These soft gingersnap molasses cookies are a delightful twist on the classic gingersnap. They’re perfectly spiced with warm flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, but with a soft, chewy texture instead of the usual crunch.
These molasses cookies are nothing like the typical crunchy gingersnap - they’re even better! They’re irresistibly soft and chewy, which is exactly what I love in a cookie. The combination of molasses and warm spices make them rich and flavorful.
The dough is chilled before baking, ensuring thick, flavorful molasses cookies that stay soft for days. These cookies are not only easy to make but are also perfect for holiday baking or anytime you’re craving a cozy, spiced treat!
Need some more holiday cookie tin recipe ideas? Try my gingerbread cookie cake, soft sugar cookies, red velvet cake mix cookies, slice and bake cinnamon rolls cookies, or hot cocoa cookies.
I love this gingersnap cookie recipe because the cookies are perfectly spiced and irresistibly soft! For that perfect soft and chewy texture, be sure to pull them out of the oven at the 8-9 minute mark. They might look underdone, but trust meeee, they’re ready. As they cool, they firm up just right, leaving you with a batch of wonderfully soft gingersnap cookies every time!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- A heavy hand of spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves make you feel all warm and cozy.
- These ginger cookies will stay nice and soft for up to a week! Perfect for holiday cookie baking.
- Make this Gingerbread Cookie Cake ahead of time! I actually recommend making this recipe one day in advance to let the flavors come together even more.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar: I prefer using dark brown sugar in my gingersnaps cookies rather than light brown sugar for a deeper molasses flavor. The added moisture from the brown sugar keeps the cookies super soft and tender.
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Molasses: Key ingredient for that signature spicy gingerbread taste! The best molasses for cookies is dark brown molasses.
- Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg: Adds more warmth and spice for that iconic gingerbread flavor.
- Salt
- Baking soda
- All-purpose flour
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
How to make gingersnap cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet.
- Cream butter and brown sugar, then mix in eggs, vanilla, and molasses.
- Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.
- Chill dough for 2 hours or overnight.
- Roll chilled dough into 1" balls, coat in sugar, and bake for 8-9 minutes.
- Let cookies cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- For crispier cookies: bake a few minutes longer. Store molasses cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Make dough ahead: You can easily make this gingersnap dough ahead of time! Just prepare the dough, cover it well, and let it chill in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When you’re ready to bake, simply scoop and roll the dough into balls and follow the rest of the recipe.
Storage
- Gingersnap cookies will stay fresh for up to one week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezing instructions: Roll gingersnap dough into balls, place them on a cookie sheet to flash freeze, and then transfer them to a freezer bag. When you're ready to bake, place the frozen dough balls on a cookie sheet and allow to thaw for 30minutes-1 hour. Roll them in sugar, and bake according to the recipe instructions.
Jessica's Recipe Tips
- Chill the dough: It makes the sticky dough much easier to handle and scoop since it’s less sticky when it is cold and it also prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. This ensures that you get thicker cookies every time.
- Traditionally, these cookies are known for their signature crunch, hence the “snap" in gingersnap. This recipe is made for the cookies to be soft, but if you prefer that classic crispy gingersnap texture, simply bake them a few minutes longer to achieve that perfect snappy crunch!
- Dipping the tops of the cookies in granulated sugar before baking gives them that beautiful crackly appearance and a little extra sweetness.
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📋 Recipe
Soft Gingersnap Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Mix in eggs, vanilla and molasses until completely combined. Add flour, baking soda, salt and spices and stir until just incorporated.
- Chill dough for 2 hours or over night.
- Roll dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar and place on baking sheet 1 ½-2" part. Repeat this step for the rest of the dough.
- Bake cookies 8-9 minutes. (You will most likely need to bake two batches so be sure to place cookie dough back in the refrigerator so it stays cold.) They will seem underdone but will stay soft as they set up. For a crispier gingersnap, bake for a few minutes longer. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Erin says
I made these on Sunday and I just got around to eating one tonight (it's Thursday). I made a few other types desserts/cookies at the time to test for Christmas so I had a lot to choose from. But to my surprise these were still soft and delicious. I really enjoy ginger snaps and gingerbread cookies but these surpassed my expectations! I may use the dough as my base for gingerbread this year and try to roll them out. Do you think that would work? Regardless they will be in my rotation for Christmas cookies.
Jessica says
Yes! They stay so soft for days, that's what I love about these cookies. <3 I think using the dough as a base is a great idea, but as is, they definitely would not hold their shape as cut out cookies. Try adding an extra 1/2 cup of flour to start with until the dough is no longer super sticky. Then just treat it as traditional gingerbread dough (separate the dough into two pieces, flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and chill overnight and roll out when ready to use). If you decide to try this, please share your results! I'm curious to hear how they come out! 🙂
- Jess
Mandi H. says
These look and sound so delicious! I cannot wait to try!! Just one question - what kind of ginger is supposed to be used? A powder or the real deal chopped up? Thanks!
Jessica says
Ground ginger (powder) is used in this recipe.
Carol Rodriguez says
So surprised this is the only way to get recipes. I am inundated with emails wanted and unwanted. They soft ginger cookies are a must have. Looks so good.
Erica (@Erica's Recipes) says
I prefer my gingersnaps chewy so these look stellar to me!