These gingerbread crinkle cookies are baked with gingerbread spices and rolled in powdered sugar. These cookies spread out in the oven to create a thin and chewy gingerbread cookie with a beautiful crackled effect.
These cookies freeze wonderfully and look gorgeous added to cookie platters for holidays and gift-giving.
All the gingerbread flavor, none of the rolling. Find more Christmas cookie recipes here.
Ingredients in Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Granulated sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Molasses, unsulfured
- Powdered sugar
RELATED: Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies
How to Make Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Combine the dry ingredients - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking powder.
Cream the butter and sugar - Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until mixed well.
Mix in the molasses - Add the molasses and mix until well combined.
Chill the dough - Once the dough is made, tightly cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Preheat the oven and line the cookie sheets - Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line the cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.
Roll the dough in the sugars - Add ¼ cup of granulated sugar to a bowl and the powdered sugar to another bowl.
Cook the cookie dough - Use a #40 cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of dough) to scoop the dough into equal portions. Roll the balls up quickly and roll the cookie dough into the granulated sugar.
Then, roll the coated cookie dough into the powdered sugar making sure to coat thickly and evenly.
Make enough balls of dough for the cookie sheet and bake one cookie sheet at a time.
Keep the unbaked cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
Bake - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set.
Cool - Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
TIP: If the cookies aren't crackled enough for your liking, sprinkle a bit more powdered sugar on them hot out of the oven.
How to Make Cookies Crackle
There's a simple step you can take to get a crackled effect on cookies - granulated sugar. Rolling the cookie dough into granulated sugar first before rolling in the powdered sugar will help the cookies to crackle while they are baking.
The granulated sugar will crisp up first on the cookies and will cause the cookies to crack as they spread out on the baking sheet.
Another tip is to heavily coat the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar. Some of the powdered sugar will melt into the cookies while baking so if it's heavily coated in the confectioners sugar there will be some sugar left behind.
These Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies spread out while being baked and they may not leave the crackled effect that you would expect! If this happens to a few of the cookies simply sprinkle a small amount of powdered sugar on the tops of the cookies right when they come out of the oven.
Can You Freeze Gingerbread Cookies?
You can freeze these gingerbread crinkle cookies easily and they last up to 3 months when stored properly. To freeze the cookie dough, place the dough in a freezer-safe bag and store it in the freezer.
You can also freeze the baked gingerbread cookies by allowing them to cool completely and then stack the cookies in a freezer-safe bag and then store the bag in a freezer-safe container. These already-baked cookies will last for up three months as well in the freezer.
When ready to serve these cookies, allow them to come to room temperature before serving.
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar - packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup molasses - unsulfured
- 1 cup powdered sugar - for rolling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar - for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking powder.
- Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla until mixed well.
- Add the molasses and mix until well combined.
- After the dough is combined well and soft, tightly cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.
- Add ¼ cup of granulated sugar to a bowl and the powdered sugar to another bowl.
- Use a #40 cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of dough) to scoop the dough into equal portions. Roll the balls up quickly and roll the cookie dough into the granulated sugar.
- Then, roll the coated cookie dough into the powdered sugar making sure to coat thickly and evenly. Make enough balls of dough for the cookie sheet and bake one cookie sheet at a time.
- Keep the unbaked cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Recipe ingredients call for baking soda. When describing how to make it says. baking soda. Which do you use?
The recipe uses baking powder 🙂
We love crinkle cookies in my house, but haven't tried making gingerbread ones before. These sound perfect for the holidays!
My family loves these! My grandma used to make a very similar recipe, so these cookies take me back to childhood. A wonderful holiday cookie!
This was such an am amazing combination on flavours and textures that I had to come back and tell you how much this recipe was boss!
Can these cookies be wraapped individually in a seran wrap and how long will they stay fresh
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. 🙂