Crispy Ginger Cookies
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Sugar, spice, and all things nice—these thin, crispy ginger cookies are what holiday dreams are made of.
These thin and crispy ginger cookies, a gem from pastry chef Emily Luchetti’s Stars Desserts, are truly something special. Featuring a spot-on mix of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a bit of black pepper, these cookies deliver a sweet, buttery crunch with just the right touch of chewiness in the middle. They are a treat any time of day (yes, even breakfast), and they fill the house with the most heavenly aroma as they bake. With their deep amber color and slightly crackled tops, they’re perfect for the holidays. Think of them as the more delicious cousins of gingerbread men, offering a rich taste and a delightful texture that traditional holiday cut-out cookies just can’t match.
“I absolutely LOVE these cookies! They are crispy around the edges, with a little soft chew in the middle. And the spices are just enough to be tasty without being overpowering.”
What You’ll Need To Make Crispy Ginger Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the cookie dough, providing structure and texture.
- Ground Ginger, Allspice, Cinnamon, Cloves and Pepper: Infuse the cookies with warm, aromatic flavors characteristic of ginger cookies. Pepper may sound unusual but it adds a delightful little kick that lingers on the palate.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and spread, resulting in a crisp texture.
- Granulated and Light Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough and contribute to the cookies’ crispiness and caramelization.
- Butter: Provides richness and moisture to the cookies, ensuring a tender crumb.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds structure to the dough.
- Molasses: Adds richness, depth of flavor, and chewiness characteristic of ginger cookies.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a medium or large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt, and pepper.
Whisk and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the sugar and butter. ( Either a hand-held or stand mixer will work nicely.)
Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add the egg.
Beat for about 20 seconds, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the molasses.
Beat until just combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
Add the dry ingredients.
Mix on low speed until just incorporated. The dough will be very soft; refrigerate it for about one hour, or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the sugar to coat. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set and deeply golden on the outside and slightly soft on the inside. (As they bake, they will puff up and then flatten. Do not remove them from the oven until they are flat.)
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate the dough between batches.
Make-Ahead, Freezing & Storage Instructions
The cookies will keep nicely for several days in an airtight container. To freeze the cookies before baking, scoop the dough into balls and roll in sugar, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as needed directly from the freezer, allowing a few minutes longer in the oven. To freeze the cookies after baking, store the cooled cookies in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
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Crispy Ginger Cookies
Sugar, spice, and all things nice—these thin, crispy ginger cookies are what holiday dreams are made of.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- Scant ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup molasses, such as Grandma's Original
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat ½ cup of the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg and beat for about 20 seconds, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the molasses and beat until just combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- Add the dry ingredients, then mix on low speed until just incorporated. The dough will be very soft; refrigerate it for about one hour, or until firm enough to roll.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the sugar to coat. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set and golden on the outside and slightly soft on the inside. (As they bake, they will puff up and then flatten. Do not remove them from the oven until they are flat.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate the dough between batches. The cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container; freeze for longer storage.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: To freeze before baking, scoop the dough into balls and roll in sugar, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as needed directly from the freezer, allowing a few minutes longer in the oven. To freeze the cookies after baking, store the cooled cookies in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 119
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 75 mg
- Cholesterol: 19 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These came out crispy but they are not light brown like the photo. The molasses makes them dark brown. It would be impossible to come out this light with dark molasses.
wow I like the recipe and how there are so many reviews and answers, but I didn’t find one thing – what would happen if I used vegetable oil instead of butter (one of my kids has to be milk free…)?
Hi Patryk, Unfortunately, oil won’t work here. You might try margarine though.
Just made these for the first time…absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!! The combination of spices and molasses are amazing!!!!!!!! A new favorite for my cookie collection!!!
These were so good. I have made them 3 times already since Christmas. They go very quickly. I made them exactly as the recipe stated. The only thing i did at the very end ( before baking) is used my finger to flatten out the top slightly as called for , then sprinkled more sugar on top. Even though I had rolled it in sugar prior. I also had to watch mine while baking at the 9 minute mark. The recipe called for 10-14 minutes and this is a good thing, because with my oven, they cooked at different times for some reason. Some looked good at 10 minutes and some took longer. This is probably my oven, but if you have never made them before, set the timer for 9 minutes and then watch them for a few minutes till desired look and flattened crispy cookie. They are really good though.
These ginger cookies are perfection! Just the right amount of spice. They do spread quite a bit so chilling them and being sure to leave ample room between cookies when baking helps. I made them about half the size as the recipe for my Christmas cookie assortment.
When will you be moving to the metric system. Cups, tsps, tbsps, and other medieval measures are not used by anyone outside of U.S. In case you’re interested we use grams , kilograms, litres and millilitres which are all based logically on the size of the Earth. The metre for example is one 10 millionth of the distance from the pole to the equator. One cubic metre of pure water weighs one metric ton which means that one litre of water weighs one kilogram. Interesting and logical. So much so that the metric system is used by NASA ” It’s the future” kind of thing.
Hi Ray, the majority of my recipes have metric conversions. To view them, scroll down to the recipe and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you.
Hi Ray,
Instead of insulting people why don’t you just do the conversions on-line. It’s a “Google” kind of thing.
Hi Ray, its funny, I found YOUR tone to be insulting and passive-aggressive; by comparison Jenn replied in a perfectly informative, classy tone. Just saying.
Also not really a factually accurate statement. Cups, tbls and tsp are still used around the world. Just not lbs, oz, inches and miles etc in most countries that have converted to metric. Siri and Alexa are very helpful at converting for you on the fly!
Tasty batter but cookies spread out and became wafer thin. I chilled batter and they still thin.
Sorry you had trouble with these, Jess. You might like these ginger cookies better – they are thick and chewy.
I had this same problem the first time I made them. Tried again with freshly purchased baking soda and they came out perfect-I had to toss my old box. So maybe you had a similar problem?
I was wondering how many cookies the recipe yields? I hope I did not just overlook it. I need to make 6 dozen. Thanks
Hi Tamera, The recipe makes 36 cookies, so it sounds like you’ll need to double it. Hope everyone enjoys!
Everybody loved these. They hold up to travel too. I did not have molasses but did have a bottle of coconut nectar and this proved to be a fine substitute.
Can this dough be rolled out and cut with cookie cutter?
Hi Lulu, I think it would work just okay — you won’t get those nice crisp edges though.