Here is the best recipe for soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies! They’re so easy to make, and just as healthy as they are delicious. Also way better than store-bought! Pairs well with other healthy cookies like Molasses Breakfast Cookies and Healthy No Bake Cookies.
My kids asked me the other day what my favorite dinner was. “Mom, if you could eat one thing every night for dinner, what would it be?”
At the time, my answer was sushi. I LOVE sushi.
Today though, after making these chewy gingersnap cookies, I’d like to officially change my answer.
If I could eat one thing every night for dinner for the rest of my life, it would be a bit plate of this gingersnap cookie recipe, washed down with a bulletproof matcha latte!
Gingersnap Cookies
If someone were to ask you what your favorite cookie recipe was – and your answer has historically been chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies or even oatmeal chocolate chips – I need you to hear me when I say that THESE GINGERSNAP COOKIES WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Hands down, they are THE BEST gingersnap cookies you’ll ever eat, but they’re also:
- WAAAAY Better Than Store Bought. These are not like the Grandma’s iced gingersnap cookies you buy at the store (and the ones I grew up eating). Those are hard and tasteless, while these are moist, PACKED with ginger and molasses and incredibly addicting!
- Soft & Chewy. Some gingersnap cookies are crisp and will literally snap in your hands. Not these! Each bite perfectly melts-in-your-mouth and will make you want a glass of milk (or a hot chocolate!).
- Healthy. I’ve reduced the sugar and improved the flour for a treat that is better for you, yet just as delicious!
- Easy. Some gingersnap cookie recipes are hard… lots of mixing and rolling and chilling and all kinds of steps that can trip you up. This recipe is simple, straightforward, and practically foolproof!
Better than Old-fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
The list of ingredients seems long for a cookie recipe, but trust me on this. You can’t get a cookie that’s better than old-fashioned ginger snap cookies without a lot of flavor!
- The Usual Cookie Culprits: Butter + Sugar + Flour + Egg
- Key Players: Molasses +Ginger + Cinnamon + Cloves
- Typical Flavor Boosters: Salt + Baking Soda + Baking Powder
Can you make gingersnap cookies with no molasses?
Unfortunately, no. This is a key ingredient and not using molasses means ending up with an entirely different cookie.
Can you make a half batch gingersnap cookie recipe?
Yes! The recipe itself calls for one egg. I’ve successfully made a half batch by beating one egg in a mug, and then measuring out 2 tablespoons of egg for the dough.
How to Make the Best Soft & Chew Gingersnap Cookie Recipe
The step-by-step method for making these soft and chewy gingersnap cookies is in the recipe card below, but here are a few tricks you need to know up front:
- These cookies require a one hour chill time. This is SUPER important. The butter is room temperature and the molasses means extra soft dough. Keep this in mind as you go to make this recipe.
- Be sure to incorporate ALL the butter. You don’t want to see any stray pieces of butter in the dough. Be sure to scrape down the bowl and paddle well, and often.
- Roll the dough. I like to use this cookie scoop when I’m making cookies, just so that they’re all nice and uniform (and the kids don’t argue over who gets the bigger cookies). You can use one scoop or two for your cookies, but either way, you’ll want to roll the dough together to make a ball.
- Don’t skip the rolling in sugar! This gives the cookies a really pretty crust. The flavor of the cookie is ON POINT if you skip the sugar roll, but really – who wants to skip rolling cookies in sugar?! These cute little bowls make this really quick and easy.
- These cookies require a second chill time of 15 minutes. Again, this is important and required and please plan accordingly!
What Makes These Healthy Ginger Snap Cookies Good For You
I mentioned earlier that these were HEALTHY gingersnap cookies, but let me explain why that is:
- Less Sugar. Most gingersnap recipes call for nearly a full cup of sugar for one batch of cookies. I’ve cut that back a bit so you don’t crash after dessert.
- Better Sugar. My family has been quitting sugar (link) for several years, and over time we’ve improved the type of sugar we buy. We now buy coconut sugar, which according to a study done in the Philippines, has a lower glycemic index than table sugar. It’s also less processed, retains more natural minerals, and tastes just a hint caramel-y!
- Better Flour. Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose flour, which pretty much contains zero nutrients. I use whole grain flour –whole einkorn berries freshly ground into whole grain einkorn flour. (Here’s where I buy einkorn berries in bulk, and my side-by-side comparison of two grain mills I’ve owned!)
Can you freeze gingersnap cookies?
Yes!
- If you freeze the raw cookie dough, I recommend portioning out the dough on a cookie sheet so that you can pull just as much dough as you need to make cookies that night. Otherwise, you’ll be chipping away at a massive block of cookie dough and you won’t get very far.
- If you freeze baked cookies, make sure you double wrap them so that they don’t get freezer burned and start to dry out on you. I recommend freezing in quart-size freezer bags, and then again in gallon-size freezer bags. Remember that you can use plastic bags more than once to keep your waste down.
What to serve with gingersnap cookies
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
- Homemade Apple Crumble Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Pie Hummus
- Classic Whole Roasted Chicken
Other Healthy Cookie Recipes
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Thumbprint Cookies
- Healthier Candy Cane Cookies
Dinner on a Dime
Subscribe to my newsletter and get instant access to “Dinner on a Dime”: 15+ family-friendly and kid-approved recipes that are quick, cheap and healthy!Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
Here is the best recipe for soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies! They’re so easy to make, and just as healthy as they are delicious.
- Prep Time: 70 minutes
- Cook Time: 9-11 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minute
- Yield: 20–22 Servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: European
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (I recommend coconut sugar)
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (I recommend einkorn flour)
- 1 Tbsp powdered ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- Up to ¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium high until it’s light in color, about 2 minutes. (Note: Coconut sugar won’t be as light as granulated white sugar.) Scrape down the sides and the paddle.
- Add the egg and molasses and beat again on low speed, until incorporated well, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and the paddle.
- Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cloves and salt and beat on low speed until JUST combined. Stop mixing AS SOON AS the white flour particles disappear. (Note: Overbeating cookie dough leads to tough cookies, instead of soft and chewy cookies.)
- Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for one hour.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silpat mat and using a cookie scoop, scoop two scoops of dough per cookie onto the baking sheet. Leave about 2-3” of space between each cookie. (If you’re using these USA baking pans and these silpat mats, you’ll get 12 cookies per pan.)
- Measure 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. (I use and recommend these small glass bowls.)
- When you’ve scooped all the cookies, working with one at a time, roll the scooped dough into a ball using the palm of your hands. Roll the cookie dough in the sugar so it’s coated well. Place it back onto the baking pan. Repeat the process for all the cookies and place the pan of cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, JUST until the edges start to turn darker in color.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
This recipe sounds delicious! Is there a difference in gingersnap and gingerbread cookies? I made gingerbread cookies with my son last year, and they were really good, but oh so much work! Maybe he will do it with me again this year if we use this recipe. Thanks for sharing!