Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps

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!

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.

Fire up a holiday simmer pot and let the season begin!

Ginger Snaps Ingredients

• 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.

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.
   
4. 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.

Helpful Tools

• 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 recipes? 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.

4.70 from 351 votes

Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps

Created by Melissa Williams

Servings: 30 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Chill time 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

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Soft and chewy Ginger Snaps are an easy, fragrant cookie that are perfect for any holiday cookie spread!

Video

Equipment

• medium cookie scoop

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup (198 g) granulated white sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup (168 g) unsalted butter at room temp
• ▢ ¼ cup (85 g) molasses
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 2 ½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (12 g) baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (2 g) kosher salt
• ▢ granulated white sugar for rolling

Instructions

• In a large bowl, add the sugar, butter, molasses, and egg and beat on medium until light and fluffy.
  1 cup granulated white 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 ½ 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 kosher salt
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  granulated white sugar
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 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 (#60; 2 tsp) 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!

Notes

• I generally use a #40 cookie scoop (approx. 1.5 Tbsp) to make 1″ dough balls.
• 12/21/25 – After feedback, I increased the flour to 2 1/2 cups flour (300g). The recipe originally called for 2 1/4 cup (270g). I personally like a flatter cookie but 300g will lead to a thicker cookie.
• Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to a week.
• To freeze before baking – scoop dough balls, roll in sugar, and then freeze flash freeze on a baking sheet. Once frozen solid, move to a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen adding a minute to the bake time. 
• To freeze after baking – lay cookies in a freezer bag with parchment between layers for up to a two 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. 

⭐️ Final Step! Please let me know how you liked this recipe by leaving a review and rating below. Your feedback supports my small business and allows me to continue providing free, high quality recipes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 151IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

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.

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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.