Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Gingerbread crinkle cookies are a must-try during the holidays. They are chewy, full of ginger flavor and coated in sugar with exposed cookie cracks.
It’s National Cookie Day! As if I needed another reason to bake cookies during the Christmas season. Today I tried my hand at crinkle cookies, but not the good old fashioned chocolate crinkle cookies. I took my cookie game to the next level and made gingerbread crinkle cookies—and yes, they are as festive and sweet as they sound.
There are cut-out gingerbread cookies, gingersnaps, ginger thins, chewy gingerbread cookies, crispy gingerbread cookies, but gingerbread crinkle cookies prove to be a rare find. I searched endlessly and couldn’t find a recipe that matched up with the cookie I was set on baking. Naturally I took on the challenge and started some recipe testing.
Gingerbread crinkle cookies ingredients
You know a good crinkle cookie when you see it—and eat it. They are covered in powdered sugar with a few gaping cracks exposing the inner parts of a perfectly baked cookie. To meet the same expectations the chocolate crinkle cookies set, but in gingerbread form, I made a few exchanges to the ingredients.
The key ingredients for gingerbread cookies are brown sugar and molasses. They play well together and both aid in the chewiness. To keep the characteristic gingerbread flavor strong, you also need holiday spices (cinnamon, ginger and cloves).
Chewy crinkle cookies
In order for gingerbread crinkle cookies to be chewy, not only do you need your key ingredients brown sugar and molasses, but you also need to chill the dough. Yes, I know this step can be annoying because all you want to do is eat cookies, but trust me it’s well worth the wait.
Chilling the dough will help the cookies stay thick while they bake in the oven. It will also make your job easier when you roll the balls of dough in sugar.
Powdered sugar crinkle cookies
As for the signature crinkle exterior, a roll in granulated sugar and then powdered sugar makes a perfect crackly exterior and keeps the powdered sugar in place. The sugar should stay stuck to the cookies while they bake. If for some reason they don’t, you can also press the tops of the cookies into powdered sugar once they’ve cooled.
More gingerbread recipes
Lucky for you, gingerbread is one of my favorite flavors of the season. Here are a few of my recipes I’ve perfected over the years!
- Gingerbread man cookies
- Gingerbread donuts
- Mini gingerbread cupcakes
- Gingerbread waffles
- Gingerbread biscotti
I can’t help but think what a perfect contribution these cookies will make to the Christmas cookie swaps and holiday pot luck parties everyone has scheduled this month.
Bookmark this recipe for the holidays. These gingerbread crinkle cookies overcome your sweet tooth and flirt with your tastebuds leaving you wanting more.
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (170 g or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, but still cool, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- ¾ cup (180 ml) unsulphured molasses, (not blackstrap)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (60 g) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- With an electric mixer (either hand or stand) stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 20 seconds. Stop the mixer and add the butter pieces. Mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and, with the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and milk. Mix until the dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.
- Scrape the dough onto a work surface; divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, shape the dough into two round disks. Cover them in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate the dough 2 hours or overnight.¹
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and scoop a heaping tablespoon full of dough. Roll dough into a ball and be careful not to overwork the dough as it will lose its chill and get too warm.² Roll each dough ball in the granulated sugar until coated. Transfer ball to confectioners’ sugar and roll again until coated evenly. Place the coated dough balls 1-inch apart from each other on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies until set in the centers, 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool the cookies on the sheets 2 minutes, then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Store gingerbread crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated.
68 Comments on “Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies”
These are making my mouth water! I’m not a big fan of traditional gingerbread cookies (I’ve encountered far too many disappointingly dry ones), but these look right up my alley. What a great way to celebrate National Cookie Day!
Dry gingerbread cookies are the worst! These are far from it 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Mara!
Hi I know it’s way past Christmas Cookie time but I’m a year round baker person and love these warm flavors throughout the winter months (such as “winter” is in Miami!) Was wondering if the milk in this recipe is just to soften/lighten the dough or is it somehow necessary to the “science” of how these bake … wanting to substitute Bourbon for it … ok to do … or not good idea? Thanks!
Hi Charmaine! Thanks for stopping by my blog–where it’s cookie time year round 🙂 The milk is to moisten up the dough. I think you could definitely switch out the milk for bourbon. I love that idea! Good luck and happy baking!
Thanks Haley! Will let you know how they turned out when I give them a go!
Why unbleached flour instead of bleached flour?
Unbleached flour is not chemically bleached so I prefer it. That being said, bleached flour can still be used in this recipe.
I’ve been craving gingerbread cookies even though I just had a batch! These will be the perfect alternative – all the flavor, but a little different exterior!
Yes! I can’t get enough this time of year 🙂
no egg?
Hi Linda – correct. This recipe does not call for egg.
