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 1/2 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 (224 g) almond flour
- 2 tbsp grassfed gelatin
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking soda
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) ground cloves
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (125 g) almond butter
- 1 cup (182 g) Swerve Brown
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp molasses, (optional)
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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These are amazing. My family loved them. My only complaint is that they remained very moist for a long period.
They did? How did you have them stored? What sweetener did you use?
Can yiu substitute Besti monk fruit -allulose blend for Swerve?if so what is the correct conversion amount t?
I absolutely do NOT recommend anything with allulose here. It will make them very soft and cakey rather than a proper cookie consistency.
I would love to make these and do not have any almond butter. I know I made them once without almond butter and thery were awesome, but I don’t know what I used. The last time I used butter instead of almond butter and that was a disaster. I don’t I like to use what I have in the house without buying lots of specialty items. Any thought? I just mmay have to buy almond butter cuz I love miolasses cookies.
.
Can you swap Swerve Brown for granual Swerve?
I’m not using Yacon, hoping for the best flavor with this swap.
That’s fine. Won’t be quite as dark but should still be good.
Hi Carolyn, thank you for the recipe! Can I substitute butter with either avocado oil, coconut oil or ghee?
I would recommend ghee. I tried coconut oil in these one time and they were good but I didn’t love the texture as much.
Hi, Can peanut butter be used in place of almond butter?
It can but it has a stronger flavor that’s going to compete with the ginger.
I just made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I’m a big fan of ginger molasses cookies and these tasted exactly like the real deal. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious and perfect texture!!
If one wants to use agar agar instead of gelatin, how would it be used in this recipe? Thanks. Jackie
No, sorry, I don’t use it so you will need to experiment!
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.
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.
Ginger is such a matter of taste, some people don’t think it has enough! 🙂
These are amazing. I used cream cheese, swerve, and cinnamon to make a filling. Now I have the best sandwich cookie/whoppie pie ever.
could I use bocha sweet for these?
You can but it will make them quite soft, more like soft-baked cookies.
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?
You can use the specified ingredients. I simply cannot guarantee results when you stray from the recipe.
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.
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☺️
Should be fine.
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?
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.