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The best soft molasses ginger cookies. How to make these famous chewy gingersnap cookies that everyone loves!
Soft Molasses Cookies
These ginger molasses cookies are the perfect holiday cookie with a variety of fragrant spices with a chewy center and crispy edges. I count down the days until the holidays so I can make these non-stop. These are such a popular molasses cookie recipe!
The Best Gingersnaps Cookies are soft chewy with a touch of spice.
Grandma Geri’s Gingersnaps have quite the following and for good reason. My dear friend, Lisa, is famous for her gingersnaps and I was lucky enough to score the recipe for these coveted cookies.
These ginger molasses cookies made with butter are soft in the center and slightly crispy on the edges. They are full of spices and are far from being “one note” gingersnaps. The cinnamon, ginger, and cloves bring warmth to the cookie and there is even a secret ingredient….cayenne pepper! Trust me…it’s a game changer.
I am not a picky eater. However, when I was a kid, I didn’t understand why anyone in the world liked gingersnaps. The only ones I knew were the hard ones straight from a package that I would find in Grandma’s cabinet. It wasn’t until I ate homemade ones that I became hooked! I realized that gingersnaps don’t have to be hard and crunchy, where you literally fear that you may break a tooth biting into one.
Geri’s Gingersnap Cookies are the perfect balance of soft in the middle and crispy on the edges. I have made a lot of ginger cookie recipes in my days and this recipe is hands down the very best! These are the best soft molasses cookies!
If you love Christmas cookies, check out these other popular Christmas cookie recipes:
How to make the BEST Soft Molasses Ginger Cookies:
- Cream butter and sugar for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. This helps to create air into the cookie dough while creating a smooth and creamy texture.
- Stir in dry ingredients, just until combined. Don’t overbeat as this produces a tough cookie. Add warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and the secret ingredient — cayenne pepper to give it a slight kick. The spices add warmth to this molasses cookie recipe.
- Roll into balls and then roll into sugar. Double coat the ginger molasses cookie dough to ensure the sugar sticks to the dough.
- Bake just until edges begins to get slightly crispy, while the centers are still chewy. This is a soft molasses cookie so we don’t want to overbake it.
So grab a big cold glass of milk, a cozy blanket, and eat a big plate of these old-fashioned chewy molasses cookies while watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. Share the LOVE with your friends by pinning the image below. xo
One of my favorite things to give to neighbors and friends is a Christmas cookie box filled with my favorite Christmas cookies — molasses cookies, chocolate peppermint cookies, and snickerdoodle cookies.
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Grandma Geri's Gingersnaps
Equipment
Ingredients
FULL RECIPE:
- 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks Cold Butter, cut into cubes
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Molasses
- 4 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Ginger
- 2 teaspoons Cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- Sugar
HALF-RECIPE:
- 12 Tablespoons Butter 3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of Butter
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Molasses
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4 minutes until light and fluffy and pale in color.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add molasses and mix well.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cayenne pepper. Mix just until combined to avoid over-mixing the dough.
- Place sugar into small bowl. Roll dough into small balls and roll into sugar, coating well.
- Place on lined baking pan and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy Baking, my friends! xo
Um wow these were really delicious!!
Thank you for your comment, Kara! Thank you so much for making my cookie recipe.
Can you use this recipe to make ginger bread men? If not, do you have another recipe that I can reference for the upcoming holiday? I am no longer interested in other people’s recipes! Yours are divine (and I am one particular lady)!
🙂
Hi Jess! You are so sweet, thank you so much. You made my day! Okay so to make gingerbread men, you want them to be a little bit firmer. I would suggest adding 1/3 to 1/2 cup of flour to help the cookies hold their shape. I haven’t recipe tested it yet but if I were to, that would be my starting point. I am looking for a cookie dough that isn’t too sticky but isn’t dry or crumbly. Start with 1/3 cup flour and see how that works and how the dough looks and feels. Feel free to email me at melissa@modernhoney.com if you decide to give them a try and want to get my feedback on the dough. Great question! xo
So tasty! Loved the chewy center. I might have added a touch too much cayenne or I’m just a pansy lol. I also added a smidge bit of cinnamon, clove and ginger to sugar before rolling to dough in it. Will make again!
Thank you so much for making this recipe, Tara!
I look forward to baking this recipe again for the holidays! I made this a couple years ago and I received nothing but compliments. Thank you Grandma Geri!
I am so glad you loved this cookie recipe, Candace! Thank you for making it.
Absolutely amazing cookies await! As a novice baker, I found your step-by-step guidance invaluable. After relocating to an area with limited sweet treat options, these recipes have truly been a lifesaver. You have transformed our kitchen with your love for baking and cooking – thank you for sharing them!
Oh, this makes me so happy! I am so glad you loved the gingersnaps, keep baking away!
These were excellent and we couldn’t stop eating them! I love the kick! My husband said these are his new favorite and he is a great baker so that’s a real compliment! The only problem I had was that some were flatter than others and within the same batch? They still all tasted good!
Accidentally haved the amount of sugar and used brown sugar…so the cookies were softer, but after a day or two when flavors melded, they were amazing. Left out the cayenne as well. Will make again and slightly increase flour and chill dough. Chilling dough also for easier rolling in sugar, crisp edges and soft centers.