Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect balance of sweetness and spice.
Texture: Thin and crispy, these cookies break in half cleanly and have a satisfying crunch.
Ease: Super simple 30-minute recipe. No chilling required.
Pros: The perfect easy, festive addition to any Christmas cookie box.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? I make these cookies every holiday season!
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These Crispy Gingersnaps Cookies are the perfect classic, crispy gingersnap cookie.
Typically, I prefer a chewy cookie, but every once in a while, I crave that satisfying crunch and crispness of something sweet.
So, I tweaked my Chewy Gingersnap recipe (which is included in my cookbook – available on Amazon!) to make them thin and oh-so-satisfyingly crunchy.
These cookies are perfectly spice-forward, with that beautiful snap. Plus, they look so pretty next to beautifully iced Cut-Out Sugar Cookies and Christmas Brownies on your Christmas dessert table!
These cookies have become one of my most popular cookie recipes ever, with hundreds of wonderful reviews like this comment from reader El below:
Reader Love
My husband loved these cookies. He is a grumpy old man and doesn’t praise much of anything, so when he said, “These are the best cookies I have ever tasted!” I figured that was a super rubber stamp of approval. Great cookie!
–
Enjoy on a cozy day with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Thin & Crispy Gingersnaps
What are Gingersnaps?
Gingersnaps are just what they sound like: a cookie flavored with ginger, plus other spices that we’ll talk more about below. They are typically crunchy or have a brittle texture, thus the “snap”. The spiciness of the ginger and richness of the molasses pair perfectly with coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or mulled wine.
A year-round favorite all over the world, Gingersnaps are particularly popular to welcome in the fall and winter holiday seasons. Perfectly spiced, these cookies have the most beautiful cracked, sugary tops. I love these cookies in the fall, when the temperatures are slowly beginning to drop. They’re delicious with a glass of cold milk or even lemonade – and even better when used in place of graham crackers for over-the-top Gingersnap S’mores or to make ice cream sandwiches!
What Makes Cookies Crispy and Crackled?
- A heavy amount of baking soda interacts with the molasses in this recipe to encourage spread.
- This allows cracks in the dough to develop where moisture escapes, creating that beautiful crackled appearance and crunchy texture.
- Ensure your baking soda is fresh and active – learn how to test leavening agents for freshness here.
- 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.
Why Roll the Dough in Sugar?
Rolling the cookie dough balls in sugar contributes to the overall texture of the cookies as well as the cracky tops. It helps to draw moisture out from the surface of the cookies while they bake, though the majority of the “crackliness” comes from the baking soda and molasses.
Feel free to skip this step if preferred, but your cookies won’t be quite as crisp and won’t look as pretty.
Measure Your Flour Correctly to Ensure Gingersnaps are Crispy!
- To avoid ending up with Gingersnaps that are thick, hard, or dense instead of perfectly crispy, make sure to measure your flour accurately with a digital kitchen scale.
- It’s so easy to accidentally add too much flour if you’re measuring by using cups.
- If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method to measure.
- Just take a look at what a difference too much flour can make:
How to Make Flavorful Gingersnaps
- Make sure your spices, especially the ground ginger, are fresh and of high quality.
- If your spices no longer smell very aromatic, toss them and purchase new spices.
- The fresher the spice, the more flavorful it’ll be.
- While I haven’t tried it, you can also experiment with crystallized ginger, but expect your cookies to be a little more sugary.
- 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 or a little black pepper.
- In addition to the spices, the molasses used is also important. More on this just below.
The Molasses
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.
Can I Make these Cookies Smaller?
Sure! Use a small 1 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop for small Gingersnap Cookies and reduce the bake time by a couple minutes.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes! Simply double all ingredients to yield about 56 medium-sized cookies. No other modifications needed.
Can I Use This Recipe to Make Gingerbread Men?
No – this recipe was written to be a simple drop-style cookie, so it won’t hold its shape well when rolled out and shaped using cookie cutters. Instead, try my Gingerbread Cookies Recipe!
How to Store Homemade Gingersnaps
Store baked, cooled Gingersnaps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
How to Freeze Gingersnap Cookies
Store baked, cooled Gingersnap Cookies in the freezer inside an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Alternatively, portion out the balls of cookie dough, roll in sugar, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze for 1 hour or until solid. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake cookies from frozen, reducing the temperature to 325°F and adding a couple minutes to the baking time. Learn more about freezing cookie dough here.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup (100 grams) for rolling
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (113 grams) unsulphured molasses (NOT blackstrap)*
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda**
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour,
measured correctly
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 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 wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with additional baking tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Made these today. Delicious! My husband and I are loving them. All the flavors are so balanced. I only baked them around 12 minutes because we like them crunchy on the outside and softer in the middle. We will probably do half the batch next time at 15 minutes and half at 12. I also refrigerated the dough for approximately 30 minutes just to make it easier to portion out the dough. You wont be disappointed in these! Thank you for my newest fall cookie
So glad you and your husband loved these cookies!
These were delicious!! I will be making them again. One of my husband’s favorite cookies now.
Hooray! So glad to hear this.
They taste great but I followed the recipe exactly and the dough came out way too sticky to mold. I had to add about a cup more flour than the recipe called for just to get it remotely moldable. Also they came out rounded and fluffy rather than flat and crisp. Not sure what happened.
Hi Jenna! I’m sorry you had some issues with your cookies! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Adding an extra cup of flour is definitely why your cookies turned out round and fluffy rather than thin and crunchy. I would suggest making this recipe again but using a digital scale to ensure accuracy. I hope you give this recipe another try, I’d love for you to enjoy them the way they’re meant to taste 🙂
Why cant I use blackstrap
Hi Joseph! We actually talk about that in the pink tip box above the recipe 🙂 Blackstrap molasses should never be used in baking as it’s extremely better. We suggest using Brer Rabbit or Grandma’s in their ‘mild’ or ‘original’ flavors. If you’re looking for more spice in your gingersnaps, you can add a tablespoon or two of freshly grated ginger, or even a pinch of cayenne pepper. Hope that helps!
i am going to try these cookies
Super yummy, my son’s new favourite cookies. I deviated from the instructions a little. I rolled the dough into a log and refrigerated until hard, we sliced it up then continued with the directions. Way cleaner and less messy than the first time we made them.
Great idea, Natasha! So happy to hear he loves this recipe!
This recipe is amazing. I was using a new kitchen scale and after I made the batter it seemed really soft so I did add a little bit more flour just so I could drop the batter into the sugar and coat them. Next time I make them I will measure the flour with a measuring cup instead of using the scale. My husband and five dogs couldn’t wait to have one.
So glad you and your family (including your dogs!) enjoyed this recipe! Making this recipe with a digital scale is honestly the best way to ensure a great outcome. Is it possible your butter may have been a bit too warm?
Thank you so much for the suggestion on the butter. I will definitely make sure it’s not as warm next time I make them.
My husband loves crispy ginger snaps so this recipe was the perfect find. I’ve made them twice in one week because my husband and our four kids have devoured then with a good amount of milk. Follow the recipe and they’ll turn out perfect. If you don’t cook them the full 15 minutes they won’t snap!
So happy to hear they’re such a hit with your family, Cana!
I can’t help play with recipes, I added extra tsp ginger, 1 tsp cardamom powder and a handful of candied ginger, I chopped up fine. They were fantastic!
Sounds absolutely delicious, Elias! So happy you loved this recipe 🙂
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 🙂
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!
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?