Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

By Sohla El-Waylly

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
35 minutes, plus 2½ hours’ chilling
Rating
5(2,607)
Notes
Read community notes

This gingerbread is maxed out on spice, packed with two types of fiery ginger and lots of prickly black pepper. Cozy from all the warm spices as well as from molasses, they’re perfect for munching on while tree-trimming. The center of the cookie is fudgy and dense, while the outside edges stay crisp — like the best brownie, but in gingerbread form. That chewy-crispy texture is thanks to the confectioners’ sugar in the dough and a light coating of ginger-spiced sugar. Be sure to use true molasses and not blackstrap molasses; blackstrap molasses has less sugar, more salt and acidity, and can change the way the dough browns, spreads and interacts with the leavening.

Featured in: 24 Days of Cookies

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Ingredients

Yield:24 cookies

    For the Cookies

    • 14tablespoons/200 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces
    • 3tablespoons/50 grams finely grated fresh ginger
    • 1tablespoon ground ginger
    • 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • ½teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 2cups/240 grams confectioners’ sugar
    • 3tablespoons/60 grams unsulphured molasses
    • 1tablespoon vanilla extract
    • teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
    • 1teaspoon baking soda
    • 1large egg, room temperature
    • 2cups/250 grams all-purpose flour

    For the Coating

    • ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
    • 2teaspoons ground ginger

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

160 calories; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 91 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    In a medium saucepan over medium, melt butter until foamy, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking butter, stirring and scraping frequently with a stiff silicone spatula, until the sputtering has subsided and the butter solids look deeply browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then whisk in the fresh ginger and ground spices. Scrape the butter and any brown bits at the bottom into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Set aside until cool, slightly solid, but still creamy, about 20 minutes in the refrigerator or 2 hours at room temperature.

  2. Step

    2

    Add confectioners’ sugar, molasses, vanilla, salt and baking soda to the cooled butter. Mix on low with the paddle attachment, stopping once to scrape the bowl and paddle, until creamy and combined, about 1 minute.

  3. Step

    3

    Add the egg and mix on medium until pale and fluffy, stopping once to scrape the bowl and paddle, about 2 minutes. Add flour and mix until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days before baking.

  4. Step

    4

    Prepare the sugar coating: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and ground ginger. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper, arrange the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and heat oven to 375 degrees.

  5. Step

    5

    Using a #40 cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon portions (30 grams). Roll the portioned cookie dough into balls and coat in the ginger sugar. Arrange on the sheet tray at least 1 inch apart and bake until set and lightly browned around the edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tip

  • Cookies are best eaten the day they are baked. Cookie dough portions can be frozen, then coated in sugar and baked from frozen as needed. No need to thaw; bake frozen portions for 11 to 13 minutes.

Ratings

5

out of 5

2,607

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

David

Freeze the fresh ginger root and keep in freezer then microplane it when ready for use. Keeps the ginger juices intact; keeps longer than fresh ginger in the fridge. Microplane is easier and quicker than grater although your fingers can get pretty cold in the grating process.

AC

Diamond Crystal salt and Morton’s weigh differently even if you use the same volume. That’s why it’s helpful for recipes to identify what it was made with. One teaspoon of Morton kosher salt weighs 4.8 grams; one teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher weighs 2.8 grams. There’s a good Cooks a illustrated article on the difference.

Pam

MAKE THIS. I just finished my third cookie (don't judge me). With no substitutions, these are by far, the most delicious ginger cookie I've ever eaten. These have an amazing kick, and come out beautifully crackled. MAKE AHEAD: I made the brown butter the night before, and let it come to room temperature before the mixing. PAN BANGING: I banged the pans at the 5 min mark, and right after they can out. Stored in an airtight container to retain chewiness.

Sean

In the end, these came out great, and I will absolutely make them many more times. Crispy outside, chewy center, sweet and spicy. 10/10.However, like others have already said, be careful when adding the fresh ginger to the browned butter -- it will foam a ton (like, way more than when making caramel). Either brown the butter in a larger-than-you-think-you-need sauce pot or move the butter to the bowl of the stand mixer first and then add the spices. It'll save you a mess.

Butter Goddess

I cannot stop eating these cookies. I love the kick this cookie gets from the fresh ginger and all the spices. I don't always have it in me to grate that much fresh ginger, but the 50g was absolutely worth it. This is my new favorite winter cookie!

Canucklehead

At the risk of annoying purists, I used leftover preserved ginger instead of the fresh so I expect my cookie was a little sweeter than the recipe. I can't find Diamond Crystal salt where I live but the Canadian substitute seemed to work OK. Likewise, my choices of molasses included neither blackstrap nor true molasses. Using my "cooking molasses", I plunged ahead. Took a bit longer and spread more than as written (or perhaps exactly as cautioned) but absolutely delicious nonetheless.

