Gingersnaps are easy to make and a reliable Christmas cookie. Crisp on the outside with a chewy center, they’re a classic holiday treat that often gets overlooked.
This recipe uses grated fresh ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and molasses to create a balanced spice profile with depth and warmth. The result is a cookie with clear flavor, good texture, and strong seasonal appeal.
The Ingredients
- Butter – I prefer salted butter. For a dairy-free version, you can use melted coconut oil.
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar -Dark brown sugar will give you a heavy molasses flavor.
- Molasses – Unsulphured molasses.
- Vanilla
- Egg White – Only one egg.
- Ginger – Grate it super fine with a microplane zester. Make things even easier by using fresh ginger paste.
- Flour – Use white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. All-purpose flour works just fine, too.
- Baking Soda
- Spices – Cinnamon, cardamom, and an optional pinch of white pepper.
- Salt
How To Make Them
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugars.
- Add the molasses, egg white, vanilla and ginger and whisk until well combined.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
- Use a teaspoon or tablespoon (or baby cookie scoop) to scoop the dough into balls and place 1 inch apart on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes for teaspoon-sized scoops or 8-10 minutes for tablespoon-sized scoops.
- Let cookies cool before removing from the baking sheet. They will firm up as they cool.
Pro Tips for Perfect Gingersnaps
- Melt the butter right in the bowl (just make sure it’s microwave safe!) for fewer dishes to clean.
- No need to flatten the dough, it will spread as it bakes.
- If your oven tends to run cool, bake at 375 instead of 350.
- Use a cookie scoop for perfect circles. A teaspoon or tablespoon will give you slightly imperfect circles (but they’ll still be amazing!).
More Christmas Cookies You’ll Love
- Cocodates (No Bake Coconut Date Cookies)
- Cranberry Bliss Cookies
- The Best Cutout Sugar Cookies With Icing
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Peppermint Bark Icebox Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintEasy Gingersnaps
These easy gingersnaps with the delicious flavors of spicy fresh ginger and molasses are made with whole wheat flour in just one bowl. Even though they’re simple, they’re a must make Christmas cookie! (dairy-free version included)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: About 18 tablespoon sized cookies 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted (or coconut oil for dairy-free)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
- 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- Pinch ground white pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars and whisk until well blended.
- Add molasses, egg, vanilla and ginger. Whisk until combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and spices into bowl with wet ingredients. Stir until combined.
- Scoop the batter by the teaspoon or tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat, 1 inch apart. No need to flatten, the dough will spread as it bakes.
- Bake cookies 6-8 minutes (or 8-10 minutes for tablespoon size) until they appear barely set. Remove from oven and let cool a couple minutes before transferring to cooling rack (they’ll firm up as they cool).
Notes
- For dairy-free, use melted coconut oil in place of butter.
- If your oven tends to run cool, set it to 375°F.
- For nicely rounded cookies, use a cookie scoop. I use a tablespoon sized scoop for larger cookies.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Keywords: gingersnaps, gingersnap cookies, whole wheat gingersnaps
Instead of molasses I used golden syrup. I made it today. Looks great. Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
What csn be used insyead of molaasses
,as in India it is quite expenses and it is imported.
Hi Maria,
Molasses is what gives these a classic gingerbread flavor, but if you can’t get it, honey can be used instead.
I use kakvi in india…if not available, melt 1 cup jaggery in 1 cup water on low heat and boil for 5 min and cool. This works too
Just made these!! Delicious!!
I’m so glad you liked them!
What to use in place of coconut oil ???
Hi Rochelle! You can use butter instead of coconut oil! ?