Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies Recipe
These Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are perfectly spiced, soft, and chewy with a crackled snowy icing sugar coating. Infused with aromatic ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these festive cookies are easy to make and ideal for holiday baking, offering 25 delightful servings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 25 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups plain flour (all-purpose flour) (325g / 11 ½oz)
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger (4 tsp)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar (200g / 7oz)
- ⅓ cup molasses or treacle (80ml)
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted (4oz / 1 stick / ½ cup)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coating
- 1 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar) (130g / 4 ½ oz)
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, ground cloves, and salt until fully combined. Set this mixture aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a wooden spoon, blend the brown sugar, molasses, melted butter, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until a thick dough forms. Avoid overmixing to maintain cookie texture.
- Chill Dough: Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight to firm up the dough and enhance flavor.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) / 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper for easy removal and cleanup.
- Form Cookies: Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie and roll them into balls. Generously roll each ball in the icing sugar, coating evenly.
- Arrange and Bake: Place the sugar-coated dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. Bake one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and cookies have cracked tops.
- Cool: Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, ensuring crisp edges and chewy centers.
- Enjoy and Share: Serve these festive cookies fresh or store in an airtight container. Remember to leave a comment and rating if you enjoyed the recipe!
Notes
- Using fresh ground ginger and properly measuring spices will maximize flavor.
- Chilling the dough overnight enhances the flavor and helps prevent excessive spreading during baking.
- Rolling the dough balls generously in icing sugar creates the signature crinkle effect and adds sweetness.
- For softer cookies, reduce baking time by 1-2 minutes; for crisper edges, bake until lightly golden.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
