Chewy Ginger Cookies are our family’s official holiday cookie. They’re crisp on the outside, nice and chewy inside, and full of warm spices and molasses. We’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love them.
Fall definitely brings out my urge to bake, and that urge stays strong right through the holidays. I always start with chewy ginger cookies. It’s a family tradition, but also a smart choice because I’ve always got the ingredients in my kitchen. These molasses drop cookies are a cinch to make, and the whole house smells festive when they’re in the oven.
Everybody gravitates toward these cookies, and I think it’s the combination of the flavor and that famously chewy texture. We really only make them during this time of year and so they’ve become associated with the changing of the seasons and the warmth and excitement of the holidays. For such a simple little cookie, there’s a lot going on!
Chewy ginger cookies make memories…
This recipe comes from our good friend Liz. When my girls were very young she opened up her sunny Los Angeles kitchen to them every December for an afternoon of holiday cookie baking. They made huge messes and baked lots of different cookies, but chewy ginger cookies were the memory makers. They’re absolutely irresistible when eaten warm from the oven, and the combination of warm spices and molasses is the best.
They say the area of our brain responsible for our sense of smell is the same one that processes emotions and memories ~ and the aroma of ginger cookies baking still transports us back to those early baking sessions. Thanks Liz—not only for giving us a favorite family recipe but for introducing my girls to the joys of baking.
(*update: Liz has since passed away from breast cancer, but we think of her every time we make these cookies.)
chewy ginger cookie dough is simple ~ just scoop and bake.
No chilling the dough, and no rolling it out: that’s my kind of cookie 🙂 The soft dough scoops so easily and it’s fun to roll the little balls in sugar. This is an ideal recipe to bake with kids, even young kids can get involved. Mine used to love to watch through the oven window as they transform from sparkly little balls of dough into flat, crinkly cookies. It only takes 10 minutes!
What you’ll need
- butter
- unsalted, at room temperature
- sugar
- egg
- molasses
- the star ingredient, molasses should be a pantry staple in any baker’s kitchen.
- flour
- baking soda
- cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice
The secret to chewy ginger cookies is molasses
Molasses is a sweet thick syrup that’s a byproduct of the sugar refining process. The name molasses comes from the ancient Greek and Latin root mel, meaning honey. It’s what gives brown sugar its color and flavor, and it’s one of my favorite ingredients to bake with. Without molasses there would be no gingerbread, and no chewy ginger cookies.
Molasses allows my cookies to spread flat while baking but keep that perfect bendy chewy texture after they come out of the oven. And thanks to the unique moisture retention properties of molasses, they’ll stay chewy for days. Molasses is the under-appreciated ingredient of the season if you ask me. I always keep a bottle (and a spare) in my cupboard, it’s absolutely essential for holiday baking.
What type of molasses to use?
Like maple syrup, molasses comes in various forms. Brer Rabbit and Grandma’s are two common brands that I love, and both offer a variety of types of molasses, so read your labels.
- Light Molasses: Also known as mild molasses, this is the sweetest variety, produced from the first boiling of sugar cane juice. It’s often used in lighter baked goods like gingerbread and cookies.
- Dark Molasses: Created from the second boiling, dark molasses has a stronger, richer flavor and a slightly thicker consistency. It’s commonly used in heartier recipes like gingerbread and baked beans.
- Blackstrap Molasses: The thickest and most robust variety, blackstrap molasses is produced from the third boiling. It has a slightly bitter, very bold flavor and is often used in savory dishes or for its health benefits due to its high mineral content.
Chewy ginger cookies are a perfect choice for giving, shipping, and freezing
These cookies keep really well, and they’re sturdy, too. They make a great choice for giving as a part of a cookie assortment, and for shipping. They also freeze well, so I guess you could say they’re the perfect cookie 😉
Also try my Soft Molasses Cookies for a thicker bakery style texture. And soft cookie lovers check out my Soft Molasses Sandwich Cookies!
If you love chocolate I’ve got Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies ~ they have the same great flavor and texture, with a hint of chocolate. And if that’s not enough chocolate for you, try my Chewy Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies. The combination of dark chocolate and gingery spices is one of my favorites.
holiday cookies from the archives
Chewy Ginger Cookies
Equipment
- 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop (optional)
Ingredients
wet ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
dry ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp powdered ginger
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. I like to do this in a stand mixer, but electric beaters or a wooden spoon will work.
