Eggless Ginger Cookies

This recipe has been been living rent free in my mind since quite some time. The inspiration was Claire Saffitz’s Ginger Molasses Cookies from her cookbook and now youtube channel, Dessert Person. I could have made the same recipe but I wanted to make it simpler for folks back home in India. You see, a few years ago when my parents visited us in Dubai, my dad fell in love with Ginger flavoured cookies. I now make it a point to bring him some good ginger cookies or biscuits every time I visit. He has, since then, found versions in India too but then nothing beats homemade stuff, does it?

So when I mean simpler, I wanted to use ingredients easily available in an Indian kitchen. This means that I had to find an alternative for the Molasses. Living in the UAE, I easily find most International brands of foodstuffs or comparable alternatives. I have never used molasses in my cooking but Gurh or Jaggery is where I know I can find molasses in my kitchen. So that was sorted.

Recipe testing Indian style Eggless Ginger Cookies

My first trial for these Ginger Cookies involved ingredients like Saunth or what us desis call Ginger Powder. Others were Jaggery powder, Ghee, Aata and Oats. I included Oats here because I am a big fan of digestive style biscuits which almost always include oats. Oats give a great chewy texture to these Ginger cookies.

In the first trial, I used the 1 cup of old fashioned oats divided in two forms – roughly ground and whole. The whole oats absorbed little flavour so in my next trial, I ground all the old fashioned oats.

As for the use of aata and ghee, my first trial of these ginger cookies yielded a result very similar to the desi Aatey wale biscuit that we Indians grew up eating. The cookies were delicious but the ginger did not shine through. You see, the flavour of toasted or roasted aata that we so love in our halwas, kasaar and kadha parshads, is earthy and strong and left little room for any other delicate flavour. If you do use Aata to make these ginger cookies, I recommend adding an additional teaspoon of Ginger Powder or Saunth.

Ghee, Butter or Oil?

The use of Ghee in my first trial did not make me miss butter. I know Kanika’s whole wheat biscuits also allow for oil but since I believe in the magical powers of chilling or freezing the cookie dough, I opted for ghee at first. I wanted the dough to solidify so that I could shape it into balls and dust it with sugar before baking. Both ghee and butter would allow for that.

The cookies from the first trial, made with Ghee did not taste of Ghee or butter. In the second trial I used butter and I did not taste that either. So I would leave the choice to you based on what you prefer and what is available in your pantry.

The Case for Freezing Cookie Dough

Whenever I make cookie dough, I always freeze whatever is leftover from the first batch of baking. For this recipe too, I froze the rest of the dough to bake later. Doing this not only helps the favours to deepen but I also find it convenient that I can just heat my oven and bake a fresh batch of cookies whenever I like.

To freeze cookie dough, I portion chilled cookie dough into balls and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. The baking sheet is then placed in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour. Frozen and portioned cookie dough is then transferred into a ziplock back, labelled with contents and date and frozen till the next craving strikes!

To bake, I simple heat my oven to 350° F or 175°C. The cookie dough is placed spaced out on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked for 10-12 minutes with the fan on. And voila! I have freshly baked warm cookies just like that.

What goes into these Chewy Eggless Ginger Cookies

After trying out various proportions, flours, fats, I found that a mix of ground old fashioned oats and all purpose flour helped with getting a brighter ginger flavour. If, for some reason you do not like to use all purpose flour or maida, you can just sub it for Aata.

Here’s what I used eventually in these Eggless Ginger Cookies with options for replacements:

• All Purpose Flour: You could use Aata or whole wheat flour here if you don’t like to use All Purpose Flour or maida, but be prepared for a nuttier and earthier flavour in the cookies. Ginger does not shine as much when you use Aata. I tried both and both yielded delicious cookies. You could also use a mix of 50:50 All purpose flour to Aata.
• Old fashioned Oats: I found that ground old fashioned oats, also called whole or rolled oats, lent a great chewy texture to the cookies. You could use Instant or quick cooking oats but they are usually so processed that they might make the cookies gummy. So try to use old fashioned oats. If you don’t care for oats, just sub it for equal amounts of All purpose flour or Aata. The texture will be different but it will still be a delicious cookie.
• Jaggery Powder: Since the inspiration for these cookies came from Claire Saffitz’s Ginger Molasses cookies, I found that jaggery is a great substitute for molasses in these cookies. If you don’t have access to this Indian ingredient, use soft dark or light brown sugar.
• Soft Brown Sugar: I used soft dark brown sugar for their caramel flavour and molasses content. If you don’t have it, sub it for equal amounts of Jaggery powder or Demerara sugar.
• Baking Soda: This is the only leavening agent I use in these Ginger cookies. Using baking soda also lends a chewier texture to the cookies as against Baking Powder which make them light and airy. Baking soda also helps the cookies with browning and helps them spread upon baking.
• Salt: Please don’t skip the salt in your sweet baking recipes. It’s just a tiny amount and it won’t make your bakes salty. Not only does it enhances flavour, it also helps the protein in the flour, making your cookies chewier. Read more here.
• Other Warm Spices: I used some all-spice powder, freshly ground black pepper (at the finest setting on the grinder!), a tiny amount of cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg to make these cookies perfect for the Christmas season! Adding any or all of these is optional but they do complement the ginger flavour.
• Unsalted Butter or Ghee: This recipe worked well with both ghee and butter. I use either of these because they will help firm up the dough on chilling, making it easier to handle and shape. Butter and Ghee also have a richer flavour than oil. Make sure that the ghee or butter that you use is at room temperature so that it is easy to incorporate in the dough.
• Milk: Milk helps in bringing the dough together. I use just a few tablespoons of milk to hydrate the oats and maximise flavours throughout the cookies.

