The perfect combination of snickerdoodle and gingersnap, these Gingerdoodle cookies are puffy and soft and filled with warm spices. Cookie baking make-ahead and storage tips included below.
Yield:
22 cookies
Prep Time:10minutes
Cook:15minutes
This post is sponsored by OXO. All opinions provided are my own. Thanks for supporting me in working with brands I love to bring you new recipes!
It wouldn’t be December without dozens of cookies. We all have our family favorites that become holiday traditions, but this year I’m adding one to the mix that’s the best of both worlds.
These Gingerdoodle cookies are the perfect taste and texture mash-up of puffy soft snickerdoodles and richly spiced gingersnaps. I think they might even become one of your holiday baking traditions!
I literally took my favorite snickerdoodle recipe and my favorite gingersnap recipe and combined them. The first batch ended up too flat and crisp for my liking. That was because they contained more baking soda, which can promote spread and browning.
So, for the second batch, I reduced the baking soda and increased the cream of tartar. The resulting cookies had that characteristic soft snickerdoodle texture with all that gingersnap flavor I love. Perfect!
I’m actually teaming up with OXO to bring you this cookie recipe. You all know by now that my love for their Cookie Scoops is endless. I use them every single time I make cookies, which is embarrassingly often.
But they have so many other cookie baking tools that are an absolute must in the kitchen during this time of year. I baked these cookies on the OXO Non-Stick Pro Cookie Sheet, which makes for super easy cleanup and beautifully caramelized edges.
Their Silicone Cookie Spatula is the perfect size for easily maneuvering tons of holiday cookies. My recent favorite is their brand new Cooling Rack which is both beautiful and ultra functional. And if you haven’t tried out their nesting mixing bowls, they actually have a non-slip base so you can whisk and stir vigorously without the bowl sliding around everywhere.
These kitchen goodies are just perfect for cookie baking. I’d definitely add a few to your holiday wish list, or put together a cute cookie baking gift basket for any bakers in your life!
Tips for Making Cookies Ahead of Time
Storing Cookie Dough
This is the best option for any drop cookie dough. Nothing beats a fresh cookie that’s still slightly warm from the oven. The best way to get that result is to bake the dough the same day you plan to serve it!
Fridge
Cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it sit at room temperature until it’s warm enough to scoop into balls. When refrigerating dough, it’s really important to store it in an airtight container like the OXO Smart Seal Glass Containers. If you don’t, the dough can easily dry out in the fridge environment.
Freezer
Balls of cookie dough are practically essential to any freezer during the month of December! This is the most convenient way to store cookie dough.
Simply shape the dough into balls using an OXO Cookie Scoop, then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until firm. Remove the frozen balls to an OXO glass food storage container and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
To bake from frozen, add about 2 minutes to the baking time. Or, allow the dough to come to a cool room temperature then bake normally. The colder the dough when it enters the oven, the thicker the cookie will be!
Storing Baked Cookies
Cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days. I prefer the OXO Smart Seal Glass Containers. They protect the cookies from getting squashed and make for easy transportation to any holiday party.
To keep the cookies extra soft, try adding an apple wedge or piece of bread to the container. To reheat and refresh the cookies, place them in a 350°F oven for about 3 minutes.
4.7 from 10 votes
How to make
Gingerdoodle Cookies
Yield:22cookies
Prep Time:10minutes
Cook Time:15minutes
Total Time:25minutes
The perfect combination of snickerdoodle and gingersnap, these Gingerdoodle cookies are puffy and soft and filled with warm spices. Cookie baking make-ahead and storage tips included below.
Ingredients
1stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2cup(100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2cup(100 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3cup(113 grams) molasses
1large egg
1 1/2teaspoonsground ginger
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4teaspoonground cloves
1/2teaspoonfine salt
1teaspooncream of tarter
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
2 1/4cups(286 grams) all-purpose flour
For rolling:
1/2cup(100 grams) granulated sugar
1teaspoonground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat until combined. Add in the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, cream of tarter, baking soda, and flour and beat until combined.
Mix the 1/2 cup granulated sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow dish. Using the OXO medium spring-loaded cookie scoop, shape the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls. Roll in the cinnamon sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until set.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American
About Tessa...
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!)
I made these last night and they’re INCREDIBLE. I’m not even usually a huge fan of spice/ginger cookies/breads/cakes/etc. Also, we may need a little more self control, because my fiance and I have almost finished them already. Lastly, if you want to keep promoting Oxo, I found this great thing called the Baker’s Dusting Wand. I dusted them all neatly and evenly with confectioner’s sugar and they’re festive and beautiful!
