Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (2024)

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Gingersnaps scream old fashioned with their use of warm spices and molasses. They are a type of crispy cookie that makes a snapping sound when eaten or broken in half.

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The brittle structure of gingersnap cookies makes them easy to package as gifts. The ginger’s spiciness and the molasses’ richness pair well with tea or coffee.

Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (1)

Ginger flavored cakes have a very long history. Written accounts of ginger breads can be found as early as the 13th century in records of medieval monks in Franconia, Germany.

Variations of ginger snaps, ginger nuts, ginger biscuits, and ginger bread can be found around the world. Early versions of gingersnaps were firm gingerbread biscuits pressed with a stamp that imprinted a decorative pattern.

As English, Dutch, and German settlers came to American colonies, they brought the tradition of baking ginger snaps along with the necessary spices, including dried and powdered ginger.

Gingersnap recipes have appeared in many of the early American cookbooks, including The Improved Housewife by Mrs. A. L. Webster, published in 1844, Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt Book by Catharine Beecher, published in 1846, and The Practical Cook Book by Mrs. Bliss in 1850.

This gingersnaps recipe is adapted from my Grandmother’s, The United States Regional Cook Book, published in 1939. When I inherited this cookbook, I noticed several pages marked using bookmarks made from a folded piece of plain paper from our local paper mill. I have kept each bookmark in place all these years. This page spread includes several classic cookie recipes from my childhood, including these gingersnaps. I have used a variation of this recipe for many years.

Steps to Making Gingersnap Cookies

This gingersnap cookie recipe is bursting with ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses flavors and coated with granulated sugar for a bit of sparkle and a crackly coating.

It is important to use fresh spices for this recipe. Older spices lose flavor over time, and you want the full, warm flavors of fresh spices in these cookies.

You will want to use unsulphured molasses in baking sweets, not blackstrap molasses. Molasses made from ripe sugar cane is called unsulfured molasses. It has a higher natural sugar content that helps preserve it. It tastes sweeter and has no additives. Blackstrap molasses is extracted from unripe sugarcane and treated with sulfur dioxide as a preservative. It has less sugar and a somewhat bitter flavor that you don’t want when baking cookies.

You can find the full detailed recipe at the bottom of this article, but here are the illustrated steps to making old-fashioned gingersnaps:

Make the Cookie Dough

  1. Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until well combined. Set aside.
  2. Blend the butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses, and continue mixing until everything is well combined.
  3. Combine wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture a little at a time and combine until well blended.
  4. Cover and chill cookie dough for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (2)

Shape and Bake the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 375˚F, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and add the granulated sugar to a small bowl.

  1. Shape: Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out about a heaping teaspoon of dough and shape dough into 1-inch balls.
  2. Coat with Sugar: Roll each ball in the sugar to coat all sides, and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  3. Flatten: Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookie dough balls for a thin, crisp cookie, or leave them as is for a softer, chewy cookie.
  4. Bake in a preheated oven until edges are set and tops are crackled, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (3)

Cool slightly, remove from the baking sheet, and cool completely on a wire rack. Let the baking sheets cool, and repeat with the next batch until all the cookie dough is used. Makes about 48 cookies.

To store, let the cookies cool completely, and then store them in an airtight container for several weeks, or you can freeze the cookies for up to 6 months.

Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (4)

Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (5)

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Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookies Recipe

Gingersnaps scream old fashioned with their use of warm spices and molasses. They are a type of crispy cookie that makes a snapping sound when eaten or broken in half.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword gingersnaps

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 48 cookies

Calories 69kcal

Author Grow a Good Life

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to a medium bowl. Stir with a wire whisk until combined. Set aside.

  • Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, molasses, and mix until well blended.

  • Gradually add flour mixture a little at a time and mix until well blended. Cover and chill cookie dough for at least one hour (or up to 24 hours).

  • Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Add the granulated sugar to a small bowl.

  • Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop out about a heaping teaspoon of dough and shape into 1-inch sized balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat all sides, and place 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

  • Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of a glass for thin crispy cookies, or leave as is for a soft cookie.

  • Bake in a preheated oven until edges are set and tops are crackled, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from baking sheet, and cool completely on a wire rack. Makes about 48 cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 69kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.8g | Protein: 0.8g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 5g | Calcium: 9mg

Resources:

More Christmas Cookie Recipes:

  • Soft Molasses Cookies
  • Chocolate Crinkles Cookies
  • Toasted Almond Anise Biscotti

10 Cookie Mix in a Jar Recipes eBook

Homemade gifts are always appreciated because they come from the heart. Even if you are not crafty, you can give DIY gifts to your family and friends with these easy recipes for making cookie mix in a reusable jar.

