Irresistibly Chewy Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles: Your Ultimate Holiday Cookie Recipe
Embrace the warmth of the holiday season with these delightful Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles. We’ve taken your beloved chewy cinnamon sugar cookies and infused them with the rich, spicy notes of ginger and molasses, creating a festive treat that’s simply irresistible. This snickerdoodles recipe is destined to become a cherished part of your holiday baking tradition!
Prepare to fall completely in love with these cookies! For years, the classic Snickerdoodle has held a special place in my heart – I adore eating them, and honestly, I just love saying the word! SNICKERDOODLE. Try saying it without a smile; it’s practically impossible.
These Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles elevate that joy to a whole new level. Just like their equally delicious cousins, the Chai Snickerdoodles, these cookies are a symphony of flavor that will have you reaching for another, and another.
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From Classic Snickerdoodle to Holiday Masterpiece
My journey with Snickerdoodles began years ago when I stumbled upon Emeril’s Snickerdoodles recipe. It quickly became a staple in my baking repertoire, a simple, sweet cookie dusted with cinnamon sugar that’s perfect for any occasion, especially the holiday season. However, this year, I felt an undeniable pull to infuse them with even more festive warmth and spice.
The addition of aromatic ground ginger and rich molasses transformed these cookies from merely delicious to truly extraordinary. The results were beyond my expectations, bringing a depth of flavor and a cozy feel that perfectly captures the spirit of the season. Even my daughter, a tough cookie critic, declared my “cookie game was on point” – and that, my friends, is high praise indeed! Just look at that glistening cinnamon and sugar coating; it’s pure magic!
That harmonious combination of cinnamon and ginger creates an incredibly comforting flavor profile. Eating one of these snickerdoodles makes me want to snuggle up by a crackling fireplace, watching the snow gently fall outside. While that perfect Christmas card fantasy might not always be possible, at least I can always enjoy another one of these delightful Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles!
Essential Ingredients for Your Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles
Crafting the perfect chewy and spicy Snickerdoodle requires a thoughtful selection of ingredients. Each component plays a crucial role in achieving that signature texture and irresistible holiday flavor. Gather these pantry staples to embark on your baking adventure:
Key Ingredients Breakdown:
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of our cookies, providing structure. Ensure it’s spooned and leveled for accurate measurement.
- Cream of Tartar: This classic Snickerdoodle ingredient is essential for its distinctive tangy flavor and contributes to the cookie’s signature chewiness. It also helps activate the baking soda.
- Ground Ginger: The star spice that brings warmth and a festive kick, perfectly complementing the molasses.
- Baking Soda: Works with the cream of tartar to give the cookies their characteristic soft, puffy texture and crinkly tops.
- Salt: A pinch of salt balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors.
- Shortening: Often overlooked, shortening contributes to a wonderfully tender crumb and helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much, ensuring that perfect chewy center.
- Butter (Unsalted, Room Temperature): Adds incredible richness and flavor. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the overall salt content of the recipe. Ensure it’s at room temperature for proper creaming.
- Sugar (Granulated): Used both in the cookie dough for sweetness and tenderness, and generously for the iconic cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Molasses: This ingredient is crucial for the deep, complex flavor and moisture of these ginger cookies. It adds a lovely chew and a darker hue.
- Egg (Large): Acts as a binder, adding moisture and helping to create a cohesive dough.
- Ground Cinnamon: The quintessential Snickerdoodle spice, providing its warm, comforting aroma and flavor, especially in the delightful sugar coating.
Yes, you read that right – these Snickerdoodles boast both shortening AND butter! This dynamic duo is a secret weapon, ensuring each bite is incredibly rich, wonderfully chewy, and utterly delicious. The shortening helps maintain a tender crumb, while the butter infuses a luxurious flavor that can’t be beaten.
How to Bake Perfect Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles
Creating these spiced Snickerdoodles is a straightforward process, even for novice bakers. Follow these steps carefully to achieve cookies that are soft, chewy, and bursting with holiday cheer:
- Preparation: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; this prevents sticking and ensures even baking.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt. Sifting helps to eliminate lumps and ensures the dry ingredients are well-distributed. Set this mixture aside.
- Cream Fats and Sugar: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening and room-temperature unsalted butter until well combined. Add 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color, typically about 3-5 minutes. This step incorporates air, making your cookies tender.
- Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Beat in the large egg and the molasses until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed evenly.
- Gradually Add Dry to Wet: With the mixer on low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches. Mix just until combined after each addition, being careful not to overmix. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to tougher cookies.
- Prepare Cinnamon-Sugar Coating: In a small, shallow bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon. Stir well until the spices are evenly distributed.
- Roll and Coat Dough Balls: Scoop the Snickerdoodle dough, using about two tablespoonfuls per cookie. Roll the dough into smooth balls with your hands. Then, generously roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until it’s fully coated.
- Bake to Perfection: Place the coated cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them to allow for spreading. Do not flatten the dough balls.
- Bake and Cool: Bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be set, but the centers should still look slightly soft. This ensures a chewy texture. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This allows them to firm up without becoming brittle.
