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These classic holiday gingersnaps bake up crisp, crackly, and perfectly spiced with warm ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. They're rolled in cinnamon sugar for a sparkly finish, then decorated with white icing and fondant holly leaves for a festive finish. Ideal for gifting, cookie trays, or make-ahead holiday baking.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Perfect holiday crunch: Baked until fully crisp for a true gingersnap texture. However, reduce the baking time to achieve a chewier texture.
- Consistent results: Weight-based flour measurement ensures perfect cookies every time.
- Festive finish: White icing and fondant holly decorations make these cookies holiday-ready.
- Make-ahead friendly: Dough can be chilled, and baked cookies store exceptionally well.
Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
- Molasses: Provides sweetness and moisture for the gingersnaps.
- Sugar: Complements the molasses by providing sweetness and contributes to the crispy exterior.
- Shortening: Adds richness to the cookie and enhances the cookie's crispy exterior.
- Spices: It wouldn't be gingershaps without ginger, which gives it its distinctive taste. Cinnamon adds depth and warmth, with cloves rounding out the signature flavor.
- Baking Soda: Helps to produce the characteristic cracked tops.
Making the Gingersnaps - Step-by-Step Guide
- Initial Prep: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
- The Coating: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Wet Ingredients and Spices: Beat the shortening, sugar, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and molasses and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Flour: Add the flour, and beat on low speed until a stiff dough forms. The dough should feel firm enough to portion cleanly without sticking.
- Scoop the Dough and Coat. Use a small cookie scoop (2 teaspoons, 1 ¼-inch diameter) to portion the dough. Roll the dough into a ball between your palms, then thoroughly coat it with the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place on the prepared pan, leaving at least 1½ inches between cookies.
- Bake: Bake in a 375°F oven for 11 to 13 minutes, until the cookies are firm around the edges, crackled on top, and crisp throughout. Reduce the cooking time to make chewier cookies.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate: For a festive look decorate the gingershaps with white cookie icing and holly with berries cut from fondant.
These crisp holiday gingersnaps deliver everything you want in a classic Christmas cookie with their bold spice, satisfying snap, and beautiful crackled finish.
Whether decorated for gifting or plain for serving or snacking with a cup of tea, these cookies bring holiday cheer with every bite.
Chula's Test Kitchen Tips
- Flour measurement matters: The amount of flour can vary significantly depending on how it's measured. For reliable results every time, weigh your flour.
- Kitchen scale: If you don't have a kitchen scale, put it at the top of your Christmas wish list. Kitchen scales are inexpensive. Rather than dirtying multiple dishes and measuring cups, put your ingredient bowl on the scale and add ingredients directly to it, zeroing out between ingredients.
- Use an ice cream scoop and roll: The secret to picture-perfect cookies is in an ice cream scoop. For this recipe, a 2-teaspoon or 1 ¼-inch-diameter cookie scoop is best. Once the dough is scooped, roll it into a perfect ball between your palms.
- Decorate after cooling: Adding icing or fondant before the cookies are fully cooled can cause it to melt or slide. Also, white cookie icing that hardens as it cools is ideal.
- Serving and gift suggestions: Serve with hot chocolate, spiced tea, or mulled wine for a cozy holiday treat. Pair with other traditional cookies for a classic Christmas assortment. Tuck the cookies into holiday cookie boxes or gift tins, or stack and wrap in cellophane bags tied with ribbon for festive gifting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Chill for up to 24 hours. Scoop and roll in cinnamon sugar just before baking.
Absolutely. Store them uncovered for the first 6-8 hours, then loosely covered to maintain crunch.
Reduce the cooking time by about 2 minutes. Alternatively, use butter instead of shortening.
Yes. The cookies are delicious plain, but the icing and fondant holly create a festive holiday look.
I used store-bought green and a 3-leaf Holly Leaf Plunger Cutter Fondant Baking Tool for the holly leaves, and store-bought red fondant rolled into small balls for the berries. This was my first time using fondant. I was surprised at how easy it was! I could have also used store-bought royal icing holly leaves.
Other Festive Holiday Cookies
If you'd like other festive holiday cookie options, you've come to the right place. Here are a few:
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Classic Holiday Gingersnap Cookies
Equipment
- 2 half-sheet pans lined iwth parchment paper
- Small bowl with whisk
- medium bowl
- Electric Mixer
- 2-teaspoon (1 ¼-inch) ice cream scoop
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (8.75 ounces, 248 grams) granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- ¾ cup (5.1 ounces, 145 grams) solid vegetable shortening (plain Crisco) (See Tip 1)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) molasses
- 2 cups (10 ounces, 283 grams) all-purpose flour
- White store-bought cookie icing for decoration (optional) (See Tip 3)
- Fondant or royal icing holly leaves with berries for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl for the cookie coating. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the shortening, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, the salt, baking soda, ground ginger, the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and the cloves until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg and beat until well incorporated. Add the molasses and beat until well incorporated.
- Add the flour; beat on low just until incorporated.
- Use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls. Coat each ball thoroughly with the sugar-cinnamon mixture, then roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. Place on the prepared half-sheet pan, spacing them at least 1½ inches apart. (See Tip 4)
- Bake in the preheated 375°F oven for 11 to 13 minutes. (See Tip 5)
- Remove from the oven; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If desired, decorate with white cookie icing and fondant or royal icing holly leaves.
- Yield: Approximately 5 dozen gingersnaps.
Video
Tips/Notes
- For a chewier gingersnap, substitute unsalted butter for the vegetable shortening.
- Use more or less ginger to suit your taste.
- The store-bought cookie icing is designed to harden as it sits. Make sure your cookie icing has this feature.
- On my half-sheet pans, I had 6 rows of cookie balls with 3 balls per row.
- I like my gingersnaps to be crisp, so I baked them for the full 13 minutes. If you prefer a chewier gingersnap, bake for 11 minutes.
DANIELLE LEPEL says
1 /4 cup used to roll balls in. Then you say the remaining 3/4 cup, but 1 1/4 minus 1/4 equals 1 cup. which amount is wrong?
Chula King says
Danielle,
The correct amount is 1 1/4 cups of sugar: 1/4 cup mixed with the cinnamon, and the remaining 1 cup for the cookie.
Thanks so much for letting me know. I've corrected the recipe.
Chula