Molasses-Chocolate-Fig Cookies

23 Posted on January 23, 2012 - by Jules Shepard

Categories: All, Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Tags: , Allergy Friendly, Cookie Swap, Fig Recipes, GFCF, Gingersnap, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Kids, Molasses Cookies, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian

I don’t know what it is about cold weather, but it could be October or January, and if it’s chilly, I’m in the mood for a gingersnap. This twist on the traditional will please all palates — chocolate lovers are placated by the chips that offer a sweet counterbalance to the molasses, and any kid loves a cookie rolled in sugar! The peanut butter-chocolate fans in my midst are thrilled with that option, and I love that the figs bring a moist, cake-like texture to these chewy cookies, and that they pair so well with the ginger and cinnamon. Could be a new family favorite! Enjoy!

Molasses-Chocolate-Fig Cookies

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. Ener-G® Egg Replacer + 1 Tbs. warm water (or 1 large egg white)
3 Tbs. Blackstrap Molasses
3/4 cup stemmed, finely chopped figs (may also use dates -not dried- here)
1 1/2 cups Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. ginger (ground)
1 tsp. cinnamon (ground)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder, gluten-free
1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life® is gluten, soy, dairy & nut-free), optional
1/4 cup peanut butter chips, optional
1/2 cup Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Beat brown sugar and oil until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together Ener-G Egg Replacer and water, or the egg white. Add to the brown sugar mixture, together with the molasses. Stir in the chopped figs to incorporate.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl (including chocolate and/or peanut butter chips, if using). Slowly stir into the molasses mixture. The dough will be thick and taffy-like when combined.

Pinch off tablespoon-sized pieces of dough, and roll in your hands to form a ball. Roll in the Demerara sugar (you may use regular granulated sugar instead, but the sugar will be absorbed into the cookies more than those pictured here).

Place rolled and sugared balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The cookies will not spread much, if any, so they can be placed only 1-2 inches apart. Bake in center rack of preheated oven for 9 minutes. The cookies may have cracked slightly and be crispy at the edges, but they should still be soft and cake-like in the centers.

Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Yield: 2 ½ – 3 dozen cookies.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 4:06 pm and is filed under All, Cookies, Desserts, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!

Lynn Paul said: on January 23, 2012

Hmmm, maybe bits of ginger and dried cranberries instead of chips?
Reply
- Jules said: on January 24, 2012
  
  Lynn – that would be a delicious variation!
  Reply
niv said: on January 24, 2012

Great healthy recipe. Can you please share about information about preheating the oven and how long to bake.

Thanks
Reply
- Jules said: on January 24, 2012
  
  Niv – the preheat info and bake time are listed in the recipe above: 350 F for approximately 9 minutes.
  Reply
Brenda Will said: on January 25, 2012

Looks Yummy!
Reply
Diana G. said: on January 27, 2012

I thought that many grocery store brands of peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips had barley flour in them?
Also, are your figs fresh or dried? Thank you!
Reply
- Jules said: on January 27, 2012
  
  Diana – you are correct about the butterscotch chips, in particular. Nestle Butterscotch Chips have barley in them, so watch out! Check the ingredients on peanut butter chips – they should be GF but will contain dairy. The figs I use in this recipe are dried, but you could even used bagged dates, if you wanted (they’re still soft but not exactly fresh).
  Reply
Ellen (Gluten Free Diva) said: on January 27, 2012

Perfect! I just bought a big bag of organic figs at Costco. Gonna make these and post on my blog at http://www.glutenfreediva.com with a link to this post!!! Thx!!!!
Reply
- Jules said: on January 27, 2012
  
  Fantastic Ellen! Hope you enjoy!
  Reply
Cindy said: on January 27, 2012

What is Demerera sugar?
Reply
- Jules said: on January 27, 2012
  
  Cindy, Demerera sugar is unrefined cane sugar that is in larger crystals so it’s used for decorating and adding to the tops of cookies, tarts, pies, etc. You can use regular sugar here instead, no worries!
  Reply
Norie Erickson said: on January 28, 2012

What can I use in place of figs?I can’t find any in my midwestern town.
Reply
- Jules said: on January 29, 2012
  
  Norie – can you find dates? Those work well here too!
  Reply