Once baked, marvel at their beauty! The tops emerge from the oven beautifully crackly and sparkling with that irresistible cinnamon-sugar coating. Each cookie is a little masterpiece of flavor and texture.
Molasses: The Secret to Depth and Chewiness
Molasses is more than just a sweetener in these cookies; it’s a foundational ingredient that imparts rich flavor, dark color, and that essential chewy texture. But what kind of molasses should you use?
Choosing the Best Molasses for Ginger Cookies:
For these Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles, I highly recommend using unsulphured molasses. This type of molasses is made from mature, ripe sugarcane and doesn’t contain any added sulfur dioxide as a preservative. It offers a cleaner, sweeter, and less bitter flavor profile compared to sulphured molasses.
When you look for unsulphured molasses, you’ll often find it’s a dark molasses, which is exactly what gives these cookies their characteristic gingerbread-like depth and color. Its robust flavor perfectly complements the spicy ginger, creating that authentic, warm holiday taste we all adore.
Smart Storage and Freezing Tips for Your Snickerdoodles
The good news is these Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles are fantastic for making ahead or enjoying over time. They freeze beautifully, allowing you to have a delicious treat whenever the craving strikes!
Can You Freeze Homemade Snickerdoodles?
Absolutely! These Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles are excellent candidates for freezing. You have a couple of options:
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled completely, transfer them to airtight freezer bags or containers. They will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply thaw at room temperature or gently warm them in the microwave for a few seconds for that fresh-baked warmth.
- Freezing Unbaked Dough Balls: Thanks to the high fat content in this dough, you can also freeze the cookie dough before baking! Roll the cookie dough into balls and coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture as per the recipe. Place the raw, coated dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring they don’t touch. Freeze them until they are solid (this can take 1-2 hours). Once frozen solid, transfer the dough balls to airtight freezer bags or containers. They can be stored for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake from frozen dough, there’s no need to thaw! Just place the frozen cookie dough balls directly onto a prepared baking sheet and bake them in a preheated oven, adding an extra 2-4 minutes to the original baking time. Homemade Ginger Snickerdoodles, fresh from the oven, are ready in minutes!
My cookies are hard. How do I make them soft again?
There’s nothing quite as disappointing as biting into a hard, stale cookie when you’re expecting a soft, chewy one. But don’t worry, I have a tried-and-true solution for you!
To keep your cookies wonderfully soft and chewy, store them in an airtight container. The magic trick? Add a slice of soft bread (like the end piece of a loaf) to the container with your cookies. The bread will absorb excess moisture from the air, preventing your cookies from drying out and helping them retain their softness. This simple trick works wonders!
I also use a similar method for my brown sugar canisters, placing a small piece of bread inside to keep the brown sugar soft and clump-free.
More Dessert Recipes Featuring Warm Ginger
If you’re as big a fan of ginger as I am, you’ll love these other delightful recipes! They’re perfect for the holidays or any time you want to fill your kitchen with the sweet and spicy aroma of ginger-infused treats.
- Blueberry Ginger Cheese Danish
- Cranberry Ginger Pistachio Sugar Cookies
- Cranberry Ginger Sugar Cookies
- Apple Ginger Galette
- Molasses Gingerbread with Lime Cream
Expand Your Holiday Baking: More Favorite Cookie Recipes
The holiday season is the perfect time for baking a variety of delicious cookies! Don’t stop at just Snickerdoodles. Explore these other easy and impressive cookie recipes that our readers adore, perfect for cookie exchanges, festive gatherings, or simply enjoying with a cup of hot cocoa.
- Classic Spritz Cookie Recipe
- Festive Peppermint Blossom Cookies
- Quick 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Fun Root Beer Float Cookies
- Autumnal Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Cookies
- Adorable Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies
- Delightful Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies
Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles Recipe
These Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles are not only incredibly easy to make but are also bursting with warm, spicy, and sweet flavors that are simply perfect for the holiday season!
Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles
Created by: Lynne Feifer
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 34 minutes
Servings: 32 cookies
These Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles are chewy cinnamon sugar cookies with the addition of ginger and molasses – the perfect Snickerdoodle for the holidays!
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Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Electric Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shortening
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups sugar plus 3 tablespoons (divided)
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the shortening and butter until well combined.
- Add 1 ½ cups of sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and molasses, and mix thoroughly until combined.
- In two batches, gradually pour in the dry ingredients and thoroughly combine after each addition. Mix just until no streaks of flour remain, being careful not to overmix.
- In a small bowl, mix the 1 tablespoon of cinnamon with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar for the coating.
- Using two tablespoonfuls of dough, roll the dough into a smooth ball.
- Roll each dough ball generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Do not flatten the dough balls.
- Bake for 14 minutes. The cookies should be set at the edges but still appear slightly soft in the center for a chewy result.
- Cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or simply treating yourself, these Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles are sure to bring warmth and joy to your kitchen and your taste buds!
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This post was originally published on 12/21/16, and has been updated in format and with new pictures on 12/22/21 to bring you the best possible baking experience.
