These homemade gingersnaps are soft, chewy, and flavored with holiday spices. Plus, they are freezer-friendly! Make a batch to enjoy through Christmas season – I think you will love them.
Table of contents
Soft and Chewy Gingersnaps
I don’t make a lot of cookies, but when I do, I tend to stick to the classics, and it doesn’t get more classic than homemade gingersnap cookies. Sweet and spiced with holiday spices, there’s no better coffee or hot chocolate companion than a stack of these cookies.
I tend to prefer cookie recipes that call for melted butter like my molasses cookies, but for these gingersnaps, I’m totally willing to wait for the butter to soften so I can cream it with the sugar. To make up for that effort, you only need one bowl – first, you mix the wet ingredients and to it you add the dry ones. One bowl = easy clean-up.
These gingersnaps are one of my favorite Christmas cookies recipes – they’re not just delicious but they also are a sort of holiday aromatherapy. They smell amazing while they’re baking.
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients: butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, molasses, eggs, vanilla
- Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
How to Make Them
Beat the butter and sugars together until light and creamy. Add the molasses, eggs, and vanilla.
Add all of the dry ingredients, mix until the dough comes together and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes (or up to one day if you want to make it ahead).
I like to scoop about a tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball, roll the ball in granulated sugar, and place it on the baking sheet. The cookies won’t spread much, so I like to press on the dough ball with the bottom of a glass to create a disc.
For softer cookies, bake them for 8 to 10 minutes at 350°F. For crisper cookies, add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- Dough: You can make the dough ahead, roll into balls, and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag – they’ll keep for several months. When you’re ready to bake some, thaw them at room temperature while you heat the oven and bake them as instructed.
- Baked cookies: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for several days. Or, you can freeze the baked cookies for a few months.
These gingersnap cookies are all about the holiday cheer – make them to share or make them for just for you. I think you will ❤ them!
Happy holiday baking,
More Classic Cookies
- Snickerdoodles | These holiday cookies have crispy edges and soft and chewy middles. Spiced with cinnamon these are one of my favorite cookie recipes.
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Chocolate Chips | This is my go-to oatmeal cookie recipe. The cookies have the most wonderful chewy texture and I love the combination of raisins and chocolate chips mixed into the dough.
- New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies | Once I tried this famous recipe it became my only chocolate chip cookie recipe. These cookies are a bit of a project, but so worth the effort.
- Cookies and Cream Cookies | These soft and chewy cookies have crushed Oreos in every bite! They’re so easy to make, too.
📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe along with your recipe star rating.
PrintGingersnaps
Gingersnaps are always a favorite during the holidays!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 38 cookies 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup extra to top the cookies
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat both sugars together with the softened butter until fluffy. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Beat together until combined. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together until combined. Add to the wet ingredients and mix together until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. At this point, the dough will be very soft so cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at 30 minutes.
- Once the dough is firm, scoop approximately 1 tablespoon and roll it into a ball. Roll the balls in the extra sugar and line them up, about 2 inches apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once all the dough balls are made, lightly press down on each of them with the bottom of a glass.
- Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. Pull them out of the oven once the top of the cookies feels dry and firm. If you want a crisper cookie, leave them in the oven 1-2 minutes longer. Cool them for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- Dough: You can make the dough ahead, roll into balls, and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag – they’ll keep for several months. When you’re ready to bake some, thaw them at room temperature while you heat the oven and bake them as instructed.
- Baked cookies: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for several days. Or, you can freeze the baked cookies for a few months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 137
- Sugar: 11.3g
- Sodium: 57.2mg
- Fat: 6.1g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19.5g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 1.4g
- Cholesterol: 23mg
Keywords: gingersnaps, homemade ginger cookies
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
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