Chewy Gingersnaps Cookies
Chewy Gingersnaps are a blast from my past. Soft, crinkled molasses cookies spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, they were a childhood favorite.
Scroll down for all sorts of delicious holiday cookies plus my tips for making perfectly crackled and chewy ginger cookies!
Chewy Gingersnaps Cookies
My mom would buy the occasional box of gingersnaps for us girls to munch on when we were growing up. It didn’t take long before there were only crumbs remaining. It was my best friend’s mom who introduced me to homemade, chewy gingersnaps. Well, maybe not her mom, but HER.
Mary had a tendency to get in a bit of trouble. I remember being addressed as “Elizabeth,” and sent home after she took a pair of scissors to her blue jeans to mimic those raggedy demins fashionable in the late 1970s. I’m sure her mother wasn’t thrilled when we raided their deep freeze and ate more than our fair share of frozen gingersnaps. That stash was certainly being stored for some future occasion.
They tasted incredible even cold and rock hard. I finally had my mom ask her dear friend, and Mary’s mother, for the ginger cookies recipe. I bake up at least a double batch each year to add to my holiday goodie boxes. Check out more of my best cookie exchange recipes.
These soft and chewy ginger cookies are my MOST requested recipe. If you’re a fan of gingersnaps, you’ll love these.
Tips for making Perfect Ginger Cookies!
The original recipe called for shortening, but I’ve always made these gems with butter. But butter has changed over time. There is more water in some of the less expensive brands which then causes the cookies to spread.
PRO-Tip: My tip is to use a European-style butter or, at the very least, a name brand vs. generic. Less expensive brands tend to have a higher percentage of water and less fat. The cookies won’t be as puffy if you don’t use a good quality butter.
More tips for puffier cookies:
- Chill the dough well before rolling into balls. I chilled this batch overnight and they baked up perfectly.
- Place dough balls on a cold baking sheet. Allow used baking sheets to thoroughly cool before baking another batch.
- If your cookies are still too flat, add a couple of tablespoons of extra flour to your dough.
- As I mentioned above, use a European-style butter like Kerrygold or Plugra, or at least not a generic or store brand.
More Cookie Exchange Recipes
- Gingerbread Cookies from Bless This Mess
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies by The Bitter Side of Sweet
- Gingerbread Snowflake Cookies by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Holiday Truffle Cookies
- Triple Ginger Cookies
- Amish Sugar Cookies
- Deep Fried Rosette Cookies
- Chocolate Crackle Cookies
- Old Fashioned Butterscotch Cookies Recipe
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Candy Cane Cookies with White Chocolate
- Plus How to Host a Cookie Exchange
- More of the Best Cookie Recipes
Chewy Gingersnaps
These chewy gingersnaps are a childhood favorite and my most requested recipe!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- Granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cream (mix) together butter and brown sugar. Mix in molasses and egg till well combined.
- Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour (I usually chill overnight).
- Preheat the oven to 375º.
- Scoop out dough with a medium-sized cookie disher (about 1½ tablespoons of dough). Roll dough balls in sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
2 cookiesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 114Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 208mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
I love gingersnaps! In my case, it was my grandmother who baked many of them when I was a child. I like the recipe so much, it was the first one I posted on my blog when I started writing it.
And even though I seldom buy European butter, I’ve learned never to buy store-brand butter – it’s incredible what a difference it makes.
Maybe that’s what’s going on with my cookies, too much water in the butter? I made a simple batch of choco chip that turned out to be choco pancakes! Cookies have become my nemesis… Your gingersnaps would be great with my coffee this morning:@)
A classic cookie! Awesome, Liz. I’m going to check out the other cookies, too! 🙂
Oh my goodness these look delectable. I just love a gingersnap.
One of the yummiest cookies! I would eat them every day 😀
Así craqueladitas se ven genial!!
Un saludito
One of my all time faves! YUMMMM. xx
These look and sound terrific. But, I question if these cookies have no “snap” being they are called soft and chewy. Is there a way to make them have the gingerSNAP snap? Love your blog.
Hi, Annabelle,
I think if you baked them longer, they’d lose some of their chewiness. Otherwise, you could try my grandmother’s thin ginger cookies: https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/ginger-cookies/
I can see why these are such a hit. It’s nice to have classic favorites like this to be able to make whenever the craving strikes.
Ginger cookies are my FAVORITE during the holidays! I love how yours look. Putting them on my list to make this week!
I much prefer my gingersnaps chewy. These look delicious.
What is more classic than gingersnap cookies for the holidays? These look perfect, Liz!!
