the cookies. the home smells so good when baking these cookies. the recipe has been loosely adapted from a long lost baking book i have. you can also check these cookie recipes:
you can even make these gingerbread cookies with molasses. i would not suggest honey as honey when heated becomes toxic according to ayurveda. even jaggery can be used. i have mentioned the jaggery proportions in the recipe card & step wise pics below.
serve these eggless gingerbread cookies as dessert snack or as a tea time snack.
gingerbread cookies
INGREDIENTS FOR gingerbread cookies
- ½ cup molasses or kakvi or ½ cup jaggery dissolved in 3 to 4 tablespoon hot water
- ½ cup softened butter or 100 grams, salted or unsalted
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta) or 240 grams whole wheat flour + 2 to 3 tablespoon if required
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ginger powder (saunth powder)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (dalchini powder)
- ¼ teaspoon clove powder (lavang powder)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder (jaiphal powder)
- 1 pinch salt - skip if using salted butter
- ¼ cup hot water
HOW TO MAKE gingerbread cookies
- first grease the baking tray with some butter and keep aside.
kneading gingerbread cookies dough
- now take 1/2 cup softened butter (100 grams) in a mixing bowl.
- add 1/2 cup of molasses or kakvi. if using jaggery, then add 1/2 cup powdered jagggery in 3 to 4 tbsp hot water. mix well till the jaggery melts. if impurities are there, then filter the jaggery syrup. then add it to the butter.
- begin to mix and beat this mixture.
- i have used wired whisk to mix the butter with the kakvi. you can also use an electric beater.
- mix and lightly beat this mixture. keep aside.
- in a separate bowl or plate, sift 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ginger powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder, 1/4 tsp clove powder and 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder.
- now add the entire sifted dry ingredients to the lightly beaten butter+molasses mixture.
- gently and lightly fold or mix.
- then add 1/4 cup hot water. mix everything together and gather to form a dough. do not knead. just gently mix or fold.
- if the mixture is loose or sticky, then add 2 to 3 tbsp more of the flour. cover and place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.
- if the mixture looks dry and crumbly, then add 1 to 3 tbsp of hot water and mix again.
baking gingerbread cookies
- later, remove and pinch small balls from the cookie dough. gently press and flatten them. place the cookies with an inch space between them on the baking tray. preheat oven 15 minutes before you begin to bake the cookies.
- sprinkle some sugar granules on the cookies. lightly press the sugar granules on the cookies. you can also use brown sugar. for one batch, i used cane sugar and for the second one, i used brown sugar.
- bake gingerbread cookies at 180 degrees celsius for 20 to 25 minutes or till the cookies appear light golden. do not over bake the cookies. i baked in two batches.
- after one minute, remove them on a wired tray and let them cool.
- once cooled at room temperature, store gingerbread cookies in an airtight jar. the recipe yields about 500 grams of cookies.
- serve eggless gingerbread cookies as a dessert or tea time snack.
RECIPE TIPS
- you can skip cinnamon, clove and nutmeg powder if you want.
- instead of ginger powder, you can also add 3 tsp fresh ginger paste or minced/grated ginger.
how to make gingerbread cookies recipe
1. first grease the baking tray with some butter and keep aside.
2. now take ½ cup softened butter (100 grams) in a mixing bowl. i have used salted butter. if using unsalted butter, then add a pinch of salt when sifting the whole wheat flour. you can also use ghee instead of butter.
3. add ½ cup of molasses or kakvi. if using jaggery, then add ½ cup powdered jagggery in 3 to 4 tbsp hot water. mix well till the jaggery melts. if impurities are there, then filter the jaggery syrup.
4. begin to mix and beat this mixture.
5. i have used wired whisk to mix the butter with the kakvi. you can also use an electric beater.
6. mix and lightly beat this mixture. keep aside.
7. in a separate bowl or plate, sift 2 cups whole wheat flour, ½ tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ginger powder, ¼ tsp cinnamon powder, ¼ tsp clove powder and ¼ tsp nutmeg powder. instead of ginger powder, you can also add 3 tsp fresh ginger paste or minced/grated ginger.
8. here’s the sifted dry ingredients.
9. now add the entire sifted dry ingredients to the lightly beaten butter+molasses mixture.
10. gently and lightly fold or mix.
11. then add ¼ cup hot water.
12. mix everything together and gather to form a dough. do not knead. just gently mix or fold. if the mixture is loose or sticky, then add 2 to 3 tbsp more of the flour. if the dough looks dry or crumbly, then add 1 to 3 tbsp hot water and mix again. cover and place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.
baking gingerbread cookies
13. later, remove and pinch small balls from the cookie dough. gently press and flatten them. place the gingerbread cookies with an inch space between them on the baking tray. preheat oven at 180 degrees C/356 degrees fahrenheit for 15 minutes before you begin to bake the cookies.
14. sprinkle some sugar granules on the cookies. lightly press the sugar granules on the cookies. you can also use brown sugar. for one batch, i used cane sugar and for the second one, i used brown sugar.
15. bake gingerbread cookies at 180 degrees celsius//356 degrees fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or till the cookies appear light golden. do not over bake the cookies. since oven temperatures vary, it may takes less or more time. so do keep a check. for convection ovens use the preheating and baking temperature of 160 degrees celsius/320 degrees fahrenheit. in an OTG, keep the tray on the center rack with both the top and bottom heating elements on.