Yay, Emily! That makes me so happy to hear! I’m obsessed with their dusting wand, but I didn’t even think about using it here. Thanks for the tip!! 🙂
You wouldn’t happen to have the recipe for when they were too crisp for your liking, would you? I love crispy flat cookies even though everyone else prefers soft. I would love to make these as you’ve posted for my family, but also make a small batch that are crispy for me to enjoy.
Smells wonderful in my home. These are soft and delish. Will make again. Only made one recipe to try, made 22 regular size cookies. Will double next time.
I love that your recipe combines two of my favorite cookies. However, I don’t have cream of tartar and your recipe calls for: 1 teaspoon cream of tarter and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. I know baking powder can be substituted for the tartar and soda; but, I just don’t know the exact amount of baking powder to use. I was trying to do the math but trying to figure out how many tsp are in 1 tsp for the tartar is really throwing me off. I would appreciate any and all help for the specific amount of baking powder. Thank you.
Official taste tester, my wife, said very good flavor, but I did note the surface texture was smooth as compared to
the “cracked” surface as shown on your recipe page.
My dad just bought me a kitchen Aid mixer that I’ve been wanting for a long time and this is the very first recipe I used on it and they came out great! Huge hit. Thank you
I was really excited to make these. I followed the instructions exactly and they didn’t turn out at all like I’d hoped. It took a lot longer for them to cook and they were far and didn’t flatten out. The dough tasted great, so all the tastes are there. Not sure what happened
Snickerdoodles and gingersnaps are my favorite so I was so excited to find this recipe! One batch only made 24 cookies which definitely wasn’t enough for me. Next time I’ll double! They came out perfectly – slightly crisp on the bottom but soft and chewy inside.
Hi Tessa, baked these cookies and they are so flavour full. Ginger taste was missing though ,next time i would add more, also the cookie was a bit sweeter to my liking. Still they are delicious.
It looks like the sugar measurement is wrong on the sugar.cinnamon mixture for rolling. 1/2 cup sugar is 100g. Did you mean this much, or only 1/4c = 50g?
The perfect combo between a snickerdoodle & a gingersnap. I love Tessa’s recipes & she’s one of my favorites! Also this recipe was used for one of my Bakemas videos ( see here – https://www.instagram.com/dianaaozzanyan/?hl=en).
We did 4x your basic recipe at a time (which made about 9 dozen at a time), and made that 4-5 times this winter. It’s our new favorite Christmas cookie for sharing. It is sturdy enough to share in baggies as well as on plates.
This is our new favorite cookie. I make 4x the basic batch at a time; freeze some dough (as balls) for cooking later, and some cookies for when we want them in a hurry. They work great – also pack well for sharing. Using a cookie school makes them very uniform in size. Even my daughter in law who does not like pumpkin spice flavor loves them!
There is one problem with the recipe: the WEIGHTS do not multiply when you enlarge the recipe. (I normally cook by volume, but thought I’d try weight this last time and discovered the problem.)
These cookies are a great combination of Snickerdoodle and Ginger Snaps. They are soft like a Snickerdoodle and they have the warm spices of the holidays. These cookies are going into the rotation at this house. I will make them over and over again! Thank you Tessa for such a great recipe!
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.
Order your Ultimate Cookie Handbook Hardcopy!
Over 200 pages with 50+ cookie recipes that'll make you a COOKIE PRO. Discover how to turn your biggest cookie flops into WINS by mastering the sweet science of baking. Even learn how to customize your own recipes! Beautiful, hardcopy, full color, photos of every recipe so you know EXACTLY how your cookies should look. Order now to have the book delivered to your doorstep!
Do you want a more delicious life? Instead of digging through cookbooks and magazines and searching the internet for amazing recipes, subscribe to Handle the Heat to receive new recipe posts delivered straight to your email inbox. You’ll get all the latest recipes, videos, kitchen tips and tricks AND my *free* Cookie Customization Guide (because I am the Cookie Queen)!
What an awesome idea! My kids love snickerdoodles and gingerbread! What a great combo.
