Bake

Vegan Dark Chocolate-Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

November 17, 2018
4.5
6 Ratings
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 50 minutes
  • Makes 14 large cookies
Author Notes

"Vegan? These?!" That's an impression of you after tasting these cookies. To say that they've ruined me for all other gingerbread desserts would be a gross understatement. Thanks to Karlie Kloss' recipe, on which I based my own, the cookie component is irresistibly spicy. It's the sort of flavor that makes you think that you’re wrapped in a flannel blanket next to a crackling fire in one of those gorgeous rustic states like Vermont. The addition of lightly sweetened chocolate ganache perfectly balances the spicy-molasses vibes of the gingerbread cookies, while imparting a creamy, rich dimension. Ah, and the candied ginger? (*Kisses thumb and forefinger like a cartoon chef.*) Don’t skip the candied ginger. —Ella Quittner

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe is featured in the story, Just When We Thought Gingerbread Cookies Couldn't Get Better, We Doused 'Em In Chocolate, sponsored by Hu Kitchen. —The Editors

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • Candied Ginger
  • 1 cup coconut sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 3–inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into coins about 1/8-inch thick
  • Cookies & Chocolate Ganache
  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour (store-bought works best) (180 grams)
  • 1/2 cup (68 grams) super-fine almond flour
  • 1/2 cup (72 grams) coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons (6 grams) ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon (7 grams) ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) ground cloves
  • 3/4 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
  • 7 tablespoons (77 grams) refined coconut oil, melted
  • 6 tablespoons (132 grams) blackstrap molasses
  • 4.2 ounces Hu Simple Dark Chocolate (2 bars), roughly chopped into shards
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut cream
Directions
  1. Make the candied ginger: Combine 1 cup coconut sugar with 2 cups water in a small saucepan, and heat over a medium low flame, stirring every minute or so, until the sugar dissolves (a few minutes total). Add the ginger coins and let it come to a rolling simmer for about 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the liquid starts to bubble and cook down into a thick syrup. Drain the ginger pieces (you can reserve the syrup to use in cocktails later!), and toss them in 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar, then set aside in the refrigerator to cool and dry. This can be done several days in advance—just be sure to cover the candied ginger coins in the fridge. (You’ll only need 14 of them for the cookies; save the extras for snacking.)
  2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisk to thoroughly mix. Add the coconut oil and molasses and mix together with your hands or a wooden spoon until a moist ball of dough forms.
  4. Divide the dough into 14 roughly equal pieces. Roll each into a ball. Arrange evenly on the prepared cookie sheets, and use your thumb to make a deep indentation in the center of each, almost down to the cookie sheet but not quite. (If the sides around the thumbprint start to split, just pinch them back together to create a retaining wall.) Chill the cookie sheets in the freezer for 15 minutes, then place into the oven. Bake for 14 minutes, peeking after 10 minutes to check on your indentations—if they’re starting to fill in, briefly pull out the trays and press the indentations in with a teaspoon before returning to oven. Once you remove them from the oven, press down the centers one final time as they cool on their tray.
  5. While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate ganache. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut cream until melted and just barely simmering around the edges. Remove pan from heat and add the chocolate shards. Stir to combine until the chocolate has melted. Use a spoon to fill the centers of the cookies, and top each well of chocolate with one piece of candied ginger. Let sit at room temperature (or pop into the fridge for about 20 minutes, to expedite) until the chocolate centers have set.
  6. To store, chill in a covered container for 2 to 3 days.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

8 Reviews

Wendy B. December 25, 2021
I made the recipe exactly as written. During baking the cookies totally flattened out. I tried the 10 minute spoon thing but they re-flattened out after. I ended up brushing them with the ganache to make a chocolate coat. Final result was cosmetically good but nothing like the photo at all and the important thing is how they taste. Well, they are pretty good but I was looking for something better
Anne T. October 28, 2019
Hi! I just tried to make these... twice! The first time they completely flattened and the second time I had to take them out early because they were cracking and flattening. I had used all oat flour the first time but the second time I followed to the recipe in terms of flour. I used brown sugar instead of coconut though and my molasses was baking molasses, not blackstrap. Would that be the difference?
Roxanne December 18, 2018
So... I made these glutenFULL using all purpose flour in place of the oat and almond flour, and brown sugar instead of coconut sugar... less healthful, but they came out great! They were done at about 9 mins total, and I sprinkled some flaky salt on top of the ganache. Ahmazing.
Ella Q. December 21, 2018
Wow, sounds wonderful—thank you for sharing detail on the subs!
Miachel P. December 8, 2018
LOVED this. I did three subs and they still turned out delicious:
1) Buckwheat flour instead of oat flour. To me buckwheat flour is like the blackstrap molasses of the sugar world: deep, rich, and slightly bitter. The two pair really nicely together.
2) Store-bought candied ginger. I think it’s cool that this recipe includes how to make it from scratch, though.
3) Regular dark chocolate bar with hazelnuts. (I love Hu Chocolate, but the bars don’t last long enough in my house to use in baking. 😛)

Also, I’ve only made ganache in a double-boiler or microwave but this hot-pan method worked well. New technique to add to the list!
Ella Q. December 9, 2018
So glad you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for the info, buckwheat as a sub sounds delicious.
Greg January 4, 2021
My ganache was a bad result. I am not an experienced ganache maker, but meted chocolate has been called for in a few recipes I have used and I followed the directions (I will research additional recipes as I did for the candied ginger). A couple of things I am wondering about in case I should have exactly followed the ingredients: I used coconut cream from Sprouts (17% total fat content, I emptied the whole can into another container to stir to a homogenous mixture) and Hu baking and snacking gems instead of the Hu bar (I usually read the label but maybe not the whole label this time in case something different in its composition). My bad result was that it seemed to have de-emulsified as oil separated out while off the heat. It was initially a nice melted and blended chocolate.
Eagerly awaiting your reply, thank you.
Miachel P. December 8, 2018
LOVED this. I did three subs and they still turned out delicious:
1) Buckwheat flour instead of oat flour. To me buckwheat flour is like the blackstrap molasses of the sugar world: deep, rich, and slightly bitter. The two pair really nicely together.
2) Store-bought candied ginger. I think it’s cool that this recipe includes how to make it from scratch, though.
3) Regular dark chocolate bar with hazelnuts. (I love Hu Chocolate, but the bars don’t last long enough in my house to use in baking. 😛)

Also, I’ve only made ganache in a double-boiler or microwave but this hot-pan method worked well. New technique to add to the list!