James

These are outstanding and have a really nice bite. For serving, we spread vanilla ice cream (softened in the fridge) between two of them, then refroze them as ice cream sandwiches. Outstanding!

Jenna

Wow! These are fantastic. Chewy center and crispy, lacy edge. Cookies were the same whether I followed the directions to refrigerate for 2 hours or froze the dough 15-20 minutes, instead. I was worried this would affect the outcome, but it didn’t. I used Trader Joe’s frozen, grated ginger (Dorot), and the flavor was excellent. Have fun eating these: they are the perfect ginger cookie.

compass.kitchen (Ryan)

These cookies were really good. Very spicy from ginger and definitely chewy. Only downside is that they're a little greasy. Also make sure to leave your cookies way farther than 1 inch apart (that must be a type because these cookies spread a decent amount so my first batch became one giant mega-cookie). I think you can only fit 8 cookies to a baking sheet.

Silvia

These cookies are perfection for ginger lovers. I was lazy and only used two Tb of fresh ginger, also too lazy to grind a full tsp. of pepper, chilled in the freezer for 45 minutes, and still got some close to perfect cookies. Will definitely try the recipe as written.

New Baker

Be sure to use a large enough saucepan for the butter browning!!! Mine was too small and the whole thing foamed up over the top (and all over my stove) when I added the fresh ginger + spices. A rookie mistake for sure. Next time I'll go straight into the stand mixer bowl. Didn't start over (not enough ingredients) so I tried to make up for lost butter by weighing it out and re-browning the difference, accounting for 15% loss due to water evaporation. We'll see how they turn out....

korinswanson

Freeze the fresh ginger root and keep in freezer then microplane it when ready for use. Keeps the ginger juices intact

Sally

They specify because Diamond Crystal is coarser than Morton's (probably the main other readily available kosher salt), so if you use the same amount of Morton's salt as is called for in Diamond Crystal salt, it'll be a lot saltier.

Amemm

These spread a lot for me. Put far enough apart so they don’t run into each other.

Sue

That's a really bad idea here, because both the confectioner's sugar and the wheat-based flour are important to how the cookie spreads and to its final texture. You're best off looking to a shortbread that's built to work with almond or coconut flour and whose texture relies primarily on butter to hold the flour together, where you can replace the small quantity of sugar more or less safely.

fiddlebbb

These turned out pretty good but i think i prefer a less oily/buttery/gooey cookie in favor of more texture and caki-ness The flavor is pretty intense, which i loved. These would be great as one choice on a cookie platter rather than a whole batch

LP

I can't believe I am going to say this but....these cookies are too sweet! It's a strong sweet taste with a separate strong ginger taste, they exist side by side but not together. Not my fav ginger cookie recipe

corn

I’d recommend for a spicier cookie tripling the amount of cinnamon and adding some allspice but it’s an overall good cookie

Brecken

They were good, 50 grams of fresh ginger is A LOT of ginger. I got three large knobs (a little less than .2 lbs) and after peeling it, it ended up not being enough. I ended up substituted the rest of the weight with some frozen ginger. My cookies didn't end up getting that beautiful crackle like in the photo which was disappointing. If I made them again, I would leave out the black pepper. These were too spicy for my Chinese in-laws during Christmas lol.

Allison

Eat these when they’re about 10 minutes out of the oven. They’re brownie-chewy in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside. You can tasted the brown butter best then. Om nom.

Cursed Baker

Outstanding recipe. Refrigerate for as long as you can stand (or your fridge real estate can bear).I disagree with the recipe that these are best on the day they are baked--if they're allowed to rest, the spice picks up a bit and the ginger flavor comes through more clearly.

SD

Is treacle an appropriate substitute for molasses for this recipe?

nancy l

Fabulous!I did make slightly smaller (20g) cookies and place farther apart on cookie sheet. Grated 40 g of ginger until I ran out. Had to eat them hot off the cookie sheet cuz they smelled so good.

Allison

These are overwhelmingly gingery, in the best way. Definitely the punchiest gingerbread cookie I ever tried. Mine came out quite cakey but with a delicate crisp from the gingered sugar coating. I used jarred grated ginger from my local Korean alphabet mart, which has a touch of salt in it. I’d already frozen it in ice cube trays and stored it in cubes in my freezer, so the grated ginger part was a snap. (Pause for tsk-ing from the purists.) Try cream cheese (or CC icing) with them.

Patricia

Made as per recipe, delicious. Substituted honey for molasses, texture worked out beautifully.

D

Super easily adapted to gluten free. Swapped flour for Pamela’s 1:1 with 1/4tsp xanthan gum and they came out PERFECT. Also threw in some chopped non-crystallized candied ginger chopped up super fine, which was killer.

Lacy

These are the best cookies I’ve ever been involved in making. Yum.

Natalie

These are delicious; whole family loves them. Adult son said these are the best ginger cookies he has ever had; he did not expect them to be so good.

