As far as I’m concerned, gingersnap cookies are a big part of the holiday season. These sweet little cookies have been around since the middle ages and have survived the test of time due to their unique texture and warm spiced flavor.
These tasty little ginger cookies have a chewy texture that ‘snaps’ when broken and they’re insanely addictive. The warm spiced flavor comes from the delicate blend of holiday spices tempered with our favorite butter and sugar. You are going to love these!
Put on your apron my friends and let’s get baking!
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What I Love About Gingersnap Cookies Recipe
I love everything about these little cookies. Their crave-worthy flavor hits the spot every time and the texture is spot on! Its all about the texture with these bad boys. Plus, this gingersnap cookies recipe is so simple to throw together it’s gonna’ rock your world!
- Simple straightforward recipe
- Warm spiced flavor dusted in sugary bliss
- Legendary snap in every chewy bite
- Better than the processed grocery store brand
- Makes a great gift
Crunchy Ginger Snap Recipe Notes
This gingersnap cookies recipe is an easy road to cookie bliss but there are a couple of little tips that can help along the way. These are different than commercially prepared gingersnaps. They are crispy on the edges and chewy on the inside. The spice flavor is far more developed and layered.
Here’s what you need to know:
You’ll want to ensure that your oven is fully preheated before you put your cookies in to bake. When you put them in before the oven reaches the target temperature, cookies don’t set properly, and it can ruin the entire tray of goodies.
It’s also important to follow the gingersnap cookies recipe thoroughly combining the dry ingredients first. This helps ensure even ingredients dispersion, proper gluten development, and even emulsification so you end up with really good cookies!
Ingredient Notes
These healthy ginger snap cookies have the best flavor and they’ll fill your kitchen with the ambrosial scent of warm holiday spices. The best part is that you can throw them together with just a few kitchen staples – no crazy ingredients.
Flour – I use all-purpose flour for this gingersnap cookies recipe, and it seems to work best. This recipe calls for 2 cups which should be measured accurately without packing. A properly measured cup of flour weighs approximately 125 grams.
Butter – Your butter should be room temperature meaning that is should still be solid but spread easily. You’ll want it somewhere around 67-70 degrees for best results. Unsalted butter works best.
Sweetener – These yummy little gems get their sweetness from a combination of granulated sugar and good old-fashioned molasses. Plus, that little dash of salt enhances sweetness.
Spices – The warm spiced flavor comes from a delicate blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. They’re all the fragrant holiday spices you’d expect in the perfect gingersnap cookie!
Storing Tips
You’ll want to keep these little babies in an airtight container to preserve freshness and they’ll be just fine on the counter. Actually, they’ll stay a little crisper in a cookie tin if you have one. I’ve kept these little guys in the fridge before and they do pretty good, but they have a tendency to absorb moisture and lose their snap.
Can You Freeze This?
Oh yeah, you sure can. You can make the dough and freeze it so it’s ready to bake when you are which makes things so much easier on a busy schedule.
You can also freeze the baked cooled cookies. They freeze really well. If they’re missing a little snap when you thaw them out, just pop them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up.
Old-Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies Make Ahead Tips
Getting this gingersnap cookies recipe prepped ahead of time is super simple. You can combine the flour and spices in a mason jar so it’s ready to go. Keep the sugar in a different jar and separate out the divided cinnamon and sugar. When you’re ready to bake cookies, just start creaming the butter and sugar and give the mason jar a good shake!
Of course, you can always make the dough ahead and freeze it.
How Long Can You Keep This?
These yummy gingersnap cookies will stay fresh and chewy for 4-5 days after they’re baked. You can also freeze the dough for up to 3 months and baked cookies will stay good for 6 months in the freezer.
Recipe Variations
Tweaking this gingersnap cookies recipe is simple. You do need to be careful though because the recipe can be finicky. You can opt not to dust them in cinnamon sugar, or you can dust them in powdered sugar instead.
You can also substitute shortening for the butter if you prefer a softer chewy cookie. Here are some other simple suggestions.
What Other Ginger Cookies Can I Bake?
Making gingersnap cookies with butter is ideal for crisper chewier cookies, like this gingersnap cookies recipe. It’s very similar to ginger molasses cookies but they aren’t the same. Molasses cookies and ginger molasses cookies are a bit softer and have more of a deep rich flavor rather than the warm holiday spiced flavor of gingersnap cookies.
Sometimes I get the craving for Pfeffernusse cookies. That warm spiced cookie is often made with nuts and rolled in powdered sugar. Once I make a batch of gingersnap cookies I start craving all the other spiced cookies in my repertoire!
Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon,-divided
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar,-divided
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set on medium, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add egg and molasses and mix until combined. Gradually mix in flour mixture until evenly combined.
- Mix together the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small shallow bowl; set aside.
- Using a small cookie scoop shape dough into balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked about 12 minutes. (Cookies will flatten as they cool). Cool cookies on baking sheet for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
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Conclusion
Gingersnap cookies are some of my all-time favorite holiday cookies. Actually, I think they’re great enough to be eaten year-round. The recipe is totally simple, and the crave-worthy flavor is just out of this world yummy!
I like to bake up a couple of batches of these bad boys and hand them out as gifts around the holidays. People really love them and a little time in the kitchen saves me a ton of money! When you’re ready for that sweet holiday spiced flavor all wrapped up in a crispy little sugar-coated cookie, gingersnap cookies are what you need!
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