Just found this recipe! Sounds great but in step one the ginger is missing and sugar is listed twice! Adding these to my holiday cookie trays this year! May require doubling the recipe though! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Sandee! Thank you for pointing that out. I added ginger to step one. Sugar is listed twice because the cookies are rolled in granulated sugar first and then confectioners’ sugar (it helps keeps the sugar in place instead of being absorbed by the dough).
Going back, in the first step it says to add and mix the dry ingredients. It lists brown sugar and then another sugar. Is there a sugar, other than the brown, that gets mixed in the cookie dough? I know there are two to roll them in, but it has another one in the first step but not in ingredients list.
Hi Sandee – That was a typo on my behalf. The cookie recipe only calls for brown sugar. And you are correct. The cookies are rolled in two different types of sugar. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!
Referring back to your instructions on splitting the gingerbread dough and making two disks. Are the disks flattened? How did you go about doing this? I’m somewhat new to the baking scene, sorry for the silly question ?
Hi Maddy! Good question. The disks are round and about 6-inches in diameter, slightly flattened. No need to be exact here though. They’re just split and covered for chilling purposes.
how far in advance can I make the dough? I make cookie doughs a week or more in advance and then early December a girlfriend and I get together and spend the whole day baking cookies we prepped earlier and decorating them. Usually 10 different cookie doughs (5 each), so it would be too much to do the day of. Can I put it in the refrigerator or freezer?
Hi Michelle! I recommend making this dough three or four days ahead of time and keeping it wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container until you’d like to make it. If you must make it more than four days ahead of time I suggest freezing it and letting it thaw in the fridge the night before you bake. Happy baking!
Can you freeze these cookies after they are baked?
Hi Daphne, I don’t recommend freezing the cookies as they won’t be as soft and chewy after they defrost and they may lose some of their sugar coating. You can however freeze the dough for up to three weeks and then let it defrost in the fridge before bringing it to room temperature and baking.
Hi.
Looks like a great recipe. Thanks
How do the cookies turn from a round ball and become almost flat when baking. Do you press them down slightly before baking them. ?
Hi Norsan – The cookies spread while baking. If you press them down then the “crinkle” won’t happen in the baking process. So keep them in round balls 🙂
Love anything Gingerbread, so done with Pumpkin season (maybe?). Made this for c0-workers and they were an instant hit. I made them a tad bit smaller and got about 30 cookies. How did you get yours to stay white? mine turned a bit yellowish with some random white spots, should i have double coated them? Whats your secret to them staying white?
Despite my problem with the dingy sugar coating these were delicious and easy to make, will be a go to in a pinch cookie recipe, than you for this gem of a recipe and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Hi Elizabeth – This makes me so happy that they were a hit with your co-workers! When you coated the cookie dough in sugar, did you coat with regular sugar first and then confectioners’ sugar? I’m also very generous with my confectioners’ sugar coating. Sometimes the dough starts to absorb the sugar before I put them in the oven. If that happens, don’t be afraid to give them another roll in the confectioners’ sugar!
Your Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are easy to make and amazingly delicious.
Thank you for this awesome recipe!
You’re most welcome!
Wow! this recipe looks amazing. I can’t wait to make these for my family and friends this weekend. I make gingerbread cookies every year around this time because my family loves to decorate and eat the cookies, and I will still make them from another recipe I have but these cookies look beautiful, they look like the chocolate crinkles I make. Plus I don’t have to roll out the dough! Thank-you Haley for the recipe. Have a very Merry Christmas. 🙂
Anna Walsh
Hi Anna! Thank you so much for the kind words. If your family is a fan of gingerbread cookies, they will absolutely love these! Just scoop and roll the dough balls in sugar! They are so chewy and delicious. Merry Christmas!
Love these! This recipe is fantastic! Can I use this same recipe for Gingerbread men cutout cookies?
Hi Charise! I wanted to test the recipe before responding. The answer is yes! You can use the same recipe for gingerbread men. I suggest chilling the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out the dough!
I am a complete novice baker and I am looking for a couple of easy cookie recipes that I can bake for my boyfriend’s family Christmas party. I read through your recipe and I think I can do it, but I have a question. I’m going to be bringing all of the ingredients to his mother’s house because the tiny kitchen in our apartment and oven that barely works is not really suitable for baking. I would like to cut down as much as possible on the time I take over her kitchen and the amount of mess I make, so I was thinking of pre-measuring and mixing all of the dry ingredients in each recipe together before I go. Can I do that for your recipe? Or would you recommend just going ahead and mixing everything and then putting the dough in the refrigerator? She lives about 4 hours away so I would have to pack the dough in a cooler if I were to take that route.
Thanks!
Hi Sera! I would recommend making the dough ahead of time and transferring it to a tupperware. Definitely keep the dough in a cooler during your drive and place it in the refrigerator before rolling the dough into balls and confectioners’ sugar. I hope the oven works well enough and has an accurate read on temperature!
I was looking for a Christmas cookie recipes for my jobs Christmas party bake off and came across this recipe! These gingerbread cookies look simple to make and very delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe! Looking forward to making these for the party!