Lex

I made this with the exact recipe ingredients, except I weighed out 25g balls of dough, placed them on a quarter sheet pan, and froze them. Then I placed them in a freezer bag. By baking them from frozen I made cookies that look like the recipe's picture. These are terrific-tasting and so very gingery and crispy-chewy. I agree with many readers who say the dough balls need to be at least 2 inches apart. I placed 6 on a half-sheet pan and they did not run into each other.

geteb

Wow! Spectacular!! Took Sean's (& other's) advice to mix in ginger & spices in the large mixing bowl - not saucepan. Left the dough in the fridge for 3 days (unintentionally - "Oh, what's in that bowl in the back again?") - then baked 9 w/out rolling them in the sugar/ginger mix & ate all 9 cookies in 1 evening. They were that delicious & not too sweet. I left a good 2" spacing & a couple of them still mated. So good & dare I say - refreshing? Which is why you can't eat just 1.

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Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? ›

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

Can you use maple syrup instead of molasses in gingerbread cookies? ›

What is this? Maple Syrup Cookies are very similar to gingerbread cookies, except I replace the molasses with maple syrup and honey. The result is a soft texture with a lighter ginger maple flavor. Honestly, I prefer a softer gingerbread to a crispier one.

What kind of molasses to use for gingerbread cookies? ›

Choose unsulfured molasses when possible, since sulfur dioxide can leave an unpleasant, chemical-like aftertaste, according to Smith. “Unsulfured molasses is derived from processed mature sugar cane,” she said. “It's rich in flavor with a smoky depth. The most natural.

Why is my cookies soft but not chewy? ›

Not using enough fat in the dough.

A greater fat ratio (butter, margarine, shortening, etc.) to flour will result in a more tender cookie. Start by adding just a ¼ cup additional to your recipe. Melting the butter before adding it to the sugar will also up the chew factor.

Should gingerbread dough be chilled before baking? ›

Mistake #2: Not resting your dough

After the gingerbread is cut out, Lomas recommends putting it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to three days. Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking.

What is the difference between gingerbread and ginger cookies? ›

Both are spiced cookies. The main differences are that gingersnaps are typically rolled into balls, while gingerbread is rolled out and cut into shapes. Gingersnaps are also baked slightly longer, which is where they get their snappy crispiness. Gingerbread is typically a little chewier.

What is Victorian gingerbread? ›

In Medieval England gingerbread meant preserved ginger. The hard cookies were a staple at Medieval fairs in England and on the continent. These became known as “gingerbread fairs” and the cookies called “fairings”.

What are gingerbread men called now? ›

Some bakeries are now calling gingerbread men by the gender neutral term “gingerbread people.” Do you agree with the change? I couldn't care less if they called them “gingerbread cookies.” Originally Answered: Some Bakeries are now calling Gingerbread men by the gender fluid title Gingerbread people.

Is light or dark brown sugar better for gingerbread cookies? ›

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned. That's why I only use dark brown sugar when making gingerbread; but depending on the recipe, you may not even notice a difference.

What happens if you add too much molasses to cookies? ›

Doubling up on molasses softened the cookies significantly.

Molasses is also extremely dark in color, so this batch of cookies turned out to be a deep brown. While most of the batches came out hard and crunchy, this cookie was bendable toward the middle. It had slightly crunchy edges but was mostly soft.

Can I use brown sugar instead of molasses in gingerbread? ›

Brown sugar is actually a combination of granulated sugar and molasses, so it's a good substitute for molasses. While measurements may vary per recipe, you can generally replace 1 cup molasses with 3/4 cup packed brown sugar.

Is molasses or golden syrup better for gingerbread? ›

Molasses – Essential for that deep, rich, caramel-like gingerbread flavour! It also helps hold the dough's shape. Golden syrup makes a great sub, or treacle. Honey will also work, but the cookies will spread out a touch more and not have the same deep flavour (but still very, very good!).

Why are my gingerbread cookies hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Why didn t my ginger molasses cookies crack? ›

Why don't my molasses cookies crack? Molasses cookie dough won't have those signature cracks on top if the dough is too wet. The cracks happen when the surface of the dough dries up. Rolling in sugar really helps this because the sugar binds the moisture and dries out the dough.

Are gingerbread cookies always hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Should cookies be hard or soft? ›

You can take a bite or break off a piece. Either way, when you taste it, you'll know for certain if it's done. A cookie that's fully done shouldn't be doughy, nor should it be overly crunchy (unless you're making a really crunchy type of cookie). It should be soft, crumbly, and perfect when freshly baked.

Do gingerbread cookies harden as they cool? ›

Gingerbread Cookies are done when they are set and begin to brown slightly at the edges. They will harden further as they cool, so avoid overbaking so you don't end up with hard, crunchy gingerbread!

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