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!
Ginger Snap Recipe
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
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- 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
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
JumpMaking ginger snap cookies is surprisingly easy, but you do need to allow time for the dough to chill and come together.
- 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.
- 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. - 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.
- 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.
Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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.
Nutrition
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!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.
Nice, I didn’t try it yet, but it looks great!
I made my own malassous.
This is amazing! They are going in my recipe book for sure!
Making it into the recipe book is the highest honor ❤️ Thank you for letting me know!
Will almond flour or oat flour work in this recipe?
Not without some further tweaking. I haven’t tested to say for sure.
These are the best ginger cookies I’ve ever had! I can’t keep them stocked because everyone in my house finishes off the batch in 20 minutes!!
Yay 🙂 Same here, I almost always have some in the freezer.
Best cookies ever! I get asked for the recipe every time I make them for a party! Thank you sooo much!!
I love that so much! =) You’re welcome!
So many ads I can’t even print after I sent it to my email. For Pete’s sakes.
Can you tell me what you mean by you can’t print? If something isn’t working, I can investigate. The ads don’t print & it’s working fine for me but I’ll troubleshoot if you explain.
Hello, I just made these ginger cookies and they’ve been in the oven for almost 15 minutes and they still feel like they’re not cooked 350°. I’m wondering what the problem is
They should not take that long. Do you have an oven thermometer?
thank you so much
These ginger snaps are so delicious and flavorful. It is nice to find a recipe for soft and chewy ginger snaps, most are crunchy. We will be making dozens of these for the holidays.
Yay, me too!
Question- can I use brown sugar instead!
I haven’t tested to say how much it will change them.
These need 1/2 c more flour. Dough is too loose otherwise
You are the first person to say that. This is why I’m converting my recipes to weight, your measuring cups or scooping method may differ.
I just made these and they went completely flat. Seems like too much butter or not enough flour… did u add 1/2 of cup a flour? If so how did they turn out?
Which brand of butter are you using? Water content in butter has been an issue the last couple years.
I had the same experience. I measured my flour by weight, not volume, and had to add an extra 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons of flour for the cookies to have any height. The second time I made them I reduced the butter to 1/2 cup and still had a lot of spreading. For a successful cookie, I used 1/2 cup of butter and 2 1/2 cups + two tablespoons of flour.
Which brand of butter are you using?
Same thing happened to me. Flatter than a pancake. My oven thermometer said 350, I chilled the dough for an hour, and I use Aldi brand of butter (Countryside Creamery). Please convert the recipe to metric.
I just made this recipe. At 1.5 tablespoons, or 1.25 ounces it only made 22 cookies. The cookies spread to 3.25 inches. Twelve per sheet was too crowded & @ 10 minutes, cookies were raw in the middle. They looked nothing like the video. Though they did taste good, the texture wasn’t pleasing.
🤔🤔
Same happened to me 🙁
Same questions to you – Did you chill the dough? Which brand of butter did you use? Which type of pan? Trying to help troubleshoot from afar 🙂
Last Christmas I made these gingersnaps after seeing them on TikTok. Additionally, I bought cookies from the fancy bakery in town. The ginersnaps got rave reviews and were eaten well before the bakery cookies.
Yay, thank you so much for reporting back! (My husband brought me bakery cookies this weekend and I kinda hated them lol)
So good and so easy!!
Can you use salted buttter that’s all I have on me
Yes, I usually do.
I used salted butter.. just didn’t add the extra salt. They were delicious
Substituted the butter with margarine… my cookies came out into one big runny cookie. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly as said. Don’t substitute with margarine I guess…
Giving a 1 star review when you substituted a key ingredient is not accurate. I never bake with margarine.
I made these cookies for the first time. Everyone loved them!! Thank you for this recipe 🥰
Yay, you’re welcome!
Followed the recipe to a T… they were undercooked despite pulling them when they were flat and set. They were also salty, likely from all that baking soda. I lost my favorite recipe from last year and was hoping this one could replace it. Definitely not, I’ll keep looking.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like them. You know you can continue baking them if you feel they weren’t done, right?
I followed the recipe which was very easy to follow and the cookies turned out perfect yummy!!!!😊
Thanks, Jed!
Mine were delicious but way puffy then your cookies… why… any advice??? New baker here, btw lol
Which type of pans do you have? Did you use parchment paper? Which brand of butter? So many factors can contribute =) I’m glad you liked them!