Made these cookies yesterday, and my family has devoured them!! They are delish!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I made these for a cookie exchange. The first batch I rolled in white sugar and then powdered sugar. Similar to a comment above they came out a bit yellowish and uneven looking. The next two batches I rolled in sanding sugar only. So pretty! While mine did not crackle at all with either sugar (what would prevent this?) they are delicious. Will definitely make these again. Thank you!
Hi Carol – If the dough is too warm, the crackle may not appear when baking because the cookies will spread more quickly. Try putting the prepared baking sheet of cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
These are delicious and easy to make! I love gingerbread, but the gingerbread men can take a long time to cool, to cut, and to frost. These have great flavor and don’t take quite as long. Thank you for the recipe!
I found this recipe while looking for something different for Christmas cookies this year. I made it to a t, the only difference being I used blackstrap molasses. Probably shouldn’t have used blackstrap molasses 😂😂 They are beautiful cookies, but they might put some hair on your chest! 😂
Hahaha, Jenna, you are too funny! Thanks for the feedback lol
Hi Haley I was looking for an egg free version of crinkle cookies and came across your recipe. My daughter and I baked them yesterday and loved how they turned out. They are disappearing really fast and I may have to bake another batch. Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful recipe.
I loved this cookie when I saw it on Pinterest! I don’t see any where in the instructions what size of cookie scoop you use…is the measure a 1- or 2 tbsp measure. Just confused because the dough is divided into two discs, then the instructions say scoop into balls…but no mention of the size of measure. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hi Mayuri! A heaping tablespoon of dough, which forms a ball about an inch and a half (1 1/2″) in diameter is the measure.
Hello Haley!
I was searching for gingerbread and came across this recipe and thought I’d give it a try!
I followed the recipe exactly and it came out beautifully! Nice and soft in the center with great spice flavour! All the greatness of gingerbread without the rolling and cutting!
Thank you for a great recipe
Hi Theresa! Thank you for giving the recipe a try. I’m glad they turned out well! It’s nice to skip the rolling and cutting sometimes 🙂
These look delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I have made them last night, they are delicious and easy to make. We all love them, thankyou for sharing. By the way do you have the recipe for the choc crinkle without egg?
Could I use a small cookie scoop to form the balls from the dough, place them in a baggie abs chill like that opposed to dividing and rolling out before chilling? Simply to avoid having those extra steps?
Hi Britnee – Yes, that should work!
I love these cookies – they taste like Christmas! Question, sometimes when I make these they flatten like a pancake after taking them out of the oven. Is there a reason for that? I don’t do anything different in the bake.
Hi Tracy! It sounds like the dough is getting too warm while you are rolling them into balls. If working in batches, keep any remaining dough in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into balls and chill the balls while the oven preheats. Roll the cookies in sugar right before putting the cookies in the oven so the dough doesn’t absorb the sugar.
Hi! Made these for Christmas and they were great! Question-Can you use brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar in this recipe?
Hi Stephanie – Yes, I think light brown sugar will work in this recipe.
I make lots of cookies…..I was disappointed that the cookies didn’t spread out and crinkle ….like my chocolate crinkle cookies,,,,or the photo of your cookies…
I pit the dough in the refrigerator for 3 hours instead of the freezer—— could that be the problem???
Fantastic recipe! Cookies turn out soft and chewy with an awesome ginger spice and molasses richness. All my friends love these cookies and have asked me to make them again and again!
These are amazing and they turned out great! One my new favorite holiday cookies! ❤️
I love these cookies! My family has a massive cookie baking day each Christmas season and I make a quadruple batch of these. Flavorful, chewy, and perfect with a cup of coffee!
I found this recipe on Pinterest a few years back and they are now part of my Christmas baking repertoire – they are a favourite of both my dad and boyfriend! Thanks for such a great recipe, and one I can whip up earlier in the month, freeze the dough, and bake the busy week of Christmas!
Hands down BEST gingerbread cookie I’ve ever had! It’s a bit more of a cake like texture than most other recipes. Delish with a good cup of coffee! Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂
I was looking for a soft but not cakey recipe for sandwich cookies – these were PERFECT and so pretty!
Simple, Fun & Most important… Delicious!!!!
With egg allergies in the family, this looks like it could be a winner! The thing is, I can only find Blackstrap molasses. What difference will this make?
Hi Margaret – Blackstrap is much more bitter than regular unsulphured molasses. You can try it in these cookies, but they will not be very sweet.
Made them and they tasted good but did not have the crackle effect at all. I followed the directions exactly.
These are PERFECT!!! I couldn’t resist adding about a 1/2 tsp. ground ginger to the powdered sugar for rolling. A wonderful chewy crust with a soft inside. Husband tested and highly approved! Thanks for this great recipe and all the work you did to create it.
Made this receipt for the first time and it’s a HUGE hit. The flavour is decadent!