These cookies look soo good! Saving to my Christmas cookies board 🙂
I have given up buying generic butters because of the high water content. You can’t even add that butter to a pan because of all the splattering. Yes, real butter costs more but at least you know all you’re getting is butter. I love gingersnaps. My mother used to buy packets of them too and we had a brand that was so fiery the roof of your mouth would be burning. I’ve never tried to make my own! I’ll have to give your recipe a go xx
Oh wow, so many cookies, so little time 🙂 I love your gingersnaps, I think the chewier the better!
Anything ginger is awesome in my book 🙂
Lizzy,
I can’t wait to try these. My hubby won’t eat anything with nutmeg in it and these don’t have any, so I can make them without complaints.
Annamaria
These look like the best gingersnaps ever, the texture looks perfect!
Thank you, Liz. Thank you, Mary. The gingersnaps do look and sound yummy!
These are by far my favorite cookies for a cookie tray. I adore ginger anything!
Gingersnaps from the bag are one of my Dad’s favorite cookies and we could easily take down the whole thing! I have slightly more restraint these days but the love remains! Yours look fabulous!
Wow Liz, these gingersnaps look just the way my mother used to make them. Beautiful 🙂
Everyone needs that friend they can get in “trouble” with! 🙂
Your cookies look absolutely magazine worthy.
I have mostly used gingersnaps as a base for cheesecakes but think I like to try them as is. Thanks so much for the tips and the round up.
I need to try my hand at gingersnaps! These look so soft and delicious!
These look like such perfect chewy ginger cookies! Such a classic!
Can you believe I just started liking ginger cookies last year?!? These look phenomenal!
Yum! These look absolutely delicious. I have never actually had a gingersnap. Will definitely be trying these.
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them, my mouth is watering just thinking of the baking aromas.
Beautifully done, but I expect no less from you!
Good grief, Miss Lizzy…I baked these this morning for a Bake Sale to raise money for our Art Center. Well, it is so totally obvious I am going to bake more for myself only. So delicious, so chewy in the center. Thank you for getting this recipe from your friend and sharing it. It is going to the top of my list of favorites. Merry Christmas to you and your family, and that includes the sweetest 4-legged friend.
How about freezing the balls of raw cookie dough to bake at a later time? When ready to bake, roll them in sugar & bake at 375 degrees, for 12 minutes to begin with & additional time as needed. Have you ever done this with your gingersnap cookies?
YES! I’ve even written a post about this. Thanks for the reminder!
I love soft ginger cookies and these look so good. One question, are they really 1049 calories per cookie? Yikes! I would only be able to have a bite…but How they look I would never stop at one!! LOL
LOL, Susan, I didn’t notice that! The recipe app must have given the calories for the whole batch! Let me see if I can fix it 🙂
I absolutely love gingersnaps! Great recipe!
They look perfect. They will be perfect for the holiday. Thanks
Love these perfect holiday cookies- a big time fave!
These are a must have cookie at my house during the holidays.
christmas is coming so that means cookies!!
I love gingersnaps but in a chewy cookie – OMG! I cannot wait to take a bite!
Such a tasty classic!
These have the most amazing flavor!
These were SO good! Everyone in my family loved them!
I love that they are chewy! So excited for seasonal baking so I can make these all the time!
These chewy gingersnaps are the BEST! Just made a batch, WOW.
I have always loved these cookies, I can’t wait to try the softer version.
Perfect! I’m spending Thanksgiving with one of my brothers, and I have to travel on Wednesday – yes, the dreaded Wednesday Thanksgiving travel. I’ve been wondering what to bring, because I’ll be working Mon-Tues, travelling Wed, and I don’t want to try to ask for kitchen time on Thursday. So, I’d already planned on bringing cookies that I’ll make the weekend prior. I have the perfect ones in mind, but these ginger snaps will be the perfect addition! I love ginger snaps, and these look absolutely fantastic.
This gingerbread snaps look so good. I am a docent and volunteer in an old Victorian kitchen at State where we bake gingerbread cookies. I may use your recipe instead of the one I have.
This gingerbread snaps look so good. I am a docent and volunteer in an old Victorian kitchen at State where we bake gingerbread cookies. I may use your recipe instead of the one I have.
I haven’t had gingersnaps in years but love them. I will definitely make these. They look both tender and crunchy. YUM!
I love these cookies and I love your “new blog”! Have a nice day Liz. xo
Gingersnaps are by far my favourite cookie. In the new year, I will develop a gluten-free recipe for them. Happy New Year, dear Liz.
Once again a winner!! I knew if this recipe for ginger snaps was signed by you, it would be excellent. Thank you. Susan
Just whipped up a batch of these, chewy gingersnaps are my favorite and they turned out perfectly. Merry Christmas, Liz!
I made these for my dad for Father’s Day and he absolutely loved them! He said they were the best gingersnaps he’s ever had. Thank you so much for this recipe.
I’m so glad he enjoyed them, Lisa! They really are the best!!!