Glazed gingersnaps are slice and bake Christmas cookies made with coconut oil, molasses and pumpkin pie spice, dipped in a white glaze. That makes them an easy cookie exchange batch or a gift tin filler, since the dough chills as a log and cuts into 36 cookies. No rolling pin and no cutters.
Bake them the full 18 to 22 minutes, which is nearly double what a quarter inch slice usually needs. That long dry bake is the only thing that gives a gingersnap its snap, so a cookie pulled at 12 minutes will bend.
There is no butter, no egg and no dairy anywhere in this recipe, and the page never mentions it. Coconut oil does all the work, so these are vegan without trying, which is worth knowing before a cookie swap.
Glazed Gingersnaps
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA stiff coconut oil and molasses dough chilled as a squared log, sliced thin and baked slowly until crisp. Half of each cookie is dipped in a sugar glaze and sprinkled with red sugar.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
2/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 to 4 teaspoons water, plus more as needed
Red coarse sugar, for decorating
Directions
- Melt and mix: Microwave the coconut oil in a large bowl until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the granulated sugar and molasses until mostly smooth, giving it another 30 to 45 seconds in the microwave if it stays grainy. Let it cool slightly.
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk that into the coconut oil mixture, switching to a spatula once it stiffens. It will look dry at first and then pull together.
- Shape the log: Scrape the dough onto plastic wrap and roll it into an 8 to 9 inch log, then wrap it. Press the sides flat with a ruler to square it off. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight, pressing the sides square again after about 20 minutes.
- Slice and bake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F with racks in the upper and lower thirds, and line two sheets with parchment. Slice the log 1/4 inch thick and space the rounds 1 inch apart. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, switching the pans halfway, until firm at the edges, then cool completely on the pans.
- Glaze and finish: Whisk the confectioners sugar with 2 teaspoons of water, then add more a few drops at a time until it ribbons off the whisk. Dip half of each cookie, set it back on the sheet and scatter red coarse sugar over the wet glaze. Let it set about 30 minutes.
Notes
- The recipe contains no butter, eggs or dairy, so it is vegan as written. The 100 calories a cookie on the original checks out. Expect to use more water in the glaze than the 4 teaspoons listed.
FAQs
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil?
Yes, melted butter goes in at the same volume and the method does not change. You lose the dairy free part and gain a softer, richer cookie that snaps a little less. Coconut oil sets harder at room temperature, which is why these stay so crisp.
My glaze is too stiff to dip. What now?
A cup and a half of sugar with only 4 teaspoons of water makes a paste, not a dipping glaze. Ignore the cap and add water a few drops at a time until it ribbons off the whisk. Too thin and it runs off the cookie, so go slowly.
Why press the log into a square with a ruler?
Round logs flatten on whichever side they rest on, so the slices come out oval and bake unevenly. Squaring the sides, then squaring them again after 20 minutes, keeps every cookie the same shape. It also makes them stack neatly in a tin.
Does refined or unrefined coconut oil matter?
Unrefined coconut oil tastes of coconut and you will notice it behind the spice. Refined is neutral and lets the molasses lead, which is closer to a classic gingersnap. For a ginger cookie with no coconut question at all, there are these Trisha Yearwood gingerbread cookies.
How long do they keep, and can I freeze the dough?
Un-glazed they hold two weeks in a tin and stay crisp, which is the real advantage of a dry cookie. The wrapped log freezes for three months and slices straight from frozen with a minute or two added. Store them like these snickerdoodles, airtight and away from anything soft.
