Spiced Gingersnaps are spicy moist crackled molasses cookies with ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, all spice and black pepper. Grandmas brand Black Strap molasses adds a deep rich flavor to these chewy cookies. Easy cookie to make, take and bake. Great for Christmas gifts and cookie trays. Let’s make some cookies.
What Makes this Cookie so Great?
The spices! Molasses, ginger, cloves, cinnamon the crown jewels of Christmas and Fall Seasons. Inside the cookies are soft while the outside is crispy. Sprinkled with sparkling sugar adds a little extra crunch and decor making it a great holiday cookie.
If you really want more spice add 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper. These cookies can be made ahead, rolled into balls and frozen. Before baking, thaw and roll into granulated sugar. Or bake the cookies, cool and freeze. The cookies can be made up to 3 weeks in advance of the Holidays and frozen until ready to serve. These are great cookies to ship especially if you package them in a pretty tin within in your other Christmas gifts.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies
Gather the ingredients, measure out the flour, baking soda and add all the spices. Set these aside while you cream together the butter and both sugars, granulated and dark. One note… the butter will whip best at room temperature as well as egg yolk. Also, use real butter and not margarine or shortening for the best results. I prefer Land a Lakes brand or Kerry Gold.
Once the butter and sugars are creamed add the egg yolk and molasses, beating until all ingredients are well mixed. Be sure to scrape down sides and bottom of mixing bowl so all ingredients are combined. Add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices, beat on low speed to blend.
Preheat your oven to 375 °F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and get ready to roll your cookie dough. Working with 2 tablespoons of soft dough, roll into balls with wet hands and then in granulated sugar. Place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet 2″ apart.
If you want to chill the dough balls for 10 minutes that will be great and help the cookies to be softer in baking. The chill firms up the butter in the dough and the cookies while baking will not spread as much as room temperature dough would. So it is a good idea to chill your cookie balls before baking. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes for tender crisp cookies.
Tip:If you want to freeze some of the cookie dough balls, this is the time, just place in a freezer zip lock bag for up to 60 days. When you want to bake just a few, take what you need from freezer, let them thaw slightly then bake as normal.
Bake @ 375 ° F. 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to touch before removing from baking sheet. Serve warm or room temperature. Store in a covered container to keep the cookies soft, if you want them firmer on the crisper side, leave them uncovered at room temperature.
It is perfectly normal to have a crack on the top of the cookies. Not a problem. You can use an ice cream scoop to help shape the dough balls if you find that easier to do.
Enjoy this Recipe, they are delicious and easy to make. Happy Baking, Liz
PrintSpiced Gingersnap Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
12 tablespoons butter, not margarine, softened
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup for rolling cookies
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup Black Strap molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar in small bowl, set aside.
- In mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars until light, fluffy and creamy.
- Add egg yolk and molasses, beat until smooth.
- In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add flour mixture to dough on low speed to blend. Dough will be very soft.
- Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls with wet hands and then roll into granulated sugar.
- Place cookies on parchment baking sheets 2 ” apart.
- Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool before removing from baking pans.
Notes
If you really want more spice add 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper. These cookies can be made ahead, rolled into balls and frozen. Before baking, thaw and roll into granulated sugar. Or bake the cookies, cool and freeze. The cookies can be made up to 3 weeks in advance of the Holidays and frozen until ready to serve.
*Great cookie to ship.
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