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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

    Published: Sep 5, 2021 · Updated: Jun 30, 2025 · by Barbara · This post may contain links on which I could make a small commission if an item is purchased · Leave a Comment

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    This is how I like my gingerbread cookies: soft and chewy instead of hard. How do you like your gingerbread cookies?

    Gingerbread crinkle cookie finished and sitting on a wire rack.

    This recipe called for cloves that I had not used before in cookies, but I like its flavor. They went pretty fast at work, which is always a plus on how good they are.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients You Will Need
    • How to Make Crinkle Cookies
    • FAQ's
    • Love the Taste of Ginger? Try One of These
    • Recipe

    Ingredients You Will Need

    Image of the ingredients for the Gingerbread Crinkle cookies.
    • 3 cups Unbleached all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup Dark brown sugar 
    • ¾ tsp Baking soda
    • 1 TBSP Ground cinnamon
    • 1 TBSP Ground ginger
    • ½ tsp Ground cloves
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • 12 TBSP Unsalted butter
    • ¾ cup Molasses
    • 2 TBSP Milk
    • ½ cup Granulated sugar 
    • ½ cup Confectioners sugar 

    How to Make Crinkle Cookies

    Gingerbread makes a beautiful, spicy cookie. I have always loved its flavor but was never a fan of the break your teeth kind of gingerbread men.

    Molasses might not be an ingredient you have in your pantry, but it's a must in this recipe. It is what gives the dough the classic color and flavor.

    Whisk the dry ingredients in the mixer first to make sure the spices are incorporated. Then add your butter until the dough is a coarse crumb mixture. Milk and molasses are last and mix until the dough comes together, which doesn't take much.

    I like to turn the dough onto a silicone mat to press it together and divide it half. If you want the cookies today, freeze the dough for 30 minutes. Otherwise, just let it rest in the fridge until the next day.

    Gingerbread Crinkle cookie dough wrapped in plastic to go into the refrigerator.

    Working with one piece of dough at a time, scoop cookies off your block and roll them between your hands to smooth them out. Please don't get them too warm, though.

    Now I like to roll these in granulated sugar first to give them a little sparkle and crunch. I then move on to a shallow bowl of powdered sugar as well. Rolling in powdered sugar is what gives the crinkled shape as the cookies bake. In addition, the sugar clings to the cookies and lets the interior color show through in the crags and cracks.

    Gingerbread crinkle cookie dough ball rolled sugars.

    Since these are dark cookies, I let them rest just a minute or two once they come out of the oven, so they don't over-brown. Then carefully transfer them to a rack to finish cooling while you bake the second half of the dough.

    Gingerbread crinkle cookie finished and right out of the oven, still sitting on the cookie sheet pan.

    FAQ's

    Which is better fresh or dried?

    My rule of thumb is in cookies, I want an even taste of ginger, so I almost always use ground ginger. I don't think I want to bite down on shaving of fresh ginger, or that is all you will taste. But I love fresh ginger when adding it to a liquid, for example, a cup of hot tea or a cause for a salad or stir-fry. They each have their place in a variety of foods.

    Is ginger popular?

    Ginger has been around for over 3,000 years. Ginger was primarily used in Asian cuisine, but that has undoubtedly changed. The holidays are filled with gingerbread everything, and the fall is ginger cookie time, or what some people call spice cookies.

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    • Lemon Ginger with Hazelnut Shortbread cookie on a red dish.
      Lemon Ginger with Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

    Recipe

    Gingerbread crinkle cookie finished and sitting on a wire rack.
    QR Code

    Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

    Barbara Hall
    I love gingerbread anything but these are soft and chewy and have become my favorite.
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    4.50 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Bake Time 24 minutes mins
    Chill 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 9 minutes mins
    Course Cookies, Holiday, No-Eggs
    Cuisine American
    Servings 24 cookies
    Calories 182 kcal

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    Ingredients
     

    • 3 cups Unbleached all-purpose flour 375 g
    • ¾ cup Dark brown sugar 150 g
    • ¾ teaspoon Baking soda 5 g
    • 1 Tablespoon Ground cinnamon
    • 1 Tablespoon Ground ginger
    • ½ teaspoon Ground cloves
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • 12 Tablespoon Unsalted butter softened and cut into 1 in. cubes
    • ¾ cup Molasses
    • 2 Tablespoon Milk
    • ½ cup Granulated sugar rolling dough balls in
    • ½ cup Confectioners sugar rolling dough balls in

    Instructions
     

    • Weight or measure your flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a large mixing bowl and on low speed (stand mixer or hand-held) blend the dry ingredients together. Stop your mixer and add the (cut into small cubes) butter and blend on medium-low till it looks like fine meal. It took about 2 to 3 minutes on my stand mixer.
    • Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the molasses and milk until all dry ingredient is moistened. Then turn the mixer speed to medium for about 20 seconds. This dough is dense, and my mixer was starting to hop a little, so if your mixer has issues drop the 20 seconds down to 10. You need it all moist and combined don't over mix.
    • I have a silicone pastry sheet so I just took all the dough and put it right onto the pastry sheet and divided it into 2. Wrap in plastic wrap and put into the freezer for half an hour. This is a dough that you could place in the refrigerator overnight and make the cookies the next day. Turn your oven on to preheat at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) while your dough is in the freezer.
    • I put the granulated sugar and confectioners sugar into 2 bowls so I can roll the cookie balls to coat. I took 1 plastic covered cookie dough out of the freezer and used my OXO Good Grip medium cookie scoop to get the right size for the balls of about 1 ½ - 2 inches in circumference. Roll your cookie ball first in the granulated sugar then roll in the confectioner sugar before placing onto the cookie pan lined with parchment paper. If the cookie balls get to warm you can place the whole pan into the refrigerator before going into the oven.
    • Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes and let them cool on the pan for about 2 minutes. Then move to a cooling rack to finish. Store in air-tight container.

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    NUTRITION DISCLAIMER

    I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 90mgPotassium: 188mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 178IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    4.50 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Barbara Hall, the baker and photographer behind My Cookie Journey, a blog devoted to creating and sharing unique cookie recipes. A retired IT pro, I now spend my day's baking, styling, and snapping photos of cookies that have been featured in multiple regional magazines.

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