If You Love Spiced Holiday Bakes, This One's for You
Alright, settle in, because I’ve been meaning to share my gingerbread crinkle cookie obsession for ages. There’s something about these little gems—soft, crackly, full of spice and cozy vibes—that just makes a dreary winter afternoon feel brighter. My first batch nearly glued itself to the tray (rookie mistake, right?), but later… pure magic. One time I baked these during a New Year's Eve snowstorm—we ate them straight from the oven, because frankly, patience is not my strong suit when the kitchen smells like a cinnamon candle shop. Anyway, let’s bake—don’t worry if it’s a bit messy, that’s what aprons (and friendly dogs) are for.
Why I Keep Making These (and Maybe You Will, Too)
I make this recipe when I want the house to smell like Christmas. My family goes a bit bonkers for these because they're as soft as clouds and have just enough spice to make you feel like you’ve wandered into one of those fancy bakeries downtown (the kind with flaky croissants you can’t afford every week). Occasionally, I get heavy-handed with the ginger, but that’s never a real problem. Plus, if you’re the type to eat dough straight from the bowl… let’s just say, you won’t be disappointed (err, I’m not technically recommending it, but you won’t hear me judging).
What You’ll Need (and a Few Substitutions I’ve Tried)
- 2 and ¼ cups (about 280g) all-purpose flour (though I’ve swapped in whole wheat during a health kick; they turned out slightly more rustic, which is a polite way of saying dense but edible)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger (sometimes I’ll do 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon mixed spice blend I found at Sainsbury’s—delicious.)
- 1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or nutmeg if you ran out—my grandma always had both, but honestly, whatever’s rattling in your spice drawer will probably work)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened (margarine works in a pinch, but the flavor kinda falls flat)
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar, packed (any brand—don’t feel like you need the expensive stuff)
- ¼ cup (60ml) molasses (dark treacle works, or once I mixed equal parts honey and maple syrup for a lighter taste)
- 1 large egg (I did this with a flax egg for my vegan cousin—it was… fine; not my fave, but it did the trick)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I once forgot this and no one noticed; just sayin’)
- About ½ cup (60g) powdered/icing sugar, for rolling
How I Make Them (And You Can, Too—It’s Not Fussy)
- Whisk together flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in one big bowl (I use my largest mixing bowl because, well, less flour on the floor that way.)
- In a bigger bowl—or stand mixer if you’re feeling fancy—cream the softened butter with brown sugar until it looks pale and fluffy, about 3-ish minutes (or longer if you’re distracted by dogs or that neighbour popping in).
- Mix in molasses, egg, and vanilla. At this point the mixture might look a little… odd—don’t panic. It always does. Just keep going.
- Slowly add the dry stuff to the butter mixture. I do this in thirds because once I dumped it all at once, and the cloud of flour haunt my kitchen for weeks.
- Once you have a soft dough, cover bowl tightly and chill it for an hour or three (I usually stick it in the fridge, forget about it entirely, and find it when I’m looking for hummus six hours later—still works great).
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two trays with parchment paper, unless you enjoy scraping cookies off hot pans (I once forgot this step—lesson learned).
- Scoop up heaping tablespoons (or use a tablespoon or two, honestly, I just grab a handful sometimes), roll into balls, and drop gently into the powdered sugar. Really roll them good so they get that cracked look when they bake.
- Space them on the tray (like, 2 inches apart, so they don’t join forces and become The One Giant Gingerbread Cookie). Bake for about 10 minutes, or just until the edges are set and centers are a bit puffy. Don’t worry if they look underdone;
that’s what keeps ‘em soft. - Let them cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes. This is where I usually sneak one—just to test, you know?
What I’ve Learned (Take It or Leave It)
- If you use dark brown sugar instead of light, you’ll get a richer flavor. It’s not better, just… different.
- The dough’s sticky, so don’t bother trying to shape perfect spheres (unless you enjoy wrestling with cookie dough; I kinda do sometimes).
- If you go heavy on the cloves, the cookies can taste like a holiday candle, so maybe just a pinch…
- Actually, I find more chilling time makes them puffier. But if you’re impatient, 1 hour is still fine.
Variations I’ve Tried (and One That Flopped)
- Toss in a handful of finely chopped crystallised ginger for chewy bits (my mum thinks this is “genius” but she’s probably just being nice).
- Added orange zest once—surprisingly good.
- Jack tried pressing a Hershey Kiss in the center, which...well, looked weird and didn’t really add much. So, I wouldn’t do that again.
- Swapped half of the flour with oat flour? The cookies were kind of thick and hearty; not my style, but hey, adventure is adventure.
Tools and Workarounds
- Cookie scoop: Great, but if you don’t have one, just use two spoons or even that old tablespoon you use for everything.
- Stand mixer or hand mixer: Makes it fast, though honestly, I’ve mixed this whole thing by hand when my mixer was hiking in the Alps (well, okay, it was broken).
- Baking sheets: But I’ve stacked two pizza trays and they worked out fine, just rotate them halfway.
How to Store (Theoretically…)
Tuck leftovers (ha!) in an airtight tin at room temp. They’ll stay soft for up to 4 days, maybe longer, but honestly, in my house, these cookies are lucky to survive a single evening. Freezing? Yep, works—thaw at room temp or just eat them cold if you’re impatient.
Best Way to Enjoy (At Least, This Is How I Do It)
I love dunking these with a giant mug of milky tea—preferably while curled on the couch with a cheesy rom-com in the background. My sister eats them with vanilla ice cream—can’t say she’s wrong.
Lessons From Cookie Mishaps (A Few Oopsies)
- I once rushed the chilling step. Big mistake; dough was the texture of thick soup. Patient chilling means perfect crinkles.
- Don’t skimp on the powdered sugar, or the crinkle magic won’t show up. Learned that the hard way—twice.
- If you overbake, you’ll just end up with hockey pucks. Not fun, unless you’re actually into hockey, I suppose.
People Actually Ask Me This Stuff
- Do I have to chill the dough? Absolutely—or, well, let’s say your cookies will be more like pancakes if you skip it. I tried once, and they all ran together. Not my prettiest batch, but still edible!
- What if I don’t have molasses? You can use dark treacle, or that maple and honey blend I mentioned. Flavor changes a bit but, you know, cookies are still cookies.
- Can I freeze the dough? Yep—just scoop them out, freeze as balls on a tray, then bag up. Add an extra minute to your bake time straight from frozen and you’re golden.
- Why are my cookies flat? Most likely, butter too soft or not enough chill. Or maybe you got creative with the baking soda… trust me, I’ve had my share of pancake cookies.
- Where do you get your spices? Honestly, anywhere. Sometimes I go wild at Penzeys Spices, but the supermarket bottle works fine. I found a great bulk ginger once at my local market, real bonnie stuff.
- What brand of molasses do you use? I like Grandma’s Molasses, but that's just old habit. Any will work, especially if you’re not baking for the Queen.
Bit of an aside: last Christmas, I wrapped a few of these in brown paper and handed them out to neighbors—one bloke traded me his famous banana loaf in return. Now, if you’re looking for more ginger-spiked treats, I love the ginger molasses cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction, too—sometimes it’s fun to try a different spin!
If you give these a whirl, let me know how it goes. And if yours come out looking a little lopsided, hey, that just means they’re definitely homemade. Enjoy, mate!
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
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1In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
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2In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
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3Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
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4Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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5Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball first in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
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6Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the tops are crackled and cookies are set but still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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