Classic Crispy Gingersnaps are the perfect Christmas cookie! Thin and crunchy with the perfect amount of molasses and spice, this easy homemade recipe takes 30 minutes to make! Download my favorite Christmas cookie recipes here.
Yield:
28 cookies
Prep Time:15minutes
Cook:15minutes
Tessa's Recipe Rundown...
Taste: The perfect balance of sweet and spice. Texture: Thin and crispy, these cookies break in half cleanly and have a satisfying crunch to every bite! Ease: Super simple 30 minute recipe. No chilling required. Pros: Easy and festive recipe that goes great in every Christmas cookie box. Cons: None! Would I make this again? Yes.
This year I received a handful of requests to publish a recipe for classic traditional gingersnap cookies that are actually crunchy.
Typically I enjoy more of a chewy cookie, but every once in a while I want that satisfying crunch of something sweet. I tweaked my Chewy Gingersnap recipe (which will be published in my upcoming cookbook!) to make them thin and crunchy.
These cookies would also make a great base for ice cream sandwiches! In fact, my best friend Ashley from Baker by Nature sent me ice cream from Salt & Straw, our favorite ice cream shoppe, as an early Christmas gift.
One of the flavors she sent was for Gingerbread Cookie Dough. I’m thinking I have to make ice cream sammies with these gingersnaps and that ice cream!!
Another idea is to use these cookies in place of graham crackers for over the top s’mores!
Of course, they’re also marvelous on their own with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea.
How to Make Thin & Crispy Gingersnaps
What makes cookies crispy and crackled?
A heavy amount of baking soda interacts with the molasses in this recipe to encourage spread. That same process allows cracks in the dough to develop where moisture escapes, creating that beautiful crackled appearance and crunchy texture.
There’s also much more granulated sugar than brown sugar in this recipe. White sugar encourages more spread and has less moisture to make for a crisper cookie.
Lastly, a longer baking time ensures a crunchy texture all the way through the center of these cookies.
How to make flavorful gingersnaps:
First make sure your spices, especially the ground ginger, are fresh and of high quality. Second, make sure to use unsulphured molasses. Never use blackstrap molasses in baking, it’s extremely bitter. Brer Rabbit or Grandma’s in their ‘mild’ or ‘original’ flavors tend to work best.
If you want more SPICE in your gingersnaps, add a tablespoon or two of freshly grated ginger. You can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
How to store homemade gingersnaps:
Store the gingersnaps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. You can also store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
How to freeze gingersnap cookie dough:
Scoop out the balls of cookie dough. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Remove to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Bake from frozen, reducing the temperature to 325°F and adding a couple minutes onto the baking time.
Classic Crispy Gingersnaps are the perfect Christmas cookie! Thin and crunchy with the perfect amount of molasses and spice, this easy homemade recipe takes 30 minutes to make! Download my favorite Christmas cookie recipes here.
Ingredients
1 1/2sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat until combined. Add in the salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and flour and beat until combined.
Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls and roll in the sugar before placing on the baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for spread. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are spread and the surface looks crackled.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
Hi Tessa – lovely recipe. I’ve been making almost the identical recipe, passed down from my grandmother, for almost 30 years. The only modification I’ve made was adding a 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Gives them a little more bite. Give it a go. I think you’ll like it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love these! I made these cookies this morning and my husband, who doesn’t like Gingersnaps, loved these! Thank you, Tessa, for another great recipe.
Wonderful recipe. Much beloved by my two godsons, their mother AND their grandmother! And they freeze beautifully just before baking using Tessa’s instructions for freezing cookie dough. It’s great to be able to send home bags of ready-to-bake cookies now that we all have to be social distancing! Thanks Tessa.
These were delicious! I did reduce the sugar a bit. About 2 tbsp less brown sugar and about 4 tbsp less of the white sugar since molasses is pure sugar.
I flattened them before baking and they were HUGE. They spread more in the oven and I didn’t think they would. I’m not mad, they tasted amazing and had that great crunch that you want with a ginger snap.
I’ll just make the cookies smaller next time and keep the baking time as is.
I adjusted the sugar (used 1 cup in the mixture) only 1.5 TBS for rolling cookie ball in the sugar. I also added cracked pepper and fresh grated ginger! I flattened the cookies prior to baking!
They came out amazing!
I tried this recipe twice, neither time was a success! They are to large, to soft & they didn’t have that “ginger” snap taste or texture. Back to the Internet to search for a recipe.
I made this cookie recipe the other day and tested it out on friends! Everyone loved it! If you want the cookie it be a bit crispier just leave them in the oven a minute or to longer. Side note. I had lots of pumpkin pie spice so used that instead of the recommended spices. O my so deliecious!!!