Let’s make these Desi style Eggless Ginger Cookies

Prep Time: 20 mins; Resting Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour; Cook time: 12 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes approx

Yields 17-18 cookies

Special Equipment: Small Food Processor or Grinder, FoodWeighing Scale (Optional), Baking Sheet, Parchment paper, Convection Oven

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour/ Maida, 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon, (100 grams approx)
• Old Fashioned Oats, 1/2 cup, (50 grams)
• Ginger Powder/ Saunth, 2 teaspoons
• Jaggery Powder/ Gurh powder or Shakkar, 1/2 cup, (70 grams approx)
• Soft dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup (40 grams)
• Unsalted Butter or Ghee, 1/2 cup, at room temperature
• Salt, 1/4 teaspoon
• Baking Soda,1 and 1/4 teaspoon
• Milk, 2-3 tablespoons
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper/ Kaali Mirch, fine, 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
• Cinnamon Powder/ Dalchini powder, 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
• All Spice Powder or Nutmeg powder or Clove powder (optional), 1/4 teaspoon
• White Granulated Sugar or Demerara Sugar (optional), 1/4 cup to coat

Method

Prepare the Cookie Dough

Start by gathering and measuring all the ingredients. Keep the dry and wet ingredients separate for now. Make sure you bring the ghee or butter to room temperature before making the dough. We don’t start by heating the oven here because we need to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Grinding the Oats: Transfer the measured old fashioned oats, all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ginger powder and other optionals to a dry grinder or food processor jar. Pulse a few times to make a coarse flour. Keep aside.

In a large mixing bowl or vessel, mix in the jaggery powder, soft dark brown sugar with the room temperature butter or ghee. Mix it all together using a fork or a whisk. Add in a couple tablespoons of milk and mix well till it emulsifies, 2-3 minutes.

Tip in the dry ingredients from the food processor jar to the butter and jaggery mix.

Mix well using a fork or spatula till you see no dry flour. The dough will be sticky and that is fine.

Chill the Cookie Dough

Line an air tight or sealable container with some parchment or wax paper. Spoon in the sticky ginger cookie dough and pat to flatten. Cover with a lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or till it solidifies. You can also leave it overnight to 15-16 hours.

Shape the Cookies and Bake

After chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes or so, you will find that the dough has solidified.

Heat the oven to 150°C or 300°F.

If using a weighing scale, measure and portion around a heaping tablespoon worth of dough. It should be around 25 grams. If you are not using a scale, make sure that the dough is approximately the size of an Indian lime, smaller than a golf ball.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep alongside. In a shallow bowl, keep some granulated sugar for dusting.

With clean dry hands, roll each portion of dough into a ball in the palm of your hands. When rolled, quickly toss the ball in the granulated sugar and place on the baking sheet.

Repeat with other dough balls. Distance the cookies at least an inch apart because they spread on baking. I was able to fit 8 cookies on 1 baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 150°C or 300°F till the cookie is set on the outside. Once set on the edges, take out and let it cool on the baking sheet as the centre will continue to cook with the residual heat. For crispier cookies, bake them for 14-15 minutes instead.

Freezing the Cookie Dough

If you are not baking all of the cookie dough, then you can portion and freeze the cookie dough after the dough has been chilled. For this, measure and roll the cookie dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I did not roll it in sugar for freezing the dough, it is optional. Place the sheet in the freezer for an hour until set. Once set, take out and transfer to a ziplock bag. Label with date and contents and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, just heat your oven and place the dough balls dusted in sugar on the cookie sheet like mentioned above and bake.

Enjoy these delicious chewy Eggless Ginger Cookies with a cup of desi spicy hot chocolate or chai or coffee! Share with friends and family for the perfect holiday gift during the festive season!

You can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

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