These thin, crispy Gingersnap Cookies are packed full of flavor and are a snap to bake. Make them your new favorite holiday cookie!
Christmas Traditions
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Christmas has changed a lot for us over the last few years. Our son’s first Christmas was in 2013, and he was only 2 months old. So that one was pretty much just one more day for him. He was just over a year old for Christmas in 2014, and was walking and into everything. I’m not so sure he really “got it” – opening presents wasn’t a whole lot of fun just yet. But we had to put the Christmas tree in jail to keep him out of it!
In 2015, our son turned 2. He is having a blast this year! He told Santa (and anyone else who asked) that he wants “More Tractor Mac books please, thank you, Merry Christmas.” Luckily, he’s been leaving the tree alone, so it’s gotten to stay out of jail (which also means that the cat gets to play with it again). And John had a reason to get out his model trains again.
John’s family used to put this train set around his Christmas tree growing up. It’s been packed up in boxes and bags in a garage for years. A few weeks ago, he got it out, unpacked it, and cleaned it up. He set it up one night so it was waiting as a surprise for our kiddo the next morning.
And boy, does he love it! (Pretzel loves it, too.)
We are having so much fun this Christmas – driving around looking at lights, playing with Christmas decorations, we’ve even tried out making our own Christmas ornaments (our son doesn’t quite have the attention span for that just yet). I think the most fun so far has been making cookies. I spent the weekend baking cookies with our son, and he had so much fun helping. Although I think he was really in it to lick the cookie dough out of the bowl. These gingersnaps were the first cookie recipe we made this year.
How Do You Make Gingersnap Cookies?
These gingersnap cookies are so easy to make! John and I got a KitchenAid mixer when we got married, but I really haven’t used it all that often. Now I get it out every time I bake bread, and it makes cookies so easy! It even makes cake mixes better – it’s all about getting some air into that batter with the mixer!
I adapted this recipe from one I found in Hometown Harvest by Gooseberry Patch.
This gingersnap cookie recipe has lots of flavor, but the ginger isn’t overwhelming. They do have a little bit of a ginger bite, but not too much. These cookies flatten out and get crispy in the oven. I tend to like a softer cookie, but that’s why these are called gingersnaps – they are supposed to be crispy! Beware – the cookies will get a little more crispy as they cool, so don’t over bake them.
I used sorghum syrup instead of molasses in our cookies. Sorghum syrup has a little stronger flavor than molasses. Molasses will work just fine in these cookies, and might not hide the ginger taste as much as the sorghum syrup did.
I baked two cookie sheets at a time, and the cookies on the top rack baked faster than the cookies on the bottom. To help them bake evenly, I rotated my cookie sheets half way through baking (so put the top sheet on the bottom, and the bottom sheet on the top for the rest of the time). I didn’t have this issue with other cookie recipes I baked this weekend – I think it has to do with how thin the gingersnap cookies are.
Not crazy about the ginger kick? These soft Molasses Cookies have a similar flavor without so much spice.
What’s your favorite holiday cookie?
Enjoy!
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- 1-1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2-1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- In an electric mixer, cream softened butter with 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and molasses; mix until combined. Add baking soda, salt, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon; mix until combined.
- Slowly add flour, mix thoroughly.
- Chill dough for 1-2 hours.
- Place ½ cup sugar in a shallow tray. Roll dough into 1 inch-balls, and coat with sugar.
- Place dough balls on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes, to desired crispness. (Cookies will get crisper as they cool.) Rotate racks in the oven halfway through baking to prevent over-browning.
- Cool on wire racks.
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Jan says
12/07/2017 at 5:45 pmI posted my grandmothers gingersnap recipe this year too! You can’t go wrong with a great classic cookie like that one. Never goes out of style, and gets handed down generation to generation! Stands the test of time! Thank you for sharing at Celebrate365 Cookie Exchange
Marybeth Feutz says
12/10/2017 at 9:23 pmSomething about gingersnaps just makes me smile. Love them! Thanks for stopping by!