This recipe for Ginger Crinkle Cookies is ideal for holiday baking. These Gingerbread flavored cookies are chewy and delicious.
Looking for a delicious ginger cookie recipe? These ginger cookies are the perfect balance of soft and chewy with a nice crisp edge. They’re also easy to make – follow our simple recipe!
Have the ultimate holiday baking day and bake alongside Christmas Wreath Cookies and Chocolate Christmas Cake. Your family and friends will thank you!
Why This Recipe Works
- The spices in these cookies are complemented by the molasses, giving them a delicious depth of flavor.
- The combination of white and brown sugar makes these a wonderful chewy treat.
- The sugary coating adds just the right amount of sweetness and reveals the lovely crinkle pattern.
Whether you are baking for a Christmas party or looking for that perfect, festive treat to make for your friends and neighbors, I highly recommend trying these wonderful cookies!
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Use unbleached plain or all-purpose flour. Self-rising flour is not suitable for this recipe.
- Butter: I prefer salted butter in my baking; however, unsalted butter works just as well if this is not to your taste.
- Molasses: Molasses helps to give these cookies a wonderful chewy bite and is important to the texture of the finished product. I do not recommend replacing this ingredient.
- Sugar: I use a combination of brown and white sugar in this recipe because it is essential to the chewy texture. You can use just one type of sugar but be aware the finished cookie might not have the same finish.
- Vanilla: vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or Imitation Vanilla Flavor will all work in this recipe.
- Spices: I use Ginger, Cinnamon, and allspice in this recipe, but you can also use ground cloves, pumpkin spice mix, or gingerbread spice mix.
Step By Step Instructions
Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt to a large bowl.
Mix well to combine and set aside.
Then using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for three minutes or until light and fluffy.
With the mixer on low, add the molasses, vanilla, and egg until incorporated.
Add flour mixture in three additions and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to combine all ingredients into a soft dough.
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop the ginger crinkle cookie dough into 2-inch balls and place 2 inches apart onto a plate or baking sheet.
Cover them in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours, then preheat the oven to 375 °F/190°C and line two baking sheets with nonstick foil or baking paper.
Take the chilled balls and roll them into the confectioner’s sugar until they are evenly coated. Then place the coated balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the ginger crinkle cookies for 10 to 12 minutes (being careful not to overbake). Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 to 7 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
These are so good, and they are definitely a cookie people of all ages will love. The scent in the kitchen when baking them is like gingerbread heaven! Bake them for your next holiday party, and watch them disappear!
Erren’s Top Tips
- Bake one batch at a time on the middle rack. You’ll get the best possible results when doing so. If you absolutely need to bake more than one batch at a time, not only turn the pans but rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack halfway through the baking process to encourage even baking.
- Make sure you’re using baking soda that’s not too old. This can affect how well the cookies rise and bake.
- Over mixing the cookie dough once the flour is added will also affect the end result of the bake. When Mixing, only mix until the flour is combined at a lower speed (when in doubt mix by hand).
- Be sure to thoroughly chill the cookies before baking.
Storing Instructions ❄
- Room Temperature: These ginger crinkle cookies can be kept for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
- In The Fridge: You can keep these cookies in a suitable container in the fridge for up to a week.
- In The Freezer: These cookies will keep in a freezer safe container or airtight freezer bag for up to three months.
Other Great Holiday Bakes
FAQs
The secret to crinkle cookies is for the top surface to dry out before the cookies have finished spreading and rising. This produces an attractive, crinkly exterior.
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Let’s Make Ginger Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz butter (1½ sticks) softened
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt until combined.
- Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low, add the molasses, vanilla, and egg until incorporated.
- Add flour mixture in 3 additions and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to combine all ingredients into a soft dough.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop the dough into 2-inch balls and place 2 inches apart onto a plate or baking sheet. Cover them in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F/190°C Line the 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or baking paper.
- Roll each dough ball in the confectioner’s sugar until evenly coated. Place the coated balls 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies until set – 10 to 12 minutes (being careful not to overbake).
- Cool the cookies on the sheets 5 to 7 minutes to set, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tips + Notes
- Bake one batch at a time on the middle rack. You’ll get the best possible results when doing so. If you absolutely need to bake more than one batch at a time, not only turn the pans but rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack halfway through the baking process to encourage even baking.
