Soft Baked Gingersnap Cookies + Video
These Soft Baked Gingersnap Cookies are thick and chewy, and full of rich molasses, ginger, and spices for a wonderful Christmas cookie everyone will love!
Christmas cookies are my favorite thing to share for neighbor gifts. I’m not very good at the homemade Christmas candy thing, but cookies — I can do!
There are some cookies that you only make around Christmas time. Mostly because they have that distinct holiday flavor, but that doesn’t mean you cherish those cookies any less. These soft baked gingersnap cookies are sure to fill your holiday with wonderful flavors and memories.
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That’s what makes Christmas special to me — traditions, memories, flavors, food. These soft baked gingersnap cookies are sure to make your tastebuds happy with warm molasses, rich spices, and a soft, chewy texture.
Traditional gingersnap cookies are crisp, so they “snap” when you bite into them. (They make a really great crust for my Pumpkin Cheesecake.) I actually prefer soft and chewy cookies, but I love the flavor of gingersnaps, so I combined the two into these soft baked gingersnap cookies.
You’ll have to give these soft baked gingersnap cookies a try, especially if you love spice cake and other similar desserts with strong spices. They are a wonderful holiday cookie!
Soft Baked Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick or 8 Tbsp) room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, gently packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) molasses
- 1 ¾ cup (210 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon, and level when measuring)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger*
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon*
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves*
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg*
- ¼ cup (50 g) + granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Mix in egg, vanilla, and molasses until completely combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to wet ingredients until combined. CHILL dough for 2 hours or overnight.
- Once chilled, roll dough into 1½-inch balls (about 1½ Tbsp each), roll in sugar and place on a silicone lined baking sheet. (Note: Some people have had to flatten the dough balls before baking. Consider doing a test cookie before baking a whole tray.)
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Bake cookies for 8 to 9 minutes. Keep extra dough cold until it is baked. For a crispier gingersnap, bake a few minutes longer. Allow cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Mine were FLAT 🙁 I doubled the recipe, but followed exactly – even baking them longer, shorter, they ended up either super crispy and flat or flat and gooey!
Hi Stacey! I’m so sorry your cookies flattened. I have definitely had conflicting comments from they don’t flatten at all or they flatten too much. I’m thinking altitude really effects this recipe. Even for me. You can see in the photos that mine are thicker, but if you watch my video they are a bit flatter. I’ve moved since I originally made these for the pictures vs making the video and I am currently at a higher altitude, so I’m thinking these cookies are especially sensitive to that. Here is some info if you think altitude may be a factor for you, to maybe help you if you want to try again: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html#cookies I’m so sorry they didn’t work out!
just made them wish they were a little sweeter. I also skipped refrigerating and they still did not spread. had to use the back of a spoon
Hi.what makes these cookies soft?
Well, like most cookies it depends on the ratios of sugar, butter, and bake time. This recipe results in soft cookies.
Do you think these would work as a cookie bar? They look so yummy!
I think so. It should take around 15 to 20 minutes to bake. It would be awesome with this cream cheese frosting on top! https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/best-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/
does this recipe work with cooking molasses? accidentally picked up cooking instead of fancy but hoping theyll still turn out!
Hi Justine,
Cooking molasses will make it slightly less sweet, and will give it a more robust molasses flavor. You’ll have to let me know how it tastes. I don’t think it will effect the structure of the cookie though.
Taste is amazing!! Love them! However I’m dissapointed with the look. They did not flatten but stayed too round. I will smoosh them before I bake them next time.
Hi Gabby! Thanks for the feedback. You can also try skipping the refrigeration to see if that helps them spread more. Glad they tasted good though!
They are amazingly yummy. This is my new go to recipe for ginger/molasses. I would however, like to know if anyone has frozen them. I have a party in 7 days and it says they will only stay fresh 5. Any thoughts?
I haven’t frozen them yet, so I can’t say for sure. I would layer them on a tray with parchment paper in between and double or triple wrap the tray with plastic wrap.
If I use salted butter, do I just omit the 1/4 tsp salt?
It depends on your preference. Either way is fine.
Can you make these ahead and freeze?
I bet you could, but can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it. If you do, will you come back and let us know how it worked out? Thanks!
I made these and froze them into balls and to be honest the batch that was frozen was just as moist as the fresh ones.
These look wonderful, Amber. I’ll have to give ’em a try. 🙂
Thanks Teresa! I hope you like them!