Gingersnaps {Thin ‘n Crispy} (2024)

Crunchy, audibly snap-in-half Gingersnaps – thin ‘n crispy seasonal cookies bursting with sweet ginger, cloves and cinnamon!

We Put the ‘Snap’ in Gingersnaps!

Who’s ready for Erik’s favorite crunchy holiday cookie of this season?? Today, we’re bringing you ultra thin and crispy gingersnaps – you’ll love munching on these super crunchy festive cookies bursting with sweet ginger, cloves, and cinnamon!

This time of year, Erik and I get ready for all of the baking. But, we’re big cookie lovers here, so cookies are what we do! I hope you’re enjoying the 1^st Annual Beaming Holiday Treat-a-Palooza. 🙂 Now let’s get to the snap back into Gingersnaps!

The Ingredients You Need

• Flour – use all purpose, unbleached flour
• Butter – use room temperature, unsalted butter for a cohesively smooth cookie dough
• Sugar – we’ll be using two types of sugar: granulated sugar and brown sugar below for a more complex, richer flavor of gingersnaps cookies
• Brown Sugar – we’ll be using dark brown sugar for it’s deeper flavor and higher molasses content
• Molasses – unsulphured molasses has no additives and won’t create a chemical flavor in your cookies
• Ginger, cinnamon, cloves – with the highest amount of ginger, we’ll have a delicious, bold ginger flavor complimented by warm cinnamon and a tang of cloves
• Egg – make sure your egg is room temperature for a smooth, consistent dough
• Baking Soda and Salt

What is a Gingersnap?

A gingersnap is a cookie (or a biscuit) that is usually crisp, crunchy, and flavored with ginger, cinnamon, and other spices, and sweetened with molasses.

Gingersnaps can also be soft and chewy, unlike today’s thin ‘n crispy recipe. Ginger cookies are said to have come from Europe and bought to America from Dutch, German and English settlers. [1]

What do Gingersnaps taste like?

Gingersnaps taste like a sweet, molasses-tinged cookie with the zest of sweet ginger, warm cinnamon and a dash of cloves.

How to Make Gingersnap Cookies

To make gingersnap cookies, we won’t be starting with preheating the oven—this is because the cookie dough will need to chill.

Make the Gingersnaps Cookie Dough

First, whisk to combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

Then, pull out your stand mixer to cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium high.

Add molasses and mix in. Okay, but how gorgeous is the cookie dough after adding in the molasses?!? ꜜ

Decreasing the mixer speed to medium-low, beat in the egg.

Further reducing the mixer speed to low, slowly add in the dry ingredients mixture until combined.

Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Freeze the Gingersnaps Cookie Dough

Transfer the dough into an airtight container and freeze for 3-4 hours, until firm but scoopable.

This will help the flavors deepen and infuse into the dough, but also make handling the dough easier.

Bake the Gingersnaps

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Then, line a cookie sheet in parchment paper.

Scoop and drop 1-inch balls of dough into your hands.

Quickly roll into a sphere and coat in sugar.

Then, drop onto the prepared cookie sheet, spaced evenly apart with ample room for lots of spread.

Bake for about 16 minutes, then allow cookies to firm up on the sheet for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over each cookie.

Then, cool and enjoy the best crispy gingersnaps!

Can You Freeze Gingersnaps?

Yes, you can freeze gingersnaps! You can freeze them fully baked or just the cookie dough. I’ll show you how below.

To freeze the dough

To freeze unbaked cookie dough, place in an airtight container in the freezer for 1-2 months. You can also keep the cookie dough in the fridge for 1-2 days.

To freeze baked gingersnaps

Cool baked cookies completely, then store in an airtight container for 1-3 months in the freezer.

• Stand mixer
• Small cookie scoop
• Cookie sheet
• Glass mixing bowls

Make This Holiday Season a Snap!

…both by making these deliciously festive cookies and by taking a snap of your BB creation, sharing it, and tagging me at @beamingbaker and #beamingbaker.

Thank you, truly, for spending the holidays with me… Erik and I wish you a safe, joyful, and positively festive holiday season! ‘Til next time…

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️

Print

Gingersnaps {Thin ‘n Crispy}

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Demeter | Beaming Baker
• Total Time: 3 hours 36 minutes
• Yield: about 3 dozen cookies (mine made 37 cookies) 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Crunchy, audibly snap-in-half gingersnaps – thin ‘n crispy seasonal cookies bursting with sweet ginger, cloves and cinnamon!

Ingredients

Scale

Tools Needed

• Stand mixer
• Small cookie scoop
• Measuring spoons

Dry Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter,room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling below
• 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg, room temperature

For Rolling

• About ½ cup granulated sugar

Topping

• Granulated sugar

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Whisk all Dry Ingredients together in a medium bowl: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar on medium high. Add molasses and mix in.
3. Setting the mixer to medium-low, beat in the egg until combined.
4. Set the mixer to low, then gradually add in the Dry Ingredients mixture until combined. Scrape down the beaters as needed.
5. Freeze for about 3-4 hours, until firm, but scoopable.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or greased foil. Quickly roll cookies into 1-inch balls, then coat in sugar (fill a bowl with sugar for rolling). The cookie dough will get sticky from the heat in your hands—make sure to roll quickly.
7. Place cookie dough balls evenly spaced far apart on the cookie sheet, with ample room to spread—these cookies are very large and thin. I initially did 12 on a large sheet, then changed to 8 per sheet so none stuck together.
8. Bake 14-18 minutes (mine took 16 minutes). Cool cookies directly on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to completely cook. Sprinkle sugar on the tops of each cookie. Enjoy!

Equipment

Stand Mixer

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Small Cookie Scoop

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Glass Mixing Bowls

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Notes

Storing Instructions: Cool cookies completely, then store in an airtight container for 1 week, in a cool, dark environment.

Freezing Cookie Dough: Place gingersnaps dough into a sealed, freezer-friendly container for 1-2 months. Scoop dough and bake as directed—no need to thaw unless dough is too hard to scoop.

Freezing baked Gingersnaps: Allow cookies to cool completely, then store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container in the freezer for 1-3 months.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Chill Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 16 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: European, American

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