These Keto Ginger Molasses Cookies are a dream come true for cookie lovers. Thick, chewy, and with the perfect balance of sweet and spice, they always hit the spot. And they have only 2.3g net carbs per serving!
If you love gingery sweets, then these Keto Ginger Cookies are going to blow your mind. They blew my mind when I created them, and clearly others felt the same way. They continue to be a fan favorite, year after year.
They are everything you want in a ginger cookie. Soft and chewy, with a nice gingery kick and a hint of molasses. And when I say a hint, I really mean just a hint.
I put these on my platter of Keto Christmas Cookies every year and they are often the first to disappear!
Why you will love this recipe
This recipe was the first in which I added gelatin for a chewier consistency. And I was surprised and impressed at the difference it made. I use the same trick in other recipes, like keto brownies.
Keep in mind that these are not meant to be crisp like Keto Gingerbread Cookies. Gelatin works best in recipes that have a soft texture. It helps mimic the characteristics of a classic ginger molasses cookie.
One thing I love about this cookie recipe is how easy it is to make. I can whip up a big batch that serves 20 people in less than 40 minutes. They also store really well so you can make them ahead and freeze until needed.
Reader Testimonials
“Yay!! Ginger snaps/molasses cookies are my absolute favorite and I miss them being on Keto. These are amazing and hit all the notes perfectly!!” — SandyB
“I made a batch of these today for ROAD TRIP SNACKS. I’ve gotta say these are the BEST low carb/keto cookies I have EVER made, and I’ve made many. These are the closest to REAL cookies in taste and texture and I really, really thank you!” — Andrea
“I’m surprised as heck, but these cookies work! I’m so used to almond flour producing a product that crumbles very easily and these have a real chewiness.: — Becky
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: As always, finely ground almond flour will make the best cookies, without a grainy texture.
- Grassfed gelatin: The addition of gelatin is key to a chewy consistency, so I don’t recommend skipping it. You can use Knox gelatin, and about 2 envelopes is sufficient for this recipe. You can also try replacing the gelatin with ½ cup of collagen peptides.
- Spices: Ginger cookies always include ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and either nutmeg or cloves. You can increase the ginger as much as you like. Some people like to double it in this recipe!
- Almond butter: I use almond butter in this recipe to increase the moisture and create a good thick cookie dough. You can use other nut butters, but peanut butter has a strong flavor and may overpower the spices.
- Swerve Brown: A brown sugar replacement adds more flavor to the cookies than granular white sweetener. I recommend Swerve Brown.
- Molasses: I add 2 teaspoons of real molasses to my cookies, for added color and flavor. You can omit this if you feel strongly about it, but it only adds about 0.5g of carbs per serving.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, baking soda, vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, gelatin, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and cloves.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, almond butter and sweetener until smooth. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the almond flour mixture and continue to beat until the dough comes together.
3. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and gently press down a bit (to encourage them to spread). Return to the oven and bake another 7 minutes or so, until just barely golden brown. They will still be very soft. Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Expert tips
Don’t press the cookies down from the start, when the dough is completely raw. This tends to make the edges crack. Allow the cookies to bake for 5 minutes first, to warm up the dough. Pressing down at this point helps them spread properly without making irregular, cracked edges.
Sweetener options: For best results, I recommend erythritol-based sweeteners. BochaSweet and allulose tend to make cookies more puffy and soft, rather than chewy. Allulose also browns very quickly during baking, which may make the cookies too dark.
Gelatin substitutes: You can omit the gelatin altogether, although the cookies will be less chewy. You can also add some collagen peptides, but you will need about half a cup to get the same chewiness. I am not sure that any vegetarian substitutes, like agar agar, will have the same effect. But you’re certainly welcome to experiment!
Frequently Asked Questions
These keto ginger cookies have 4.2g of carbs and 1.9g of fiber. That comes to 2.3g net carbs per serving of 2 cookies. And yes, that includes the molasses!
Adding gelatin goes along way to making keto cookies chewier. It is hygroscopic, meaning that it attracts and holds onto moisture during baking. This characteristic helps offset the lack of gluten and sugar in keto baked goods so that they don’t dry out as much.
Store the cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days, or in the fridge for up to 10 days. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 2 months. The raw dough freezes nicely as well. Thaw completely before rolling into balls and baking as directed.
More ginger recipes you will enjoy
- Keto Gingerbread Pound Cake
- Easy Gingerbread Waffles
- Sugar Free Gingerbread Latte
- Mini Keto Gingerbread Cheesecakes
- Keto Gingerbread Biscotti
Keto Ginger Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoon grassfed gelatin
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup almond butter
- 1 cup Swerve Brown
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon molasses (optional)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, gelatin, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, almond butter and sweetener until smooth. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the almond flour mixture and continue to beat until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. You should get about 40 cookies.
- Bake 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and gently press down a bit (to encourage them to spread). Return to the oven and bake another 7 minutes or so, until just barely golden brown. They will still be very soft.
- Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
Carol Porteous says
These cookies are fantastic! I loved the taste and texture. Thank you for the recipe!
Lynn Clarke says
Hi Carolyn,
These are my favorite cookies of all your cookie recipes! I make them year round and everyone thinks they are amazing. I always make a double batch and freeze it for later. I do have a question about freezing the cookies if I have made from frozen dough. Would it be ok to freeze the baked cookies that have been baked from frozen dough? I own 3 of your books and they are displayed proudly on my buffet in my eat in kitchen. Thank you for all your fantastic recipes and tips.
