Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
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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.
What about butter in place of shortening?
It’s not recommended. The chemistry of the two are completely different. Butter contains more water content than shortening and the cookies may spread too much.
I changed the recipe just a bit and it works perfectly … 1/2 cup shortning 1/4 cup butter … These are fantastic cookies
Can I substitute veg oil for the shortening?
I don’t recommend it.
I have never had a cookie fail, managed to do so with your recipe. Followed exactly, including 2 hours in refrigerator and ended up with greasy, flattened ginger crisps. Fantasy flavor! I used Crisco shortening. Any ideas?
This recipe has been made countless times by me and others with success. I say double-check your ingredient measurements to make sure they’re accurate. I also use Crisco and never had an issue.
These gingersnaps are a keeper – they always turn out perfectly – light crunch on the outside and chewy on the inside. Makes me look like a Gingersnap Goddess… I’ll take the accolades, especially with all the craziness around Christmastime. It’s definitely a must-bake in this season. Thanks for the recipe!
Has anyone heard of hitting the baking sheet on the oven rack after baking for a chewy cookie? My mother in law insists that it works. I was searching online and only found where people were doing it during the cooking process. Has anyone had any experience with this? I’m wanting a chewy cookie because my in laws have no teeth and can’t chew the hard ginger snaps cookies anymore.
I’ve never tried that method but this recipe is a soft and chewy gingersnap cookie.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
The taste was great and they got nice cracks, but the cookies didn’t get flat.
I followed the recipe and weighed the all ingredients.
I wonder what was wrong with my dough.?
It’s really hard to say since you stated you followed the recipe exactly and weighed the ingredients. The main reason cookies don’t spread is because too much flour is used by mistake. But, your cookies wouldn’t have developed cracks if they didn’t spread. So I’m not really sure what the issue is.
Thank you! If at first you don’t succeed… so I’ll try, try again 🙂
Add a 1/4 tsp of pepper to your ginger snap mixture to give the cookies a little more SNAP
These are delicious. I used smoked cinnamon for a little extra punch, and added some as well as some ginger to the sugar I rolled the cookies in before baking. I also sprinkled a bit on the cookies right out of the oven. great recipe…
Smoked cinnamon sounds like a wonderful addition! So glad you enjoyed the cookies!
OMG…these are soooo good. The only changes I made were to substitute a 1-1 gluten free flour (I have family members that have Celiac disease), and instead of all shortening, i sub’d half of the shortening with butter. Thank you for this yummy recipe. This is going in my perm recipe collection!!