- Make sure you’re using baking soda that’s not too old. This can affect how well the cookies rise and bake.
- Over mixing the cookie dough once the flour is added will also affect the end result of the bake. When Mixing, only mix until the flour is combined at a lower speed (when in doubt mix by hand).
- Be sure to thoroughly chill the cookies before baking.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2020. It was republished with new photos, tips, and ingredient notes in 2023.
Debby B says
WOW! These Ginger Crinkle Cookies are absolutely delicious! I recently tried them for the first time and have been hooked ever since. They have a wonderful combination of chewy yet crunchy texture, and their gingerbread flavor is just perfect – not too sweet but still flavorful.
Erren Hart says
Thank you for trying our recipe and taking the time to leave a review, Debby! We’re glad you enjoyed it so much!
Catherine says
Delicious recipe! Thanks so much!
Erren Hart says
Thank you for the kind words! We’re so glad you enjoyed your experience and hope you’ll come back to try more recipes!
Ellen says
I just love ginger cookies, and these are up there with my favourites
Erren's Kitchen says
Amazing, thank you for stopping by to let me know 🙂
Amanda says
Such gorgeous little cookies. Yummy!
Erren's Kitchen says
Glad you liked them Amanda
JP says
I made the recipe and kept the dough cold as instructed. My cookies did not crinkle and they were very doughy. Any suggestions for next time????
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, Jp, I’m sorry to be unhelpful but unless I am in the kitchen with you baking, it is hard for me to see where has gone wrong if you have followed the recipe instructions!
Joanie says
I’m planning to make these cookies for my Book Club Cookie Exchange. Just want to double check first, though… no eggs?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Joanie, that’s right no eggs! Hope you enjoy
Vicki says
I’m eager to make these cookies. They sound wonderful. Could you please clarify whether you use light and granulated sugars as stated in the recipe, or light and dark brown sugars as listed in the instructions? I’d like to make these asap, so really appreciate your reply!
Erren says
Hi Vicky, the ingredients list was correct. Thanks for letting me know the instructions needed updating!
Diane C. says
My cookies did the same thing. very doughy. Almost positive it was because I made mine way too big. I was thinking 24 cookies instead of servings!!!
Erren's Kitchen says
I hope you enjoyed them anyway Diane 🙂
Catie says
This IS a great tasting cookie but the recipe isn’t very user friendly at face value.
1. You have Pumpkin Pie Spice in the ingredients list but All Spice in the directions… Upon smelling them, All Spice is the one to use in the recipe.
2. In the first instruction you listed mix together the “brown sugars, …”. What you real should say is mix together the “brown sugar, sugar, …”.
3. You wrote the recipe for a food processor, which everyone doesn’t own and/or owns a different type than you are using. I own a food processor that attaches to the front of my Kitchen Aid mixer. Therefore, when I tried to use it following your directions…it didn’t work because the food falls through into the bowl below. On my second batch, I mixed the dry ingredients in a large bowl, cut in the cold butter with a steel pastry blender, dumped it into my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl, added the wet ingredients and mixed it in the mixer. It seems to have worked just as well.
4. The cooking time is not altogether accurate. This may depend on where you live, but in PA where I live, at 12 minutes these cookies were still doughy. I ended up baking them 15-16 minutes for a perfect consistency.
Hopefully this helps some other curious bakers!
Thanks!
Erren says
Hi Catie, Thanks so much for the great feedback! I’ve updated the recipe to include a way to make them without a food processor and added the sugars separately as suggested. I really appreciate you taking the time to point out how the instructions can be improved!
Doreen says
The recipe makes 24 servings. Is it just 1 cookie per serving?
Erren says
Yes, that’s right.
Irene says
I have made this recipe so many times, but with a few tasty modifications. The molasses flavor is too strong for me, so I use 1/2 c. Lyle’s golden syrup (treacle) and 1/4 c. Molasses. I also double the amount of dry spices. Mine bake for 14 minutes. These cookies are loved by everyone who tries them, and I’ve kinda become “known” for them!
Erren's Kitchen says
Your adaptations sound delicious Irene 🙂