Ah, Ginger Snaps… the classic little round cookies just made for dunking in milk or in gingerbread lattes…or just about anything! This recipe creates a super soft and chewy cookies, spiced with the warm winter spices, essentially the perfect ginger cookie.

Classic gingerbread is dessert that has a spicy tingle to it be it in the form of cake, muffins, or these sweet gingerbread cookies! The flavor of molasses, and that beautiful golden color is hard to resist!

Stack of Ginger Snaps with one that has a bite taken out

What are Ginger Snaps?

Gingersnaps are just a variation on old fashioned gingerbread! But gingerbread is soft sweet bread, almost like a cake, while ginger snaps are a cookie! While the name implies ‘snap’ these cookies should be soft and chewy. Ginger snaps contain molasses for flavor and it makes them soft, powdered ginger and other warm spices.

These are a traditional Christmas Cookie and great served alongside homemade eggnog or a glass of cold milk.

Ginger Snaps being rolled in sugar and Ginger Snaps in a ball on a cookie sheet before being baked

How to Make Ginger Snaps

This is one of the easiest cookies you’ll make this season, I can almost guarantee it! All it takes is a little mixing and a little baking and you’re there, and it’s a great one for a cookie exchange!

  1. Cream together ‘wet” ingredients with sugar.
  2. Mix dry ingredients together with a whisk.

TIP: Whisking dry ingredients can work as a shortcut method for sifting flour because it gets air into the mixture. Maybe not for very exact recipes but it works well for most things!

  1. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the sugar and molasses mixture, a little at a time,
  2. Roll into balls and roll in sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crinkly!

Ginger snaps on a baking sheet with parchment paper

Can You Decorate Ginger Snaps?

While using regular icing to decorate gingersnaps might not be the best combination, you could try a couple of things to dress these guys up, for sure!

  • Dip half of each cookie in white chocolate and sprinkle with colored sugar.
  • Roll the cookies in red and green colored sugar instead of plain white sugar!
  • Pipe little rosettes of cream cheese frosting around the edge of each cookie, and place a gingerbread man-shaped nonpareil on top of each rosette.

Ginger snaps on a wooden board and marble board with cinnamon sticks

How to Store Them

These are some of the easiest cookies to store. You can cover them tightly or place them in an airtight container on the counter. They’ll keep on the counter for up to a week or more.

If you like to make holiday cookies ahead of time, this is the perfect cookie to freeze, it just holds up really well. I like to layer them with wax paper and freeze them in a pretty tin. These guys will keep for a long time frozen, up to 6 months.

Try microwaving a plate of them to serve warm with coffee after defrosting, and your guests will think you just baked them! There are lots of ways to enjoy these versatile, happy little gingersnaps at Christmas… or year-round!

More Holiday Cookies

Did you make these Ginger Snap Cookies? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
Stack of Ginger Snaps with one that has a bite taken out
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Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps

This recipe creates the perfect ginger cookie, spiced with cinnamon, crinkly, and chewy!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes
Servings 18 cookies
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Ingredients  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup molasses

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Cream shortening, sugar, and egg until fluffy. Add molasses and mix well.
  • Add remaining ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk well to combine. Add dry mixture to sugar mixture a little at a time until combined.
  • Divide dough into 18 pieces, roll each into a ball and roll in sugar.
  • Place cookies on an ungreased pan and bake 11-13 minutes

Notes

Makes 18 cookies
4.89 from 42 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 187 | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 192mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American

Adapted from recipe Source Hein, Karen. “Grandma’s Gingersnap Cookies”. Recipe. Cooking with Class. Beaumont, AB, 2011. 87. Print.

Ginger snaps on a cooling rack with a title
Ginger snaps on a baking sheet and stack of Ginger Snaps with a bite taken out of 1 with a title

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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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Comments

  1. These were good. I like a very gingery cookie, so I did double the ginger. If I make these again, I’ll use a full tablespoon of ginger. These are lightly sweet, have a good molasses flavor and are indeed soft. I rolled some in sugar and some in red and green sprinkles for Christmas. If you’re interested and love ginger, I think minced candied ginger would be amazing in these cookies. Thanks for this recipe.4 stars

    1. Hi Noreen, You can omit the salt if you’d like but it enhances the sweetness, balances the overall taste, and brings out the richness of the other ingredients.

  2. I made these a little smaller so I had 25 cookies instead of 18. They were still rather large cookies. They were nice and soft and chewy!4 stars

  3. Just made a second batch. Yesterday I made the first one – very tasty but flat and hard. Today’s batch was even harder though I kept the dough in the fridge before making the balls to be baked. They still taste good but the look and the hardness disappoint me. Honestly, this is the first recipe of Holly’s to fail me. No clue what the reason is.3 stars

    1. Hi Efrosina, is your baking soda fresh? If it’s old or expired this might be the reason why your cookies are flat!

  4. I made this Ginger Snaps recipe for the December Cooking Challenge and the family loved them. Thanks for the recipe.5 stars

  5. I made these today and really liked the crispy outside and soft inside. I wanted them to puff up more but they were very good and looked professional as my husband said!5 stars

  6. I just made these and they tasted amazing!! Only problem I had was mine turned out really flat. Any idea what I might of done wrong?5 stars

    1. Hi Kristina, sorry this happened to your cookies! The first thing I would check is if your baking soda is expired or old. Most of the time, flat cookies are caused by this! Another tip is to chill the dough before baking, it helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven. I hope that helps!

  7. These ginger snaps are delicious! They have just the right amount of spice and a lovely texture. They will be a great addition to my holiday cookie tray!5 stars

  8. Is is it possible to make this recipe or any of your other dessert recipes that call for ground ginger with fresh ginger? Unfortunately, I found myself with an abundance of ginger that is currently sitting in my freezer that I’d like to use.

    1. Hi Lisa, it should be fine for most recipes. The rule of thumbs is for every 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, use 1 tablespoon of fresh-grated ginger. Unless finely shredded the texture might be slightly off but the flavor should still be similar.

    1. I haven’t tried making them with margarine, so can’t say for sure how it would work. Let us know if you do try it Linda.

    2. I just made these cookies using the margarine because I was so ready for a ginger snap type cook) that I couldn’t wait for a response and they turned out delicious! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I also used the small (Tbsp.) oxo cookie scoop because the batter was too soft to form into a ball. Using the oxo cookie scoop l and I was able to make 54 medium sized cookies, which is just the right size. Just before I popped them into the oven I did a little sprinkle of sugar but really it’s not necessary.5 stars

  9. These are awesome! I used a #40 or medium OXO scoop and got 25 cookies. I’m sure if I used my number #70 OXO small scoop I could have gotten at least 4 dozen small cookies. Sometimes at Christmas I dip the corner in white chocolate and put Christmas sprinkles or you could put Holly candies. I’m making them right now and it’s not Christmas. I just love Ginger snaps and anything with Ginger that’s a cookie.

  10. Cookies were very tasty but a bit too big. Next time will make them smaller. They were soft and delicious. Definitely would bake these again.4 stars