My dad is going to love these! I just found a Christmas present for him… a whole batch for his sweet tooth. 🙂
I made these last night and they’re INCREDIBLE. I’m not even usually a huge fan of spice/ginger cookies/breads/cakes/etc. Also, we may need a little more self control, because my fiance and I have almost finished them already. Lastly, if you want to keep promoting Oxo, I found this great thing called the Baker’s Dusting Wand. I dusted them all neatly and evenly with confectioner’s sugar and they’re festive and beautiful!
Yay, Emily! That makes me so happy to hear! I’m obsessed with their dusting wand, but I didn’t even think about using it here. Thanks for the tip!! 🙂
You wouldn’t happen to have the recipe for when they were too crisp for your liking, would you? I love crispy flat cookies even though everyone else prefers soft. I would love to make these as you’ve posted for my family, but also make a small batch that are crispy for me to enjoy.
Definitely, Cyn! It’s super easy: just reverse the cream of tartar and baking soda measurements so there’s more baking soda 🙂
she also has a Gingersnap recipe – more sugar and fat to make it crisper.
Smells wonderful in my home. These are soft and delish. Will make again. Only made one recipe to try, made 22 regular size cookies. Will double next time.
I wasn’t too impressed with this recipe. Sorry. All other recipes I’ve used here were always great.
I love that your recipe combines two of my favorite cookies. However, I don’t have cream of tartar and your recipe calls for: 1 teaspoon cream of tarter and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. I know baking powder can be substituted for the tartar and soda; but, I just don’t know the exact amount of baking powder to use. I was trying to do the math but trying to figure out how many tsp are in 1 tsp for the tartar is really throwing me off. I would appreciate any and all help for the specific amount of baking powder. Thank you.
Made a batch this morning.
Official taste tester, my wife, said very good flavor, but I did note the surface texture was smooth as compared to
the “cracked” surface as shown on your recipe page.
Any suggestions??
Hi Tessa,
Do you have a classic Snickerdoodle recipe?
My dad just bought me a kitchen Aid mixer that I’ve been wanting for a long time and this is the very first recipe I used on it and they came out great! Huge hit. Thank you
I was really excited to make these. I followed the instructions exactly and they didn’t turn out at all like I’d hoped. It took a lot longer for them to cook and they were far and didn’t flatten out. The dough tasted great, so all the tastes are there. Not sure what happened
These are wonderful. I added additional ginger as I like a little more kick to the flavor. Great recipe!!!
Snickerdoodles and gingersnaps are my favorite so I was so excited to find this recipe! One batch only made 24 cookies which definitely wasn’t enough for me. Next time I’ll double! They came out perfectly – slightly crisp on the bottom but soft and chewy inside.
Hi Tessa, baked these cookies and they are so flavour full. Ginger taste was missing though ,next time i would add more, also the cookie was a bit sweeter to my liking. Still they are delicious.
What could I substitute for cream of tartar?
What could I use instead of cream of tartar
It looks like the sugar measurement is wrong on the sugar.cinnamon mixture for rolling. 1/2 cup sugar is 100g. Did you mean this much, or only 1/4c = 50g?
Could this recipe, which looks really nice, be used to make ginger wands?
I’m not sure what those are?!
If using the smaller size oxo cookie scoop, how long should the cookies be baked for?
Have you tried this recipe using fresh ginger? If so how much would you use for grated ginger?
The perfect combo between a snickerdoodle & a gingersnap. I love Tessa’s recipes & she’s one of my favorites! Also this recipe was used for one of my Bakemas videos ( see here – https://www.instagram.com/dianaaozzanyan/?hl=en).
We did 4x your basic recipe at a time (which made about 9 dozen at a time), and made that 4-5 times this winter. It’s our new favorite Christmas cookie for sharing. It is sturdy enough to share in baggies as well as on plates.
Wow that’s amazing! So glad you love these cookies, Carol!
This is our new favorite cookie. I make 4x the basic batch at a time; freeze some dough (as balls) for cooking later, and some cookies for when we want them in a hurry. They work great – also pack well for sharing. Using a cookie school makes them very uniform in size. Even my daughter in law who does not like pumpkin spice flavor loves them!
There is one problem with the recipe: the WEIGHTS do not multiply when you enlarge the recipe. (I normally cook by volume, but thought I’d try weight this last time and discovered the problem.)
So glad you love these cookies!
These cookies are a great combination of Snickerdoodle and Ginger Snaps. They are soft like a Snickerdoodle and they have the warm spices of the holidays. These cookies are going into the rotation at this house. I will make them over and over again! Thank you Tessa for such a great recipe!
Yay!! I’m so happy you loved this recipe, Kathy!