Jennifer says
Nice and moist! I made the mistake of using extra-large eggs, so I really should’ve added more almond flour, but I just didn’t do the flattening step and they turned out well. I’d use more of the spices next time, and add salt, but will definitely make again!
Jeanna Backer says
Best Keto cookie texture ever! Moist and soft love it. I added salt because well that’s how I roll. I had to use peanut butter because my almond butter wasnt going to work lol but these are so great. I will follow this technique and try to change up for other flavors but wow, just wow! Love it!
Carolyn says
That’s wonderful to hear!
Diane Welch says
Of all of the holiday sweets that I miss, gingerbread cookies I miss the most! These cookies are soft and rich, and I actually added a bit more cloves and cinnamon for that festive flavor. Then, I used a simple keto buttercream with cinnamon and made them in to whoopie pies. Chef’s kiss!!
Ellie says
these freeze well, and are easy to make and even when flattened to be thinner are delicious.
Lisa C says
Can I use Tahini in place of Almond butter?
Carolyn says
You can certainly try.
Shawna says
Texturally, these are the best Keto cookies I have ever made. The gelatine is amazing for making them soft. Only thing is I don’t think they need to be flattened as just leaving them as balls resulted in thicker cookies which is what I was hoping for- I also only made 30 cookies and baked them for 10 minutes and that was good for my oven. The first batch I flattened and they went a bit too flat in my opinion but still delicious. I will definitely be making these again!
Karen says
These are a wonderful cookie. Soft, chewy and full of flavour. I had the issue of my dough being very soft and cupcake consistency. I read the comments and added 1/2-3/4 cup more almond flour. They turned out perfect. Thank you.
Kim says
Two Thumbs on the tip as mine was battery too. Also not as gingery/spicy as I would have thought or as sweet, which is probably good. But I had a good idea to look for a gingery/spicy frosting.
Pamela Cirame says
Plan on making these…if I want a crispier cookie should I reduce the amount of gelatin? Thanks!
Carolyn says
This is not the recipe you want. THIS is what you’re looking for: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/classic-gingerbread-men-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
Melissa says
These are delicious!!!!! They turned out awesome and are not difficult to make at all. I used THM baking blend because that is what I prefer, and Pyure brown because that is what I had on hand. I also included the molasses.
Marilyn says
Have you ever tried to make anything with Carbalose flour?
Carolyn says
Yes, and I detest the taste. 🙂
Beth says
Can I use regular gelatin in these cookies (ginger)? I don’t have the beef gelatin as you mentioned. Thanks
Carolyn says
Please read the post as I addressed that already!
Ellen Jost says
I just made this and they turned out fantastic albeit flat and crispy which is actually how I prefer them! the dough/batter was a bit soft, it helped to put in the fridge for 1/2 hr nad I moistened my hands with cold water to roll the 1inch balls of dough then rolled in granulated erythritol onto baking sheet and just flattened with fingers. they spread out nicely and once cooled were lovely and crispy. I made half the rcipe which made 19 3inch thin cookies. Will def make again, have never baked with gelatin before and pehaps that helps with the texture? Used a tsp of fancy molasses as all I had and more of the spicers esp ginger. another winne! Love your recipes!
Chris says
what molasses brand do u recommend? I have never used it before.
Carolyn says
I just get blackstrap molasses by Bragg.
DeAnna Imbro says
I cannot wait to try these, but the only swerve brown in my area is the new version with allulose. Is there any way I can improve the chew with other ingredients in the recipe? I’m ok with soft cookies, but ginger snaps is not what I am looking for. I love your recipes!
Carolyn says
The one with allulose will actually be perfect in these cookies. Allulose makes cookies softer, not crispier.
Rosalie DeStefano says
Everyone LOVED these cookies. I made my first batch of them this past Sunday and had them sitting in a covered dish on the counter. Today, Tuesday, most of them had turned green, so I threw them away. What could have caused that?
Carolyn says
Did you use sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter? If so, that’s why and you didn’t need to throw them away. It’s simply a reaction between the baking powder and the chlorophyll in the seeds.
Diana says
Yummy, this cookie is my favorite amongst the cookies on here in terms of texture, flavor etc. Simple, fast recipe. What’s not to like about this cookie! This will be the cookie so far on my Christmas cookie list.
Sue says
I loved these ginger cookies but am concerned about the carb content. When adding all the ingredients into a calculator it comes out at 10g of carbs per cookie! The main culprit being the brown sugar – I used Truvia soft brown as only one available – which is very high in carbs!!! I don’t understand and hope someone can explain so I CAN make again and continue to enjoy great flavour! Thank you
Carolyn says
I can explain, yes. And I have a nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of every post that explains it as well. Your online calculator is counting the erythritol, which has zero carb impact. I don’t know about the Truvia version but Swerve does not raise my blood sugar at all.
Nikki says
I LOVE these cookies! Sadly, I only made 1/2 recipe because I wasn’t sure I’d like them. What a mistake because I gobbled them up!
Nikki says
I made these again today. I experimented by replacing the almond flour with THM’s baking blend. It still tasted good, but they are a little bit drier.