Old Fashioned Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between gingersnaps and ginger cookies? ›

Ginger Snaps are simply a variation of the traditional Gingerbread cookie. They're known for their crisper quality; their “snap” if you will. Introduced in colonial times, the main differences between Gingerbread and Ginger Snaps are a longer bake time for an extra crisp and the use of molasses versus sugar.

What kind of molasses is best for cookies? ›

What Is the Best Type of Molasses for Cookies? There are three types of molasses, two of which are suitable for molasses cookies: light molasses and dark molasses. Choose dark molasses for a darker color and stronger molasses flavor, but if all you can find is light molasses, that will work, too.

Who made the original ginger snap cookies? ›

Gingersnaps have been enjoyed for centuries. In fact, the early versions of these spiced cookies were likely invented by medieval monks in Germany as early as the 13th century. The recipes were passed down through the generations and found their way to America with the early colonists.

Why won t my ginger 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.

Why are my ginger snap cookies flat? ›

Too little flour and too much sugar are often the source of flat cookies, so measure carefully and accurately by using dry measuring spoons and cups for dry ingredients (so that you can spoon the ingredients into them and sweep away the excess) and use cups with pouring spouts for liquids.

Why are my ginger cookies so hard? ›

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

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 skip molasses in cookies? ›

"Other substitutes include Sorghum syrup, and Treacle, an English version of molasses, you may find at an international market." Honey, dark corn syrup, and maple syrup can also be used to replace molasses in recipes.

What is Grandma's molasses used in? ›

Original molasses: amber color, used to sweeten hot cereals, yogurts or hot drinks (like coffee, tea or cocoa). It's also used in gingerbreads, cookies, pies, cakes and glazes. Robust molasses: more concentrated with a richer flavor than Original; used in slow-cooked dishes like baked beans or barbeque sauce.

Why is it called gingersnap? ›

These early ginger cookies originated in Europe and came with the German, Dutch, and English settlers to America. Gingersnaps were named from the German or Middle Dutch word snappen, meaning "to seize quickly."

Why is ginger snaps so good? ›

Ginger Snaps is a great werewolf movie because it has a unique take on the genre. It follows two teenage sisters who are dealing with the physical and emotional changes that come with the onset of puberty, and how those changes can be exacerbated by a werewolf curse.

What is another name for ginger snap cookies? ›

A gingersnap, ginger snap, ginger nut, or ginger biscuit is a biscuit flavored with ginger. Ginger snaps are flavored with powdered ginger and a variety of other spices, most commonly cinnamon, molasses and clove.

How do you know when ginger cookies are done? ›

Toothpick Test – This is one of the most common ways to check cookie doneness, and it can be used for many other desserts as well. Insert a toothpick into the centre of a cookie. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, the cookies are done.

Why are my molasses cookies puffy? ›

Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

How do you know when molasses cookies are done? ›

As soon as you see that rich, light, honey-brown coloration, you know they're ready to go. They've started to crack around the edges - A well-cooked cookie will often start to crack or crumble slightly around the edges.

Are gingernut biscuits and ginger snaps the same? ›

Ginger Nut Biscuits and Ginger Snap Cookies, Ginger Snap Biscuits and Ginger Snaps are all exactly the same things. New Zealand and Australia call them Ginger Nut Biscuits, America calls them Ginger Snap Cookies and Britain calls them GInger Snap biscuits (but also Ginger Nuts too!!).

Are ginger snaps and spiced wafers the same? ›

Spiced wafers are best compared to ginger snaps, although there are distinct differences. Containing a mix of autumnal spices including ginger, cinnamon, allspice, molasses, and cloves, these tough cookies have a more complex flavor than traditional ginger snaps.

What is the difference between ginger nuts and ginger snaps? ›

In North America these cookies are usually called gingersnaps but in Australia and New Zealand they are called ginger nuts. I cannot tell you how delicious these ginger cookies are so I'm just going to sort of beg you to make them.

What is another name for ginger snaps? ›

The gingersnap is also known as a "ginger nut," especially in the U.K. It's a sweet, brittle cookie that's flavored with plenty of ginger and often other spices like cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg, and baked in small rounds.

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