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These Ginger Snap Cookies are soft and chewy with a crisp edge. An easy Christmas cookie recipe that are perfect for any holiday cookie spread, but great any time of year!
Ginger Snap Recipe
Serve these Ginger Snap Cookies on a holiday table with Christmas Oreo Bon Bons, Slow Cooker Candied Almonds, and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
If you want to keep with the ginger theme, you could also pair it with an easy gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting!
Do you go to holiday cookie exchanges? I always make cookies, but I’ve never been to an actual exchange. I feel like this ginger snaps recipe would make the perfect batch of cookies to swap.
I polled my friends asking their favorite holiday cookie to help me narrow down what I wanted to bake this weekend. I got a couple requests for cookies I’ve already shared but one friend suggested ginger snaps and this recipe came about.
I consulted a very old cookbook passed down from my grandma for a recipe and am thrilled with the results. A soft and chewy, spicy, holiday cookie that smells amazing when it’s baking in your kitchen.
Ginger Snaps Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
- Butter – Unsalted, at room temperature.
- Molasses – Baking molasses – usually light or “original”.
- Egg – One large egg.
- Flour – All-purpose white flour.
- Baking Soda – To add rise.
- Cinnamon – Use a good quality ceylon cinnamon.
- Ginger – Ground ginger.
- Cloves – Ground cloves.
- Nutmeg – Ground nutmeg.
- Salt – For balance.
How to make Ginger Snap Cookies
Making ginger snap cookies is surprisingly easy, but you do need to allow time for the dough to chill and come together.
- STEP ONE: To a large bowl, add the sugar, butter, molasses, and egg and beat with a hand mixer until on medium until light and fluffy.
- STEP TWO: Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Stir it together with a spatula until fully combined.
Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let chill for at least an hour. - STEP THREE: Pour 1/2 cup of sugar into a shallow bowl. As you scoop the dough into approximately 1″ balls with a cookie scoop, roll the balls in your hands, then in the sugar, and place 12 per sheet on the prepared cookie sheets.
- STEP FOUR: Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes or until just set. They will puff up then flatten as they bake. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for a minute before removing.
Are ginger snaps supposed to be spicy?
Ginger snaps are not hot spicy, but they do have a nice warmth to them thanks to the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
Why are they called ginger snaps?
The name ginger snaps comes from the fact that these cookies are typically very crispy and make a “snap” sound when broken and are filled with ginger.
My version have a crisp edge with a chewy center (don’t over bake them!) and are full of holiday spices. Ginger snaps are a derivation of gingerbread.
What is molasses & why is molasses used in baking?
Molasses is a thick, dark syrup that is made during the sugar making process. Sugar cane or sugar beets are crushed and then the juice is extracted. The juice is then boiled down to form sugar crystals, which are then removed from the liquid. That is the molasses.
Molasses is used in baking to add great brown sugar flavor to cakes and cookies without making them too sweet.
Soft & chewy molasses cookies are similar to these ginger snaps and equally delicious.
Equipment you’ll need
- Mixing Bowls – I love the grippy bottoms of these bowls so they stay still while you’re mixing.
- Hand Mixer – As much as I love my stand mixer, I use my hand mixer much more often.
- Spatulas – I love these one piece silicone spatulas because they’re easy to clean.
- Silicone Baking Mats – Using either baking mats or parchment paper will help your cookies to bake evenly and make clean up easier.
- Cookie Scoop – I can’t remember the last time I made cookies without using a scoop. It makes life easier & your cookies will be even.
Need more Christmas cookies in your life? Try these:
Dark Chocolate Stars
Crisp Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Cream Cheese Sprinkle Cookies
Christmasdoodles (Snickerdoodles)
Sprinkled Chocolate Fudge Cookie Bites
Click here for my entire collection of cookies.
Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, butter, molasses, and egg and beat on medium until light and fluffy.1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 large egg
- Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt, Stir well with a spatula until fully combined.2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves, 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Pour approximately 1/2 cup of sugar into a small bowl (for rolling).
- Use a medium cookie scoop to shape the dough into approx. 1″ balls. Roll in sugar and place 12 per baking sheet onto your prepared sheets.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until just set (they will puff up then flatten while baking).