Found this tonight on a search to satisfy that specific hankering that only a good gingersnap can satisfy and wow what an awesome recipe! They look gorgeous and taste spectacular. My only tweak was a pinch of cayenne. New favorite for the perfect snap. Thank you!
As a lover of gingersnaps, I found this recipe to be amazing! I added 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger paste for extra ginger kick. Loved it. I didn’t have trouble with the cookie not being crispy or flattening like other reviewers mentioned. If anything, I pulled them out out early but I’m convinced my old oven runs extra hot.
If I freeze half the batch for ready-to-cook cookies, how long do you recommend baking them for?
I made your gingersnaps today, as listed. They are yummy! I have a type 1 diabetic granddaughter, so I calculated calories (3828), fat (143), and carbs (605). Those totals are for the whole recipe. I always need to know how many carbs are in what I am feeding her.
Because I have a gluten-free daughter-in-law, I also made a batch for her. I used 2 c. gluten free flour instead of 2 1/4 cups. They turned out great as well.
These cookies came out beautifully. Followed the recipe and instructions to the T. I’ll try adding fresh ginger next time for an extra kick. Thank you!
Too bad these didn’t work out for you. But how did you add more flour, etc. before you actually finished making the recipe? They’re called ‘Ginger Snaps’. They’re going to be thin.
This is by far my new favorite gingersnap recipe! I added both black pepper and cayenne and they were delicious. The texture as they cooled was crunchy around the edges but still chewy in the middle.
I have made these three times now and they are now added to my Christmas cookie must haves! Followed the recipe as printed but did a light drizzle of some white chocolate on top.
These are sooo good I want to double the recipe next time I bake them. The recipe calls for 2 tsp baking soda, would you need to add 4 tsp soda?. And would you also double all spices?
I made these cookies using Crosby’s cooking molasses, and they turned out great. I rolled the dough into smaller dough balls that baked into small bite-sized cookies. No flattening! My husband loved them (I liked them, too!)
These turned out perfect. I had a hard time finding non blackstrap molasses, went to the store for last minute eggs and found some! I’m going to use them for a cheese cake crust for Christmas and it will be hard to not eat all of them. ( don’t worry I baked a dozen extra) thanks for the recipe
Fantastic recipe! Husband requested I make gingersnaps and I chose your recipe as it seemed most like what he would want in a gingersnap. Nailed it!! We were both VERY pleased!
He also recommended dipping them in hot cocoa and I tried that as well. So I wanted to add that in my comment for others to try. 😉
Hi Lisa, sorry your cookies didn’t turn out! Have you checked that your oven temperature is accurate using an oven thermometer? And did you use a digital scale to make sure you had the accurate weight for ingredients – specifically the flour and baking soda?
Hi tessa, I live in the Netherlands and I can’t buy molasses here. Internet said that I could replace molasses with dark brown sugar, is that possible? In the ratio 325 gram molasses = 165 gram dark brown sugar.
Xx
Romy: Check out this blog for substitutions to molasses, but keep checking with other suppliers in the Netherlands. Its called ‘melasse’ in Dutch, and lots of Dutch recipes call for it. Good luck. https://www.thespruceeats.com/molasses-substitute-1388891
Wanted to make some type of ginger snap for my Christmas cookie trays and stumbled across this recipe. These are DELICIOUS! I made them exactly as the recipe stated and they turned out fantastic. I could eat a whole tray by myself! I made a few to sample, then froze the rest of the dough to make closer to Christmas. Highly recommend this recipe!
So great! Added about a tsp.Extra ginger, and a pinch of black pepper, made it 3/4 ish cup gran sugar and 1/4 cup (not packed) brown sugar.
Thanks for this great recipe!
Perfect! Really easy and fun. They have a perfect amount of ginger flavor and are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. As a beginner baker, these turned out really well. If you follow the recipe your whole family should love them. I recommend these to everyone!
I left the cookies in a little longer because they seemed soft. Mistake! They harden on their own. They were too crunchy. When I followed the recipe and only cooked them 15 minutes they were perfect.
Perfect! I’ve been looking for a ginger snap recipe for a while. I can’t find molasses in the UK though, and had to use golden syrup. I’m not sure if this made the snaps go soft or not, but still tasted yummy!
Very happy with this recipe! Though my ginger snaps didn’t look quite as beautiful and round as your photo… they were delicious and also great for dunkin’ in a cuppa.
