Gingersnaps are so easy to make and are wonderful all year-round, but especially during the holidays, so you’ll want to add these spiced cookies to your must-make baking list!
Until recently, I’ve never eaten a gingersnap and, after seeing different recipes around the web, I decided it was time to test out some recipes and give these cookies a try.
During my research, I was happy to discover that gingersnaps are easy to make and are popular during the holidays because they’re spiced with cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Even though it’s August I was excited to make a batch, so I guess I’m getting a head start on my holiday baking!
Ingredients
In addition to flour, eggs, baking soda and salt there are a few other key ingredients you’ll need to make your cookies.
Molasses
Molasses is a syrup that is made from sugar that has been cooked down until it’s thick, syrupy, and dark brown in color. Molasses is sweet with a slightly bitter taste and is what gives gingersnaps their color and distinctive flavor. You can find bottles of molasses in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
Vegetable Oil
One thing I like about this recipe is that it calls for vegetable oil instead of butter. I love butter, but it can be a pain to wait for it to soften when you want to make cookies. Using vegetable oil saves a lot of time and makes these gingersnaps very easy to make.
Spices
The gingersnaps are spiced with cinnamon, cloves and ginger. I love the flavors, which remind me of fall and the holidays and the cookies smell so good while they’re baking.
Sugar Coating
The cookie dough balls are rolled in granulated sugar before they go in the oven. The sugar coating gives the ginger snaps a nice texture after they’re baked.
How to Make Gingersnaps
Ginger Snaps are very easy to make and it only takes about 15 minutes to make the dough.
- You’ll want to use two bowls for this recipe. One to combine the wet ingredients and another to combine the dry ingredients. This two-bowl method makes it easier to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ones without over mixing the dough.
- The dough is formed into balls approximately 1 ¼-inch big. At this point, roll each dough ball in the sugar so they are evenly coated.
- Place the dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. They only need to bake about 10 to 12 minutes at 375°F.
Texture
There are a lot of different gingersnap cookie recipes but traditional gingersnaps are more on the crispy side, which is how they got their name. The idea is that the cookie “snaps” when you break it in half.
The gingersnaps I made are soft and chewy when they first come out of the oven, but they harden as they cool so that they end up more on the crispy side like traditional ones. I really like them (especially the crackly tops!), but I am going to experiment with other recipes to see if I can make a gingersnap that stays chewy after it cools like my Ginger Spice Cookies.
I’m excited to make more gingersnaps during the holidays along with some of my other favorite cookies like my Gingerbread, Ginger Cookies, Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles and Soft Sugar Cookies. For a fun snack or dessert, dip these gingersnap cookies in homemade pumpkin spice dip!
Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/3 cup white sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture.
- Roll dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar before placing 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Cool on wire racks.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Pingback: Ginger snaps | Online REL
Real ginger snaps are supposed to be really hard. I remember having to dunk them in milk to be able to eat them. I like chewy cookies, better, though. I made these last night using dark brown sugar rather than light brown sugar and they’re still chewy this morning. If you don’t have dark brown sugar you can try adding a little extra molasses.
I thought they were supposed to be crispy! That’s how I always imagined them, but then the comments by other people who tried the recipe threw me off.
Wow, you really like gingersnaps! Haha. Do you have a favorite recipe?
LOL. Gingersnaps are supposed to be crispy cookies; I’m a huge gingersnaps fan and have never had a chewy one. Although the thought of a chewy gingersnap is delightful.
Whenever I fail to achieve a soft and chewy cookie that is supposed to be, I always add a tablespoon of sour cream for every cup of flour to the wet ingredients. The cookies always turn out soft and chewy, and the sour cream doesn’t impact the taste.
I’ll try this with my next batch of gingersnaps, but probably just a 1/2 tablespoon and go from there. I’ve also never used oil in my recipes, just shortening or butter. I’ll try that next time, too. Thanks for posting.
Gingersnaps are the only cookie worthy of the name cookie. Okay, so maybe that’s a little overboard but that’s how much I love gingersnaps. A co-worker would bring them in with snickerdoodles. Since the only cookies I had ever experienced were choco chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter (and rarely since my Mom prefered making pies)I was enthralled with these. He gave me his wife’s recipe and I make them occasionally. They are so yummy and I really believe that no other cookie can compare. Those pics have triggered a craving.
I was really happy with how they came out!
wow! these look great!