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.
Jackie Gause says
If one wants to use agar agar instead of gelatin, how would it be used in this recipe? Thanks. Jackie
Carolyn says
No, sorry, I don’t use it so you will need to experiment!
carol walter says
I love these cookies. they were better the first time I made them and I don’t know what I did differently. I have never had almond butter. this time I used butter instead of almond butter. I hate to ask this because I know I should follow recipe as is, but I like to use the staples I already have in my kitchen. Can I use something in place of almond butter? I probably need to searche for Bob’s flouir also. I used Blue Diamond super fine flous and it has a good texture.
Lynn Braswell says
These are so good! I loved the texture and the flavors are subtle and well balanced. I only mention that for those who are not huge ginger fans, as it is not overpowering so don’t let that stop you from trying. I used molasses instead of yacon syrup.
Carolyn says
Ginger is such a matter of taste, some people don’t think it has enough! 🙂
Donna Aguillard says
These are amazing. I used cream cheese, swerve, and cinnamon to make a filling. Now I have the best sandwich cookie/whoppie pie ever.
Heather Kemerly says
could I use bocha sweet for these?
Carolyn says
You can but it will make them quite soft, more like soft-baked cookies.
Jeanne Moster says
I don’t know what happened but my cookies were not chewy and did not show any cracks.
I followed the recipe as written except that I used Knox gelatin and didn’t have Yacon syrup.
They were okay but not as tasty as I expected. What can I do to improve my next attempt?
Carolyn says
You can use the specified ingredients. I simply cannot guarantee results when you stray from the recipe.
Violet says
I used one full envelope of Knox unflavored gelatine, as a I halved the recipe. It turned out pretty well fwiw. The cookies are chewy and soft. They don’t have cracks, but the flavour and texture are spot on. I used blackstrap molasses in place of yacon syrup. You do need the molasses or yacon for the molasses flavour. Use two envelopes of Knox gelatin if you re making the full recipe. Hopefully that makes a difference. And get some blackstrap molasses. It’s cheaper than yacon syrup, but adds about the same amount of carbs per cookie, which isn’t much.
Violet says
How much of a difference in Flavour does it make to use black strap molasses vs I guess regular molasses? I only have blackstrap molasses. I used it in your delicious choc chip cookie recipe, and they have a distinct brown sugary flavour that felt very strong at first. But tastes great the second day.
So I think I am asking if I could use two tsp of black strap molasses in this recipe instead of yacon syrup or regular molasses? thank you☺️
Carolyn says
Should be fine.
Maggie Deptuck says
Just curious why in the recipe book , The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking, doesn’t have Yakon Syrup? I made these and I felt the ‘molasses’ flavor didn’t come through as much as it could of. Maybe its this syrup that was missing?
Carolyn says
Because when I first created these for the blog, Swerve Brown didn’t exist. It has molasses extract. But if you want more of that flavor, add a tsp or two of either Yacon or molasses.
JOHANNE G PEALE says
Sounds like a delicious cookie recipe I would like to try. I only have pure monk fruit. and reduce the amount by 1/3. Also some sources say you can bake with pure monk fruit powder and some sources say it’s only for cold foods.Thanks!
Carolyn says
I really don’t use it, because it has a strong aftertaste for me.
Wendy Holcombe says
I love ginger crisp cookies, is there a way to make these crispy?
Thank you.
Carolyn says
Please look at my Gingerbread Men instead. This recipe is not meant to be crispy.
Jennith says
Why not use brown swerve, for that molasses flavor?
Carolyn says
Because this recipe was written before their Brown Swerve came into existence!
Anne says
These are very good. Thought they had no flavour at first bit, but all those spices kick in by the end of the cooki – and right away on the second cookie LOL .
Roxy says
These were by far the absolute best keto cookies I have made to date. My fiancé’s favorite holiday flavor is gingerbread and he devoured these. This recipe will definitely be a keeper.
Sharon S Zimberoff says
Thanks
Sharon Zimberoff says
Carolyn, I need to order Yacon syrup and almond butter; I will be ordering from Amazon. What brands do you recommend? Thanks so much.
Carolyn says
I really don’t have a preferred brand of almond butter but just make sure it’s not sweetened with sugar (a few are). I’ve used this Yacon syrup before… https://amzn.to/3520sq4
Portia Iversen says
I’m vegetarian, is there anything else I can use besides the gelatin to help with the chewiness? Thanks!
Carolyn says
No, sorry. You can skip it but it won’t be the same.
Christina says
I’ve made these cookies twice, and my second time was a lot better due to some tweaks that I highly recommend:
– I browned the butter, letting it cool before adding it to my mixer, rather than using softened butter from the fridge. It really helped deepen the flavor of the cookies!
– Instead of my usual mellow ceylon cinnamon, I substituted it with Korintje cinnamon from Indonesia, which is much “spicer” with more of a “bite” than ceylon.
– I doubled the cloves to deepen the flavor. I added some fresh ground black pepper to the batter, too.
– I know Carolyn likes Swerve, but many of us hate the cooling effect, so I used Allulose instead (1 1/3 cup). No cooling effect, no weird after taste, no blood sugar rising. It mimics sugar better than anything else out there! You don’t have to use Swerve just because Carolyn has it in her recipes — she doesn’t experience the cooling. It’s not a 1:1 substitute — when you replace with Allulose, you want to add about 30% more. And yes, it’s expensive, but the outcome is better and sweet treats should be occasional anyway. 🙂
All these tweaks meant that my second batch of cookies were properly darker than the first, and had a deeper, more complex and nuanced flavor, no cooling, and tastewise they were MUCH closer to the real thing. I encourage you to try these tweaks! They’re worth it.
Nola JENKINS says
Thanks Christina for the tips. Here in Australia we cant get either swerve or allulose at the shops yet that Im aware of so all bought online.
Ill use the brown sugar replacement and see how that goes. I dont like the cooling effect much so will definately try the allulose.
Karen says
Good recipe they came out looking like the photos. I halved the quantity to 20. Next time will add more ginger. Also, as someone before me mentioned, I noticed the “cooling feeling.” Never noticed this before. Love your recipes. Thanks!
carol walter says
I noticed and aftertaste the first day, but for the second batch I left the doung in the refrigeratror for a day and didn;t notice the aftertaste. I can’t get Swerve here and I use Pyure – so far it has worked very well.
David Keith says
I made these a week ago and am just finishing the batch. They are really tasty! Full of ginger punch. I think I used less almond flour (dry ingredients) as it formed a think liquid rather than a dough that you could form balls from. Never mind, though because they still turned out great! Will definitely make these again and they are lovely in low sugar ice cream too! Thanks for the other lovely recipes!
Gerasimos Makaras says
Not bad. We like Swerve/Erythritol usually, especially as the sweetener for our favorite Keto Key Lime Cheesecake recipe.
However, for some reason, in this recipe, that “cooling effect” in the mouth from it seems very pronounced. That’s a little disappointing. I would like to try it again with a different sweetener…
Otherwise, this is pretty good as long as you allow it to stand on its own and don’t compare it to your grandmother’s famous Molasses Cookies. ????