Yum! Delicious! Directions were easy to follow and cookies turned out perfect. Just the right balance of sweet and spice. I didn’t have any parchment paper so I did spray the cookie sheets lightly with PAM. My husband never seeks out “sweets” when he’s hungry, but he loves these. I’ll have to stash some away for myself before he eats all of these! Perfect snack for a cold, rainy day!
I made this by following the recipe using the metric measurements, not the volume measurements, where it was an option. Overall this has a delicious flavor and texture; the cookies were simply too big, and never got crunchy in the middle because the edges were at risk of burning if I didn’t take them out. “1-1/2 tbsp” scoops made for 21 gigantic cookies that all jammed together. I placed them 10 to a sheet, and only one came out still circle-shaped. I’ll definitely make this again; I’ll just experiment with smaller shapes and different baking times.
The first thing I’d check is to see if your baking soda is fresh-check out my article linked HERE on how to check. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Also, how long did you bake them for and do you have an oven thermometer?
Great recipe, cookies spread, didn’t crackle as much as I wanted, we’re crunchy and thin but cinnamon overpowered all the other spices but still tasted good. Maybe I will reduce cinnamon and increase ginger next time. How do I get them to really crackle?
Oops!
Just made this recipe and realized that I put one and a half CUPS of butter instead of one and a half STICKS. The good news is… It’s still an amazing cookie! I’m sure the texture is completely different, but the flavor is wonderful! Can’t wait to try it with the correct amount of butter.
As a trained chef and cookbook author, I share trusted baking recipes your friends & family will love alongside insights into the science of sweets. I help take the luck out of baking so you *always* have delicious results! Learn more here.
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Hi Tessa – lovely recipe. I’ve been making almost the identical recipe, passed down from my grandmother, for almost 30 years. The only modification I’ve made was adding a 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Gives them a little more bite. Give it a go. I think you’ll like it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love these! I made these cookies this morning and my husband, who doesn’t like Gingersnaps, loved these! Thank you, Tessa, for another great recipe.
The best!
Loved it.
But too sweet for me. Cooked one more time, skipped sugar and used only half cup molasses.
The healthy sugar free cookie!
Tnx!
gotta love it!
Sugar free with molasses!
The lies we tell ourselves 🙂
I wonder if anyone has tried this with a sugar substitute like Erythritol.
I might give that a try.
Thanks for a great recipe
Doug
My mom loves crispy gingersnaps! It will be so fun to make homemade gingersnaps for her. Thanks for the recipe!
I have Plantation’s organic blackstrap molasses but it says unsulphured on it too…can I still use it? Will it alter the taste a lot?
It’s nice when you see such a great work! Continue writing
Made this twice. Perfect cookie. I did add an additional 1/2 tsp black pepper per a suggestion in the comments.
Can you make without Rollin in sugar to cut back on sugar???
Wonderful recipe. Much beloved by my two godsons, their mother AND their grandmother! And they freeze beautifully just before baking using Tessa’s instructions for freezing cookie dough. It’s great to be able to send home bags of ready-to-bake cookies now that we all have to be social distancing! Thanks Tessa.
I made these and they were yummy, but they came out to thick. So next day you couldnt even bite into them. What did I do wrong?
These are the best cookies I have ever made. Not just the best ginger snaps, but the best cookies! I added the fresh ginger.
Did you add the fresh ginger in addition to the ground ginger? Or did you replace the ground ginger with fresh ginger?
These were not the least bit crispy and they were puffy not flat. should I have flattened them before cooking them?
I think so. I flattened them out half way before baking and they came out perfectly crisp and soft.
These were delicious! I did reduce the sugar a bit. About 2 tbsp less brown sugar and about 4 tbsp less of the white sugar since molasses is pure sugar.
I flattened them before baking and they were HUGE. They spread more in the oven and I didn’t think they would. I’m not mad, they tasted amazing and had that great crunch that you want with a ginger snap.
I’ll just make the cookies smaller next time and keep the baking time as is.
I adjusted the sugar (used 1 cup in the mixture) only 1.5 TBS for rolling cookie ball in the sugar. I also added cracked pepper and fresh grated ginger! I flattened the cookies prior to baking!
They came out amazing!
They were so delicious thank you so much for your wonderful recipe!
Hi Tessa, can I use golden syrup instead of molasses and get the same crisp and crunch? If it is possible, how do I achieve it? Many thanks!
I’m not sure, I’ve only tested this recipe with molasses.
Hi there (:
This recipe looks wonderful.
How would you recommend that I veganize it?
Would omitting the egg without a substitution be a problem?
They spread a lot and we’re not crispy. The flavor was good but the texture was disappointing.
The cookies seemed to burn very easily, and didn’t have that strong ginger taste I was hoping for.