- Remove from oven and let stand on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!What’s your favorite holiday cookie recipe? Are you trying any new ones this year?
This post was originally sponsored by McCormick®. All opinions are my own, as always.
How many cookies constitutes the nutrition information?
It’s a rough courtesy estimate for 1 cookie assuming you make 30 cookies total. I recommend you using a calculator with your actual ingredients for a more accurate number though.
Super easy recipe. Perfectly chewy! Fantastic flavor. My husband is obsessed.
Yay 🙂
You didn’t put how hot to get the oven for the ginger bread cookies.
Yes I did, in two different places. 350°
Loved this recipe! I am a novice baker and the recipe is not only tasty but well written and easy to follow. thank you!!
Yay 🙂 Thanks Amelia!
I made these the other day. My husband loved them. I took them to friends of mine and they loved them too. She said anytime I wanted to make them she would take some off my hands. They are really really good. Thank you for the recipe.
I’ve been told the same! So glad you liked them, thanks for letting me know 🙂
My new favorite cookie!! Omg these are so incredible and the recipe was so easy to follow! I’m currently pregnant and I really wanted some ginger cookies , I found this recipe and I’m so glad I gave it a shot, I will for now on be bringing these to all family gatherings 🙂
I will say I didn’t have molasses so I substituted 1/4 cup of honey and half a cup of light brown sugar I also added an extra teaspoon of cinnamon, I will never be buying boxed ginger cookies again, thank you! 🙂
Yay =) I love hearing that!
Hello, I’ve made your soft gingersnap cookies a couple of times already and they turned out great. THIS TIME, I don’t know what the difference is , but they did not spread out and puff up at all. They just sat there in their ball form and maybe spread out just a tad, then they baked like that. I had to keep them in for at least another 5-7 min. hoping to see them spread out, but they just baked and they baked too much….. What could have happened? I did the exact recipe and followed all the steps.
hmm, it sounds like something was missed, especially if you’ve successfully made them before. Sorry, I’m not more help, it’s hard to say without being there 🙂
Good cookie but would like it to taste a bit more like a ginger cookie than a molasses cookie
It is very soft and chewy which I like very much
I would differentiate make it again put I’ll add more ginger
Best receipt ever!!!!! Me and my friends enjoyed this recipe a lot as we were watching the GATORS and Georgia.
GOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!🐊🐊
Best receipt ever!!!!! Me and my friends enjoyed this recipe a lot as we were watching the GATORS and Georgia.
GOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!🐊🐊😍
Can the dough be frozen? If so, how long will it last in the freezer?
Yes, I scoop into balls, roll in sugar, and then freeze. Up to 3 months should be fine in a freezer bag/container.
My new favorite holiday cookies to bake! I’ve been baking them weekly for a month now! The only thing I’ve been trying to accomplish is a stronger ginger flavor like store bought gingersnaps have. I’ve bumped up the spices little by little until I get that perfect spice level! Do you have any suggestions?
Some people have suggested using fresh grated ginger but ground is actually more concentrated than fresh, so I’m guessing you’d have to use quite a bit.
Can you sub the regular flour with gluten-free flour? I can’t wait to try this, I’ve been incorporating gluten-free into my baking.
I haven’t tested that but heard good things about the King Arthur 1:1 gf flour.
Can you substitute wheat flour in this recipe?
I have not tested that.
Absolutely delicious! I used sorghum instead of molasses so used less sugar. I added extra ginger too. They won’t last long!
So good! I added a squeeze of pureed ginger I bought at the supermarket and they’re fantastic. I’ll be making again.
These are so good! Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy in the center.
Thanks Colleen!
Any tips of freezing the cookies after they’ve been baked?
Yes, lay them in a freezer bag with parchment between layers for up to a couple months. When you’re ready to eat them, just put however many on the counter at room temp a few hours before you need them 🙂
Flavor was great but came out hard and chunchy 😞
The only way they would come out hard & crunchy is if you overbaked them.
My dough came out very dry and crumbly. Also they did not spread when baking, I did a double batch and made sure I measured everything correctly,
It sounds like something went wrong, maybe in the doubling process, because the dough shouldn’t have been crumbly & they definitely spread…sometimes too much lol