Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies bring all the warm, spiced flavors of traditional gingerbread into a soft, chewy cookie with a powdered sugar coating that bakes into crackly tops. They are cozy, festive, and full of holiday flavor. If you loved my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, this spiced version is the perfect bake for your holiday cookie tray.
Spicy Gingerbread Cookies
Making gingerbread crinkle cookies from scratch is easier than you think. Simple ingredients, such as molasses, brown sugar, and warm spices, come together to form a dough that chills quickly and bakes into soft, chewy cookies with classic holiday flavor.
Ingredients for Gingerbread Cookies
- Flour
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Baking soda
- Molasses
- Milk
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Confectioners sugar
Helpful Tools for Baking Cookies
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How to Make Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar.
- Turn mixer to low, and slowly add in molasses and milk. Mix for 1 minute or until incorporated. Turn mixer to medium-high speed and mix until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the molasses mixture in thirds. Beat with a mixer after each addition until combined.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- In two separate shallow dishes, place granulated sugar in one and confectioner's sugar in another. Set aside.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and, using a small cookie scoop, scoop out dough. Roll into a ball. Roll the dough ball in the granulated sugar, then transfer to confectioner's sugar and roll again until completely covered. Repeat with all dough balls.
- Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
- Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes until cookies “crack”. Remove from oven and let cookies set on tray for a few minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
These gingerbread cookies bake soft and stay chewy for days. The spice combination is perfect for the holidays and tastes great with milk, coffee, or tea.
The dough chills quickly, which helps prevent spreading and creates those signature crackly tops.
Use fresh spices for the best flavor, and double coat in powdered sugar before baking.
FAQs About Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Yes. Chilling helps keep the cookies from spreading and helps the powdered sugar crackle.
Yes. Scoop the dough and roll into balls, then freeze on a sheet pan. Bake from frozen and add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
Warm dough or a thin sugar coating can cause flat tops. Keep the dough cold and coat it generously.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Flavors improve after a day as spices deepen.
Storage and Freezing
You have some really flexible options with these crinkle cookies:
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
- Freeze dough balls: Freeze up to 3 months in a Ziplock bag and bake from frozen.
- Freeze baked cookies: Place parchment paper between cookie layers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cups unsulphured molasses I use Grandmas
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup confectioners suga
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar.
- Turn mixer to low, and slowly add in molasses and milk. Mix for 1 minute or until incorporated. Turn mixer to medium-high speed and mix until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to molasses mixture in thirds. Beat with mixer after each addition until combined.
- Chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
- In two separate shallow dishes, place granulated sugar in one, and confectioner sugar in another. Set aside.
- Take dough out of refrigerator and using a small cookie scoop, scoop out dough. Roll into a ball. Roll dough ball in the granulated sugar, then transfer to confectioner sugar and roll again until completely covered. Repeat with all dough balls.
- Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheets about 1- inch apart.
- Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes until cookies “crack”. Remove from oven and let cookies set on tray for few minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.