I tried this recipe twice, neither time was a success! They are to large, to soft & they didn’t have that “ginger” snap taste or texture. Back to the Internet to search for a recipe.
I made this cookie recipe the other day and tested it out on friends! Everyone loved it! If you want the cookie it be a bit crispier just leave them in the oven a minute or to longer. Side note. I had lots of pumpkin pie spice so used that instead of the recommended spices. O my so deliecious!!!
So happy you enjoyed these cookies 🙂
Found this tonight on a search to satisfy that specific hankering that only a good gingersnap can satisfy and wow what an awesome recipe! They look gorgeous and taste spectacular. My only tweak was a pinch of cayenne. New favorite for the perfect snap. Thank you!
Ooh love the addition of cayenne! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
As a lover of gingersnaps, I found this recipe to be amazing! I added 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger paste for extra ginger kick. Loved it. I didn’t have trouble with the cookie not being crispy or flattening like other reviewers mentioned. If anything, I pulled them out out early but I’m convinced my old oven runs extra hot.
If I freeze half the batch for ready-to-cook cookies, how long do you recommend baking them for?
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Whitney! I’ve got a whole post on freezing cookie dough and how to bake from frozen – make sure to check that out!
I made your gingersnaps today, as listed. They are yummy! I have a type 1 diabetic granddaughter, so I calculated calories (3828), fat (143), and carbs (605). Those totals are for the whole recipe. I always need to know how many carbs are in what I am feeding her.
Because I have a gluten-free daughter-in-law, I also made a batch for her. I used 2 c. gluten free flour instead of 2 1/4 cups. They turned out great as well.
I’m so glad these cookies were enjoyed!
These cookies came out beautifully. Followed the recipe and instructions to the T. I’ll try adding fresh ginger next time for an extra kick. Thank you!
Too bad these didn’t work out for you. But how did you add more flour, etc. before you actually finished making the recipe? They’re called ‘Ginger Snaps’. They’re going to be thin.
Delicious and easy! Excellent recipe!
Thanks so much, Laura!
This is by far my new favorite gingersnap recipe! I added both black pepper and cayenne and they were delicious. The texture as they cooled was crunchy around the edges but still chewy in the middle.
Wow that sounds delicious! So glad you tried this recipe out.
Thanks so much!
I followed the recipe exactly and these turned out perfect! Delicious recipe!
So glad you enjoyed!
What does rolling the cookie dough in sugar prior to baking do?
It gives it a nice sugar coating on the outside of the cookie!
I have made these three times now and they are now added to my Christmas cookie must haves! Followed the recipe as printed but did a light drizzle of some white chocolate on top.
Love the addition of white chocolate! Sounds delicious!
These are sooo good I want to double the recipe next time I bake them. The recipe calls for 2 tsp baking soda, would you need to add 4 tsp soda?. And would you also double all spices?
If you’re doubling the recipe, just make sure to do 2x all of the ingredients to keep the chemistry of the recipe the same!
What is the consistency of the mix supposed to look like? Mine looks rather thin, like I can’t roll it at all…
I made these cookies using Crosby’s cooking molasses, and they turned out great. I rolled the dough into smaller dough balls that baked into small bite-sized cookies. No flattening! My husband loved them (I liked them, too!)
So glad you enjoyed these cookies!
These turned out perfect. I had a hard time finding non blackstrap molasses, went to the store for last minute eggs and found some! I’m going to use them for a cheese cake crust for Christmas and it will be hard to not eat all of them. ( don’t worry I baked a dozen extra) thanks for the recipe
Sounds delicious! I’m so glad you tried these cookies out.
Fantastic recipe! Husband requested I make gingersnaps and I chose your recipe as it seemed most like what he would want in a gingersnap. Nailed it!! We were both VERY pleased!
He also recommended dipping them in hot cocoa and I tried that as well. So I wanted to add that in my comment for others to try. 😉
Love the idea of dipping these cookies into hot cocoa! So glad you and your husband enjoyed these cookies.
Mine were a soft chewey cookie. What did I do wrong?
Hi Lisa, sorry your cookies didn’t turn out! Have you checked that your oven temperature is accurate using an oven thermometer? And did you use a digital scale to make sure you had the accurate weight for ingredients – specifically the flour and baking soda?
Hi tessa, I live in the Netherlands and I can’t buy molasses here. Internet said that I could replace molasses with dark brown sugar, is that possible? In the ratio 325 gram molasses = 165 gram dark brown sugar.
