Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.
Soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies infused with molasses, cinnamon, and cloves. These will make the perfect edible gift this holiday!
Old-fashioned chewy gingersnap cookies
Gingersnaps are one of my favorite cookies to make around the holidays. Every year I whip up a batch and ship them off to family.
You really can’t go wrong with a ginger cookie. Like with these molasses cookies and salted caramel ginger macarons, they’re so good!
Growing up I would look forward to my godmother’s old-fashioned gingersnap cookies. They were the absolute best!
She would bake them every year for the holidays.
Sometimes she’d wait for me to visit and we’d make them together. I always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with her.
I’ve made her recipe countless times over the years and it never fails to bring back sweet childhood memories.
The soft chewy texture is exactly what I love most when it comes to cookies and these chewy gingersnaps are exactly that.
They are flavored with molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and brown sugar. The spices are perfectly balanced.
Chewy ginger cookies
There are a couple of factors that aid the chewy texture of today’s cookies.
A combination of white and brown sugar is used and we all know brown sugar is amazing for creating a chewy texture.
It also adds more molasses flavor which is a bonus. The white sugar isn’t moist like brown sugar so adding some of that helps create a crispness on the outside of the cookie.
Molasses is also a culprit in the chewy factor. I used ¼ of a cup which is just enough liquid to make the cookies spread a bit.
Shortening! My beloved shortening. I am known for adding shortening to my cookie recipes to help keep them soft. I’ve used it in classic snickerdoodle cookies and the results were phenomenal.
However, it works a bit differently in today’s cookies. Yes, they are still soft in the center but the shortening works with molasses to create chewiness.
I roll my gingersnaps in granulated sugar before baking. This will add to the crispiness of the exterior but does nothing for the soft, chewy center.
I’m all for contrasting textures but you can skip the sugar rolling if you want. Or you can roll them in coarse sugar for more of a crunch!
The great thing about these cookies is they retain their chewy texture for several days so they perfect for giving away as holiday gifts.
The outer appearance of today’s chewy gingersnap cookies reminds me a lot of crackle cookies.
The cracking happens during baking. The cookies will puff up then begin to spread which results in a crackly top.
I’ll never stop making these chewy gingersnap cookies loaded with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. They’ll remain close to my heart.
More holiday cookie recipes you’ll love
- Best-Tasting Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe
- White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (153 g) vegetable shortening, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (84 g) unsulphured molasses
- 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and sugars until fluffy and blended. Beat in the egg and molasses.
- In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk. Slowly stir the dry mixture into the molasses mixture just until dough forms. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF degrees. Roll the dough into 1-tablespon sized balls, rolls the balls into the remaining sugar, and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- The cookies will remain fresh for 1 week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- The cookie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and continue the recipe instructions.
- Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Cookie dough can be rolled into balls and frozen for up to 3 months. Roll frozen dough balls in sugar and bake as directed. You may need to add an additional minute or two to the bake time.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
Hi, i want to make these tomorrow for christmas. Can you sub lard for vegetable shortening? I have the brand ‘armour’.
Thanks!
I’ve never used lard so I’m unsure how it will turn out.
I found these cookies during my breast cancer chemo treatments. I am making my 2nd batch right now as I have chemo tomorrow. My first batch turned out perfect and only lasted one day they were so delicious. They settle my stomach and help with the nausea. Thank you for sharing the recipe. It’s helping me survive this brutal disease and treatment.
I found these cookies during my breast cancer chemo treatments. I am making my 2nd batch right now as I have chemo tomorrow. My first batch turned out perfect and only lasted one day they were so delicious. They settle my stomach and help with the nausea. Thank you for sharing the recipe. It’s helping me survive this brutal disease and treatment.
Do you have to roll them in sugar? I am putting white chocolate on top and I don’t want the extra sugar on top.
Nope, you can skip it.
Before refrigerating the dough for 2 hours, what should the texture of the dough be? mine seems a little too soft. Maybe after the refridgeration? I don’t want to add more flour and then have them not turn out!!
It will a little soft but will firm up in the refrigerator. There is a video above the recipe card showing how to make them and you can see the texture of the dough.
Hi! Can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I make and bake then FREEZE these cookies? Christmas is around the corner and I need to start baking
You sure can! It’s in the “make ahead tips” sections of the recipe. 🙂
My cookies ended up being little mounds instead of flat circles. I followed the directions and the cookies are fully cooked. Not sure why they look so different than yours.
It’s quite possible you used too much flour. Make sure you are not scooping the flour out with the measuring cup. Instead, lightly spoon it into the measuring cup then level it off with a knife or weigh the flour.
Thank you! Man ive been measuring flour wrong this whole time!!
It happens to everyone! And everyone measures flour differently. I wrote an entire post about this – How to measure flour. Every recipe on my site is measured with the spoon and level method. If you do it that way you’ll have success with all my recipes. 🙂
This recipe is so chewy and flavorful and just flat out superb!! I had a little trouble with it to baking. It kind of all merged together and started dropping off the pan in the oven. Are used butter instead of shortening… I wonder if that fact of it… But it still tastes wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this delightful heaven with us?
I can guarantee the butter the butter is the reason they spread. Shortening doesn’t spread so it’s best to follow the recipe exactly.
This recipe is so chewy and flavorful and just flat out superb!! I had a little trouble with it to baking. It kind of all merged together and started dropping off the pan in the oven. Are used butter instead of shortening… I wonder if that fact of it… But it still tastes wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this delightful heaven with us?
Your unsulfered molasses link goes to an Amazon item called “blackstrap” molasses, so that’s what I picked up at the grocery store. The cookies didn’t spread and were burned on the bottom, and they tasted bitter and generally unpleasant. I then read that this is the exact result you get when using blackstrap molasses.