With these incredible one-bowl spiced Paleo Molasses Cookies, you won't miss a beat with your gluten-free holiday baking! They are also grain-free and dairy-free with the perfect ginger to molasses ratio. This incredibly easy one-bowl almond flour cookie recipe makes 20 super soft and somehow still chewy holiday cookies.
Expect the spiced cookie flavor you know and love combined with the delicious roasty notes of coconut sugar and almond flour. This is one leveled-up cookie experience!
Paleo Molasses cookies are a traditional Christmas favorite and are most commonly made in the winter months. For me, the flavor and smell of molasses is essential to my holiday baking line-up! You will also want to make the BEST Gluten-Free Gingerbread Loaf Cake, Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake, Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Christmas Rocky Road for an amazing dessert spread.
For more gluten-free cookie recipes, check out my Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies, Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Cut Outs, Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies, Gluten-Free Monster Cookies, Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies, No Bake Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Coconut Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies, Maple Brown Sugar Cookies, and Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
We always start baking batches in October in my house because they make a mean cookie cream sandwich when paired with my Pumpkin Spice Coconut Whipped Cream!
Not a fan of pumpkin spice? I also have a four-ingredient Essential Dairy-Free Whipped Cream recipe for cookie cream sandwiches! It's become a super popular dairy-free coffee creamer in addition to a dessert topping, so you can put a dollop on your dessert and in your coffee.
Consider turning these amazing paleo molasses cookies into Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches!
Why you'll LOVE this Grain-Free Molasses Cookie recipe:
- soft and chewy
- the ultimate Christmas cookie
- almond flour gives a brown-butter-like flavor (without the fuss!)
- not too sweet
- delightfully spiced
This recipe is definitely a must-try for the holidays!
How to make it (with photos)
Ingredients
You need only 7 grain-free baking staples plus a few spices to make these tasty almond flour molasses cookies!
Dry Ingredients
- almond flour
- tapioca flour
- coconut sugar
- baking soda
Spices
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves
Wet Ingredients
- coconut oil
- molasses
- vanilla extract
- egg
Finishing Touch
- granulated or coarse sugar for rolling
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients with quantities.
Substitutions
- Gluten-Free - while this is a gluten-free blog with all gluten-free recipes, remember to choose pure spices (no anti-caking agents) for people with Celiac. I recommend McCormick, Spicely, and Spice Island brands for Celiac-friendly cooking and baking in the USA.
- Brown Sugar - I used coconut sugar for a paleo and refined-sugar-free molasses cookie. You can replace the coconut sugar with light brown sugar in equal amount.
This recipe is 100% paleo and dairy-free as written!
Variations
- Vegan or Real Butter - vegan or real butter can be used in place of the coconut oil.
- More Ginger - a little ginger goes a long way -- my recipe calls for 1 ¼ teaspoons for a lighter ginger flavor. You can increase to 1 ½ teaspoons for a stronger ginger flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and spices and mix well with a whisk or wooden spoon.
Wet Ingredients: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. You do not need to mix the wet ingredients separately first.
Chill the dough: Cover dough and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
Preheat: When ready to bake, leave the dough out for 20-30 minutes to allow it to soften slightly. Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Roll into balls: Roll the dough into balls of 1 ½ inch diameter (~4 centimeters), then roll them in the granulated or coarse sugar. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet with room to spread.
Bake: Bake on the middle oven rack for 9-12 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned.
Cool: Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
Cool the dough first.
Molasses makes this cookie dough much softer than other types. You will need to cool the dough first to get a nice crackly top and prevent overspreading.
Use light or dark molasses, but not blackstrap.
I used Grandma's brand molasses for these cookies, which is a light molasses. For a stronger molasses flavor, I recommend a dark or 'robust' molasses.
Grandma's, Brer Rabbit, and Wholesome molasses brands have gluten-free labeled molasses.
Blackstrap molasses can be very intense and I do not recommend it for baking.
If you're super excited about molasses baking this year, I recommend checking out this article from The Kitchn on Everything you need to know about molasses.
Watch your baking time carefully.
I recommend setting the timer for 8 minutes and hanging out with your cookies until the edges are browned and the center looks cooked through.
Depending on the temperature of the dough, I baked test batches for 9-12 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Here I answered some frequently asked questions about this Paleo Molasses Cookie recipe. Don't see your question? Leave it in the comments at the end of this post and I'll answer within two business days.
Let rest in a single layer at room temperature for 8-10 hours before packing away in an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for up to four days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Unfortunately, almond flour and all purpose gluten-free flour bake up very differently and I don't recommend the substitution. However, both my Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies and Gluten-Free Gingerbread Loaf use all purpose gluten-free flour and have a similar flavor combination.
Related gluten-free and paleo baking recipes to consider...
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the comment field below. Thank you!
📖 Recipe
Spiced Paleo Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour (135 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups tapioca flour (185 grams)
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (80 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Spices
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil , softened or melted but not hot (100 grams)
- ¼ cup molasses (60 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Finishing Touch
- ⅓ cup granulated or coarse sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and spices and mix well with a whisk or wooden spoon.
- Wet Ingredients: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. You do not need to mix the wet ingredients separately first.
- Chill the dough: Cover dough and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat: When ready to bake, leave the dough out for 20-30 minutes to allow it to soften slightly. Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Roll into balls: Roll the dough into balls of 1 ½ inch diameter (~4 centimeters), then roll them in the granulated or coarse sugar. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet with room to spread.
- Bake: Bake on the middle oven rack for 9-12 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned and the center looks cooked through.
- Cool: Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
Notes
Substitutions
- Gluten-Free - remember to choose pure spices (no anti-caking agents) for people with Celiac. I recommend McCormick, Spicely, and Spice Island brands for Celiac-friendly cooking and baking in the USA.
- Brown Sugar - I used coconut sugar for a paleo and refined-sugar-free molasses cookie. You can replace the coconut sugar with light brown sugar in equal amount.
Variations
- Vegan or Real Butter - vegan or real butter can be used in place of the coconut oil.
- More Ginger - a little ginger goes a long way -- my recipe calls for 1 ¼ teaspoons for a lighter ginger flavor. You can increase to 1 ½ teaspoons for a stronger ginger flavor
Carrie says
I love the spicing and texture of these cookies—definitely added it to my list of favorite cookie recipes!
Jamie says
Thank you so much for the review Carrie! I am so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Sandra says
I just made a batch of these and my family gobbled them up in 3 days flat!
Angie says
I love the coconut sugar and almond flour in this recipe! They definitely have a cozy roasted flavor that I really like. I'll be making them again!