- Add the egg and molasses and blend well.
- Sift or whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the wet. Mix until completely blended.
- Form or scoop balls the size of a small walnut. I like to use a 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop for uniform cookies. Roll each ball in granulated sugar to coat.
- Place on an un-greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet 2" apart. Don't crowd your pans, these cookies will spread.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, and let cool slightly on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
- Chewy ginger cookies will keep for up to a week at room temperature, and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
- There’s no need to chill this dough before baking, but you can certainly make it ahead if you like.
- To freeze the dough I suggest scooping it out onto a baking sheet and freezing until the dough balls are solid. Then put the dough into a zip lock freezer bag. Thaw the dough balls before rolling and baking.
- You can also freeze the baked cookies. Separate layers with waxed paper.
- This recipe makes flat cookies, if you prefer them puffier, use 2 and 1/4 cups flour.
Nutrition
More reasons to keep a jar of molasses in your pantry!
How much is 1.5 sticks of butter? Is that really 3 cups??
That’s 3/4 cup, Vanessa.
I just made these cookies best ginger cookies ever! I made them with 1/2 the sugar they are so good thank for sharing.
Great to know they do ok with less sugar, thanks Sharon and happy holidays <3
These cookies are amazing! I was wondering if they freeze well after baking them :)?
I age my Aden these cookies 3 times in the last week and a half! It is a new favorite to those I have sent or given them to. They ship amazingly well. No breakage and the flavor and chewiness is still there according me to my best friend. She says she will order again soon!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I did add some spices to the sugar like another reviewer, but not a lot. The cookies have the right amount of spice and I didn’t want too much more. My house smells so amazing…again as I made them again tonight for some guests coming for the weekend. I am anticipating their cookie craving to be quite satisfied! ??
I look forward to trying your other recipes if they are as good as these Chewy Ginger cookies!!
Terry
Ha ha ha, that should have read, “ I have made these cookies 3 times…”. I sure don’t even know how the beginning to that first line got so messed up. I know I proof read it before sending it. So weird! Oh will I am sure you figured out what I meant. ?
Thanks for the great feedback Terry 🙂 You make a good point that these cookies ship well because they’re soft and chewy, not fragile.
My son has a milk allergy, so I was wondering if I could substitute margarine for the unsalted butter.
That should work fine Vicky.
Hi Vicky,
I too have a dairy allergy and they actually make dairy free buttery sticks that work perfectly in this recipe! I have not tried straight margarine.
Thanks for that info Samantha.
I don’t know if I’m the same Vicky who asked this question 2 years ago, but thank you so much for your response! So funny – I was just scrolling through the questions to see if someone asked this particular question, and I came upon your answer to “Vicky”. I’m going to give the Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks a try. Thanks!
Hello what kind of molasses s/b used?
Regular, not blackstrap.
Why no blackstrap?
Blackstrap is super strong and bitter, Chris, so I always like to warn people against accidentally picking it up. If you happen to love it you can certainly use it, though.
I was wondering what kind of sugar goes in the chewy ginger cookies. Confectioners or powdered?
Regular granulated sugar Colleen, not confectioners or powdered.
Do you think brown sugar would work well ?
Great question ~ brown sugar is just regular sugar with molasses added to it, so I’m not sure you’d gain anything by using it since molasses is in the recipe. But you can substitute it, in the same amount, for the regular sugar. You might notice a change in texture, but it would be interesting to try.
Ginger in what form? Dry or fresh chopped?
These cookies use powdered ginger Lorraine.
What size cookie scoop do you use for these cookies?
Hey Carol ~ I use my 1 1/2 inch scoop.
Thank you <3
I made this recipe and the cookies turned out delicious! My Bible Study class gobbled them up and my family adored them. The only thing I changed was to use Kerrygold salted butter because that’s all I had.
Kerrygold butter is wonderful, so I bet your cookies were fantastic, thanks so much for coming back here to let us know Bella 🙂
Kerrygold butter is never the wrong choice 🙂