Xx
Romy: Check out this blog for substitutions to molasses, but keep checking with other suppliers in the Netherlands. Its called ‘melasse’ in Dutch, and lots of Dutch recipes call for it. Good luck.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/molasses-substitute-1388891
Wanted to make some type of ginger snap for my Christmas cookie trays and stumbled across this recipe. These are DELICIOUS! I made them exactly as the recipe stated and they turned out fantastic. I could eat a whole tray by myself! I made a few to sample, then froze the rest of the dough to make closer to Christmas. Highly recommend this recipe!
So glad you loved these cookies! Yay! Happy holidays Ericka!
So great! Added about a tsp.Extra ginger, and a pinch of black pepper, made it 3/4 ish cup gran sugar and 1/4 cup (not packed) brown sugar.
Thanks for this great recipe!
Excellent cookies. OMG
How many cups is 1.5 sticks of butter? Butter comes in all diff kinds of packaging like my Costco butter… 1 stick of Costco butter is 2 cups
1.5 sticks of butter equal 3/4 cup. 170 grams if you weigh it using a kitchen scale which I highly recommend.
Perfect! Really easy and fun. They have a perfect amount of ginger flavor and are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. As a beginner baker, these turned out really well. If you follow the recipe your whole family should love them. I recommend these to everyone!
I left the cookies in a little longer because they seemed soft. Mistake! They harden on their own. They were too crunchy. When I followed the recipe and only cooked them 15 minutes they were perfect.
Can you make these gluten-free??
Perfect! I’ve been looking for a ginger snap recipe for a while. I can’t find molasses in the UK though, and had to use golden syrup. I’m not sure if this made the snaps go soft or not, but still tasted yummy!
These are amazing! I did double the ginger and replaced 1 cup of the white flour for whole wheat flour.
Perfect.
Woohoo!
Delish! I did add just a touch more ginger and they turned out perfect.
Best ginger snap recipe ever…loved it..
So glad you enjoyed!
Very happy with this recipe! Though my ginger snaps didn’t look quite as beautiful and round as your photo… they were delicious and also great for dunkin’ in a cuppa.
So glad you enjoyed these gingersnaps!
FANTASTIC! I love this recipe
Yum! Delicious! Directions were easy to follow and cookies turned out perfect. Just the right balance of sweet and spice. I didn’t have any parchment paper so I did spray the cookie sheets lightly with PAM. My husband never seeks out “sweets” when he’s hungry, but he loves these. I’ll have to stash some away for myself before he eats all of these! Perfect snack for a cold, rainy day!
So glad these cookies were enjoyed!
I made this by following the recipe using the metric measurements, not the volume measurements, where it was an option. Overall this has a delicious flavor and texture; the cookies were simply too big, and never got crunchy in the middle because the edges were at risk of burning if I didn’t take them out. “1-1/2 tbsp” scoops made for 21 gigantic cookies that all jammed together. I placed them 10 to a sheet, and only one came out still circle-shaped. I’ll definitely make this again; I’ll just experiment with smaller shapes and different baking times.
I’m a baking Grandma and found this to be the best recipe for ginger cookies I’ve ever found.
Thrilled to hear this!
Quick and easy recipe ,
Taste great!
Ooh my goodness! This brings back Granny memories.
My Husband Love these I just don’t roll them in the last sugar
So happy this recipe brings back wonderful memories, Angela 🙂
Best cookie recipe ever! Everyone who tries them raves about them.
Crispy and delicious! I doubled all the spices because I like a strong spice and they were perfect for me
Awesome to hear, Pam!
What a wonderful snap! The jewels are as easy to make as they are to eat. They didn’t last a day.
So happy to hear you loved these gingersnaps!
Crispy edges, slight chew in middle, very delicious, quick and easy
Wonderful, so happy you enjoyed them!
They did not crackle as I would have wanted, why?
The first thing I’d check is to see if your baking soda is fresh-check out my article linked HERE on how to check. Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Also, how long did you bake them for and do you have an oven thermometer?
Great recipe, cookies spread, didn’t crackle as much as I wanted, we’re crunchy and thin but cinnamon overpowered all the other spices but still tasted good. Maybe I will reduce cinnamon and increase ginger next time. How do I get them to really crackle?
After rolling the ginger cookie dough and placing on the tray, will I need to flatten them before placing in the oven?
No need to 🙂 Let me know what you think of these cookies!
Oops!
Just made this recipe and realized that I put one and a half CUPS of butter instead of one and a half STICKS. The good news is… It’s still an amazing cookie! I’m sure the texture is completely different, but the flavor is wonderful! Can’t wait to try it with the correct amount of butter.
Oh my gosh, haha! They probably tasted amazing! But yes, a tad less butter for the next batch 🙂