These gingersnap cookies are chewy with crispy edges, warmly spiced, and rolled in crunchy sugar for the ultimate holiday cookies! The dough is quick and easy to prepare with no chilling required, so you can have these ready for the oven in minutes.
Looking for more delicious treats to add to a holiday cookie platter? You might also love these homemade snickerdoodles (or try gingerdoodles!), classic sugar cookies, and spiced chai shortbread.
When it comes to baking for the holidays, gingersnap cookies are a classic. Gingersnaps are a chewy, sometimes crispy cookie flavored with plenty of ginger and cinnamon spice. The name comes from the fact that original gingersnaps would “snap” when broken in half. They are very similar to a molasses cookie, or even gingerbread, but it’s all about the thin, crispy texture with a good gingersnap. If you love a thicker, softer cookie, my soft gingerbread cookies might be more up your alley. Now, let’s bake some cookies!
Tell Me About These Gingersnap Cookies
- Perfect for the holidays. I think gingersnap cookies are easily the most festive of holiday cookies. They’re warm and cozy and just perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee or tea.
- Crisp yet chewy. This gingersnap cookies recipe has the PERFECT texture. The cookies have that classic “snap” when you break them in half, but they’re still chewy in the center.
- Super easy. All you’ll need is one bowl and a baking sheet to prepare these cookies. The dough is quick and easy, with no chill time required. Plus, they only require 15 minutes in the oven!
Ingredients You’ll Need For This Recipe
This gingersnaps recipe is made with molasses, warm spices, and pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.
- Butter – Brought to room temperature.
- Sugar – You’ll need sugar for the cookie dough, and also extra sugar for rolling. I use granulated sugar, but light brown sugar will also work.
- Molasses – I recommend pure, unsulphured molasses for a rich, sweet flavor. Make sure you’re using dark molasses and not blackstrap molasses, which is more bitter.
- Egg – The egg can also be brought to room temperature for best results.
- Baking soda – Check the expiration date on your baking soda (also make sure you’re not confusing baking soda with baking powder, which isn’t the same product). If your baking soda is expired, the cookies will come out dense and flat.
- Spices – Ginger (obviously) and cinnamon give these cookies their classic warm, spicy flavor. You can adapt the amount of spice to taste.
- Flour – Measure the flour using the spoon and sweep method to avoid overmeasuring. Spoon the flour from the bag into your cup measure, and level off the cup with the back of a knife. Never scoop directly from the bag, as you’ll end up with too much flour and the cookies will turn out crumbly.
Yes, if you don’t have molasses, you can substitute it with honey or brown sugar instead. Substitute equal parts honey. If you’re using brown sugar, you’ll need about 25% less packed brown sugar than molasses.
How To Make Gingersnap Cookies
Here’s a quick overview of how to make the best chewy gingersnap cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card below for more measurements.
- Make the dough. Begin by creaming the butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Then, add the molasses, egg, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix for an additional minute. Turn the speed to low and add in the flour.
- Form the dough balls. Now, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll the dough into balls, and roll the balls in the remaining sugar to coat.
- Bake. Place the balls of gingersnap cookie dough 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are golden and crinkly. Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy.
Pro Tip: Make Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies!
For an extra-indulgent treat, I love to fill the baked and cooled gingersnaps with buttercream or cream cheese frosting to make soft, chewy gingerbread sandwich cookies.
Baking Notes
- Don’t skip the sugar. Rolling the dough balls in sugar is what gives them the “crackly” appearance. Without it, you won’t get the same effect.
- Leave space on the cookie sheet. Gingersnaps do spread out a decent amount as they bake, so be sure to leave at least 2 inches between them on the baking sheet. I made the mistake of placing them too close together and they baked into each out!
- Don’t under (or over) bake. Unlike some other cookies, you don’t want to really underbake gingersnaps as you won’t get that classic crisp texture, but you also don’t want to burn them. The edges should be just starting to brown and appear crinkly.
How To Store Gingersnaps
- Store at room temperature. Homemade gingersnap cookies will stay crisp and chewy at room temperature for 3-4 days. Keep the cookies airtight.
- Freeze. You can freeze these cookies for up to 2 months. Store them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Thaw the cookies at room temperature.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Gingersnap Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
These classic gingersnap cookies are warmly spiced, crispy on the edges, and chewy in the center. There’s no chilling required, so the cookie dough is ready for the oven in minutes!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the molasses, egg, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Mix for another 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour. Mix until just combined.
- Place the remaining sugar in a small bowl, set aside.
- Using a medium (2- tablespoon sized) cookie scoop portion out dough. Roll the dough into balls and then roll the balls in the sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet 2- inches apart.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and appear “crinkly”.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Notes
Store airtight for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 111
- Sugar: 9.6 g
- Sodium: 127 mg
- Fat: 4.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.1 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 18.4 mg
Hi, I’m planning on making the dough ahead and freezing it until Christmas. I’ll roll them in sugar before baking. Do they freeze well or do you not suggest it? Thanks!
They freeze great!
Made these cookies as my first time making cookies ever. Turned out great. Also didn’t have the automatic mixer but used the hand mixer on low for the same amount of time. Worked perfectly.
Cooked the first pan of cookies 13 mins, 2nd pan 12 mins and the last for 11 mins on 350 convection setting on the gas oven.
Hi! These cookies sound delicious and easy, but I don’t have a “paddle” attachment to my old KitchenAid stand mixer. Will the recipe work if I use standard beaters? Also, I’m not familiar with “unsulphered” molasses; will it be difficult to find?
Hi Janet, my old KitchenAid stand mixer didn’t have a paddle attachment, but a generic ‘wire’ attachment. It worked fine on this dough.
I don’t know about the molasses, I use Fancy Molasses.
Made the ginger snap cookies today and they are delicious. I wish I made a double batch over half gone already. Will definitely make again.
Pretty great recipe. I used half the sugar and still found them to be far too sweet though. Next time I may just use 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp ginger
Made these gingersnaps Christmas Day for our party and they were a hit! All the cookies disappeared! They have a great “snap” and the flavor is spot on! Will make again.
The store was out of molasses so I substituted Steen’s Louisiana cane syrup and decided to give them a local twist. I used light brown cane sugar in the dough instead of white and added a half teaspoon of cayenne to the ingredients. They are fabulous. They have a little heat to them and are a big hit. Love this recipe.
Hey there I was wondering if I should flatten the cookies before baking for this recipe, or do they flatten quite a bit by themselves in the oven? Thanks!
They spread on their own!
I’ve tried a few different ginger snap recipes, and this one was pretty good! They have a nice flavor. I found that they didn’t quite flatten, though, so they were more of just a gingerbread cookie than anything with any sort of snap. They were still good though, so I’d make them again!
This is the first time I have ever made ginger snap cookies. I followed the recipe and they turned out PERFECTLY. Not sure why others had issues with it spreading. My husband said he didn’t like ginger snaps so I made him sugar cookies but now he is eating my ginger snaps! He said they are pretty good. 😉
LOL! That always happens in my house too! Everyone thinks they don’t like gingersnaps, until they have a good homemade one!
Exactly. I had so many people tell me how they didn’t blike ginger snaps UNTIL I made these cookies. They didn’t last an hour. I doubled the recipe and they lasted two days. Lol. This is one of my favorite recipes.