16. the base should be golden as you see in the pic below. i baked gingerbread cookies in two batches as i have a small oven. if you have a big oven, you can bake these cookies in one go.
17. after one minute, remove the gingerbread cookies on a wired tray and let them cool.
18. once cooled at room temperature, store gingerbread cookies in an airtight jar. the recipe yields about 500 grams of cookies. serve these cookies as a dessert snack or you can even gift them to family and friends.
Hi,
Can I try this recipe with roasted almonds, walnuts and cranberries?
you can try. just coat the dry fruits in some flour, before mixing with the batter.
Hi,
I want to make these cookies with brown sugar and make it less sweet, how should I tweak this recipe??
I love your work, I have tried many recipes and all have turned out really good! Thank you so much for your well written, well explained instructions.
Preeti
thanks a lot preeti. for less sweet cookies, you will need to add about 1/3 cup sugar. this will make the cookies less sweet. for just about sweet, you can add 1/2 cup of brown sugar. also some more water or milk needs to be added to bind the dough. beat the butter with the brown sugar first and then proceed with the recipe.
hi dassana, i make muffins from ur recipes but my muffins r not good they so moist ,why ?
which muffin recipe you tried and did you follow the exact recipe or made any changes. let me know.
Turned out lovely. This was my third attempt at cookies. First two times with other’s recipes which were disasters. I used whole-wheat and increased water by a tbsp. My 3 year old is running around the house eating these as I type this comment. We don’t give him store brought cookies so he’s on 7th heaven 🙂 Thank you for your recipes. You should see my kid’s happy face 🙂
very pleased to know this nimitha 🙂 thankyou for your kind and encouraging words, god bless you.
Ur recipes are amazing…hats off to u and thank you…have been sharing ur link with all and also bookmarked it on my cell
thankyou so much bhagya now we know from where we getting visitors on our blog 😉 god bless you.
Thanks for the amazing recepie. It came out really well. It is crispy on the outside and soft from the inside. I added candied ginger instead of grated ginger. Whenever I am exhausted from work or need to relax, I try one of your recepies. From the basic dal to exotic lasagna I refer your recepies. Thanks so much.
welcome lavanya. lovely feedback from you and it has definitely made me feel good. thank you much 🙂
Hello. I have tried many of your recepies successfully. Few years back I tried to make cookies but the centre part of the cookie didn”t bake well and the side parts got over-cooked and hardened. Since then I have been reluctant to try cookies. Could you tell me some tips to make the cookies well.
Also should the consistency of cookie dough be same as that of chapati dough?
shruti, the consistency is not like a chapati dough. after reading your comment, it looks like that the dough was kneaded. cookie doughs are just gently mixed. they are not kneaded like the way we knead chapati dough. otherwise the cookies become very hard.
Hi,
Happy new year to you.These cookies tasted like mini gingerbread cakes..Lovely soft texture,but is there anyway I cud get them a bit crisper?
pleased to know this ashwini 🙂 glad you liked the gingerbread cookies. the recipe will need some tweaking to make them crisp. you could add a few teaspoons more of the butter to get a crisp texture.
Hi …ur recipes r good…being an ayurvedic doctor I always search for healthy recipes..I have tried few of ur recipes…came out well thank u…I need to ask u is it possible to bake cake without using baking soda or powder…. N will u pl share ur mail I’d. so that if I have any doubts will mail n ask
thanks and welcome shubha. nice to know. it is possible to make cookies without baking soda or baking powder, but eggless cakes are difficult. i use aluminum free baking powder. its available on amazon.in. you can send your doubts at vegrecipesofindia(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hai mam shall I make all cookies and bread using wheat flour alone?
yes you can. but do remember that whole wheat flour absorbs more liquids than maida or all purpose flour. so you need to add more liquids while binding the cookie mixture. also seive the whole wheat flour with baking soda or baking powder, for any recipe that you follow.
Great recipe, as always Dasana. I want to know which brand of unsalted butter do you use? Also is it possible to use homemade white makkan instead? If yes, should I use the same weight as butter? Thanks
thanks swati. at times i make unsalted butter at home and at times i buy from the parsi dairy. yes you can use homemade makhan. i also use it at times. yes, same weight as that of butter.
Thanks Dasana for the reply. Will try with homemade makkan. Also would be great if you could post a recipe of how to make butter at home.
thanks swati. i have already added a post on how to make butter at home – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/homemade-white-butter-how-to-make-unsalted-white-butter-at-home/
this is an old post and i need to update it with better pics.
that’s great. thanks so much 🙂
welcome swati always 🙂
I baked these for 12 minutes at 350f in my convection oven. Turned out great! Thank you.
glad to know marissa and thanks for the feedback.
I have followed all the step carefully. The crispness is missing in the cookies. Can you pls tell me what may went wrong.
these cookies are not crisp. they are soft and firm. i have mentioned in the post that these cookies have a soft texture.
Looks yummy! I was wondering if I could use date syrup instead of kakvi? These will be perfect for a Xmas tea 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
dates syrup will work. but dates syrup will be thick than kakvi. so i suggest adding more hot water towards the end instead of 1/4 cup. depending on the consistency of the dates syrup, you can add 1/3 to 1/2 cup hot water.