These Ginger Crinkle Cookies taste like Christmas. They have a crisp exterior, a powdered sugar shell, and a soft center with cozy gingerbread spices in every bite. The snowy, powdered sugar-cracked tops make these cookies extra festive. We make these cookies every year, and they are loved by kids and adults alike.
What we love about these Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
We love these cookies and make them every year. I really think they taste like Christmas. The combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice is heavenly. Add the molasses, and it really is the quintessential gingerbread cookie. I love the crispy outside and soft and chewy inside. The texture is amazing.
We love rolling these in powdered sugar to make them crinkle cookies. The sugared coating is both beautiful and delicious; the powdered sugar is a lovely balance to the warm and cozy gingerbread spices. I definitely recommend rolling them in granulated sugar first to help the powdered sugar stick to the cookie. If the dough is too wet or warm, the powdered sugar will melt and not adhere as well.
Looking for other Christmas treats? Try our Kitchen Sink Christmas Cookies, our Cherry Bars with Almond Glaze, or our Cranberry and Walnut Cookies, or our Pecan Tassies with Honey
What you need to make this Gingerbread Crinkle Cookie Recipe
You will need the following ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Salt
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar
Ginger Crinkle Cookies Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand, and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- If you don’t want to bother with the powdered sugar topping, you can bake the cookies after rolling in granulated sugar, and they are delicious prepared that way as well.
- You can substitute a premade gingerbread seasoning for the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves if desired.
- While I haven’t tried it, if you don’t have brown sugar, you could possibly substitute it with granulated sugar.
- If you forgo rolling the dough in granulated sugar before the powdered sugar, just know the powdered sugar topping may be uneven and look a little more melted.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1. In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla, and mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the edges of the bowl with a spatula as needed to ensure the dough is evenly mixed.
Step 2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until just mixed. Add the flour mixture to the dough, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula to ensure the dough is evenly mixed.
Step 3. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough, I like using a medium-sized cookie scoop for this, and roll into a ball. Roll in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
Step 4. Repeat with the remaining dough and place cookies 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
Step 5. In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer in a medium-sized bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Mix in powdered sugar and salt and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and milk and mix until completely incorporated.
Tips
- I recommend keeping parchment paper on hand; it is especially helpful when baking cookies. Lining your pan with parchment paper helps prevent cookies from spreading when baking, which in turn helps prevent your cookies from becoming too thin and crispy. The cookies won’t stick to your pan, and pans are much easier to clean up. Also, the parchment paper creates a thin layer between the cookies and the pan, which helps promote even browning and prevents hot spots on your pan that may cause cookies to burn.
- I love using a cookie scoop when making cookies so that the cookies are a uniform size and shape. I use a medium cookie scoop for this recipe, which makes a scoop of about 2 tablespoons. I really like the one from Pampered Chef or this scoop from Amazon works great as well.
- Also, I love my USA pan baking sheets, they cook so evenly, are high quality, and long-lasting.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Can the cookie dough be made in advance? |
| a. The USDA says that cookie dough is safe in the fridge for 2-4 days. Sometimes I make the dough the day before, cover the dough in the fridge, and bake the cookies the next day. b. To freeze the cookie dough, roll the dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to freeze. Do not add the granulated and powdered sugar until ready to bake. Once the dough is frozen, place in a freezer-safe airtight container or sealed bag for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, roll the frozen dough balls in granulated sugar and powdered sugar and add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time. |
| How to store Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies? |
| a. Once the cookies are completely cool, store them in an air-tight container in a single layer at room temperature for 5-7 days. I put parchment paper or waxed paper between layers of cookies if needed. You can put them in the fridge to last longer, but the powdered sugar may start start to melt. To freeze the cookies, store them in an airtight container for 2-3 months, separating layers between sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper if needed. |
Ginger Crinkle Cookies
25
minutes1
hour30-40
minutes24-30
cookiesThese Ginger Crinkle Cookies taste like Christmas. They have a crisp exterior, a powdered sugar shell, and a soft center with cozy gingerbread spices in every bite. The snowy, powdered sugar-cracked tops make these cookies extra festive. We make these cookies every year, and they are loved by kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, using the spoon and level method for measuring flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until just mixed. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla, and mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the edges of the bowl with a spatula as needed to ensure the dough is evenly mixed.
- Add the flour mixture to the dough, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula to ensure the dough is evenly mixed.
- Refrigerate dough for at least one hour. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough, I like using a medium-sized cookie scoop for this, and roll into a ball. Roll in granulated sugar, then generously in powdered sugar, and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and place cookies 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Rolling the cookies in granulated sugar first helps the powdered sugar stick to the cookie. If the dough is too wet or warm, the powdered sugar will melt and not adhere as well.
- Generously coat in powdered sugar to help the powdered sugar adhere to the cookie. Make sure every part of the dough is covered with it.
- Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough. It can be chilled up to overnight if needed. Refrigeration helps the flour to absorb the moisture, leading to a crisper outside of the cookie and chewier inside. It allows the flavors to meld for a more delicious cookie, and make it easier to roll the dough without sticking as much. Also, if the dough is warmer, the powdered sugar won’t stick as well.
- Cookies turn out best when cooked one baking sheet at a time on the middle oven rack.
- To measure your flour, spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and level off the top using a knife or straight-edged utensil for best results.
Do you know how regular ginger compares to paste ginger (in a tube)? In addition to the regular and paste I also have some candied ginger and am thinking of making these a triple treat. Any suggestions?
Hi Patricia! Thanks for reaching out! All the spices called for in this recipe are ground spices, including the ginger, and I just updated that to make sure that was clear. I haven’t baked with ginger paste, but for every 1 teaspoon of ground ginger in a recipe, you would use about 1 tablespoon of ginger paste. Adding a little candied ginger would definitely increase the ginger flavor and chewiness. I have seen recipes with triple ginger, but I haven’t tried them, so unfortunately, I can’t exactly speak to the taste but I think it would be fun to play around with! If you are using fresh ginger (I’m wondering if that’s what you meant by regular ginger), you can add up to a tablespoon in gingersnap type recipes. You will definitely get more intense ginger flavor. Enjoy! I’d love to hear back what you decide!