Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
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These gingerbread cookies have a firm bite that lead to a soft interior. With sweet powdered sugar coating every bite combined with a perfectly spiced cookie are the quintessential festive cookie combination. Grab a mug of eggnog and get to dunking!
THE GINGERBREAD COOKIE FOR BAKERS WHO DON’T LIKE CUT-OUTS
Don’t get it twisted, I love a good annual biting-off-the-head-of-a-gingerbread-person event. But getting there? Not my favorite. Is that sacrilegious as a baker? Maybe. But cutting out cookies is something I really have to gear myself up to do.
These soft gingerbread crinkle cookies are the perfect compromise for folks who want all the flavor and bite of a simple gingerbread cookie without the rolling, cutting, and icing.
What do I mean by the bite? Think of the density of a bite into a gingerbread person. It’s not chewy like a soft gingersnap, nor crisp like a crispy gingersnap, but it has that slight give that you sink your teeth right into.
THAT. That is the texture that ginger crinkle cookies bring to the table cookie jar.
The powdered sugar coating mirror the icing used to make a face/clothes in a fraction of the time. Plus, crinkle cookies are just so pretty! They’re a beautiful contrast and they remind me of snow. Perfect for the winter baking season.
INGREDIENTS FOR GINGER MOLASSES CRINKLE COOKIES
You only need 10 ingredients for these cookies! Be sure your eggs is at room temperature for optimal incorporation of the ingredients into a cohesive dough.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• all-purpose flour
• ground ginger
• ground cinnamon
• salt
• baking soda
• unsalted butter
• molasses
• light brown sugar
• egg
• powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD CRINKLE COOKIES
Be sure you’re building in time to chill this cookie dough for 1 hour! It can chill for up to 3 days if you need more time and/or want to save time on cookie baking day.
STEP #1: start by tossing together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, then set this mixture aside.
STEP #2: next, whisk together the melted butter and molasses until fully incorporated. Add the brown sugar and whisk again until combined. Whisk in the egg, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
STEP #3: slowly add the flour mixture, stirring with a spatula until just combined. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
STEP #4: when you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven, prepare your baking sheets, and pour the powdered sugar into a bowl or onto a plate.
STEP #5: use a cookie scoop to drop scoops of dough into the powdered sugar, then roll the ball of dough generously in the powdered sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake!
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR GINGERBREAD CRINKLE COOKIES
TIP #1: when I say generously roll the balls of dough into the powdered sugar, I mean it! I often add an extra little “pile” of powdered sugar onto each ball of crinkle cookie dough so each cookie has sufficient sugar for crinkling. See my lemon crinkle cookies and orange creamsicle cookies if you like crinkles!
TIP #2: stack these cookies carefully as the powdered sugar will “smear.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with how they’ll taste, they may just lose their crinkle-y look.
TIP #3: keep any dough you aren’t using in the refrigerator so it doesn’t lose its chill. These cookies will spread too much if the dough is too warm.
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup (80mL) unsulphured molasses
- ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and molasses until fully incorporated. Add the brown sugar and whisk again until combined. Whisk in the egg, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (80mL) unsulphured molasses, ¾ cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 large egg
- Slowly add the flour mixture, stirring with a spatula until just combined. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. If chilling longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature about 15 minutes before rolling into balls.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Pour the powdered sugar onto a medium size plate or medium size bowl. Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop scoops of dough into the powdered sugar. Roll the ball of dough generously in the powdered sugar, then place on the prepared baking sheet (no more than 8 balls of dough on a baking sheet at one time).½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
- Bake the cookies for 15-16 minutes or until cookies look mostly matte (not wet or shiny). Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. Roll in powdered sugar before baking and bake frozen. Add another 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
What molasses do you use fancy or blackstrap?
Hi, Carol– I just use regular unsulphered. I like Grandma’s!
These are so easy and so tasty!! Perfect for those of us who love gingerbread but hate rolling and cutting dough!
Yes, totally!
My wife and I decided to try out a new cookie recipe this year. We landed on this one, and it turned out fantastic!
Easy to prep and a short cook time. Not to mention they were 100% certified delicious!
Thanks, Lynn!
Thanks so much, Anthony! I appreciate you 🙂
I baked your gingerbread crinkles yesterday – delicious ! Crispy outside, wonderful chewy inside. Not too sweet. And since I had all the ingredients out … I made the gingerbread creamer too ! Very good. So quick and easy too. Shared the recipes with friends who thought they sounded delicious too.
P.S. I guess I should add that I just used regular flour and they were still perfect.
Thank you so much, Pam! I’m so glad you liked them.
Will the recipe work to sub gf 1for1 baking blend flour for the all purpose flour?
Hi, Nancy– yes, works like a charm!