Another festive spin on classic snickerdoodles, this gingerbread snickerdoodles recipe is packed with holiday flavors. Also known as gingerdoodle cookies, these chewy snickerdoodles are made with browned butter, molasses, and warm spices like ginger and cinnamon.
These Christmas snickerdoodles are amazingly soft and chewy, and filled with enough spices to keep you warm on a cold winter day. Mixing warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg with thick molasses, these easy gingerbread snickerdoodles taste like the softest gingerbread cookies you’ll ever eat.
If you love a good holiday snickerdoodles recipe, this gingerbread version is amazing. If gingerbread isn’t your thing, check out my eggnog snickerdoodles instead. Both make a great twist on snickerdoodles recipes. These browned butter snickerdoodles take advantage of the deeper flavor of browned butter, which also mixes more easily with the molasses. I use that same process for combining the pumpkin puree in my pumpkin snickerdoodles.
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While all my tasters loved these cookies the day I made them, I didn’t love them myself. I’m not a huge fan of molasses flavor outside of a good Kansas City BBQ sauce though. With that said, however, trying them again after letting them sit for a day or two I found the taste to be incredible. This gave the sharpness of the molasses time to mellow some and the flavor from all the spices to punch through even more. I highly recommend giving the gingerbread snickerdoodle cookies a day stored at room temperature before serving, the flavor just gets better, and they stay incredibly soft for almost a week.
🥘 Ingredients for Gingerbread Snickerdoodles
Most of the ingredients for these ginger snickerdoodles you’ll probably have on hand. The only thing that you might need to look for would be cream of tartar and molasses.
Flour – Use all-purpose flour here for the base and structure of the cookie.
Baking Soda – Snickerdoodle cookies don’t have a big rise, so the only leavener needed is some baking soda. Using more than usually called for in cookies, this ingredient also helps crisp up the outside of the snickerdoodle.
Cream of Tartar – The ingredient that gives all snickerdoodle cookies their unique tang and chewy centers is cream of tartar. If you really don’t want to use it, read below in the variations section, but I do recommend it for these types of cookies.
Spices – I use a combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice for these cookies. If you want to cut back on the spice some, I recommend using ginger, cinnamon, and at least one of the other three. Optionally, you could also use pumpkin pie spice with an extra teaspoon of ground ginger mixed in. Use some more ginger, cinnamon, and allspice (or clove) in the ginger-sugar mixture for rolling the cookies in before baking.
Butter – A cup of unsalted butter is used here. If you use salted butter, omit the added salt. You’ll want to cut the butter into pieces and brown it in a skillet before using.
Sugar – Use both white and dark brown sugar here (light brown is fine too). The brown sugar adds flavor while also helping to keep the cookies chewy. Use more white sugar with ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice to roll the cookies in also.
Molasses – You can use mild or robust molasses for the cookies. I do not recommend using blackstrap molasses however, as it can become quite bitter in the baked cookies. If you can’t find molasses where you live, you can also substitute with golden syrup or black treacle.
Vanilla – Vanilla extract adds flavor and helps to round out all the spices used in the cookies.
Egg – In order to control the levels of moisture, use one egg and one egg yolk here. This adds a bit of fat and protein as a binder without too much additional moisture.
🧂 What is Cream of Tartar?
Cream of tartar is that white powdery stuff in your parents and grandparents spice rack that looks like baking powder. It’s probably over a decade old, and if you ask them what it’s for, they probably have no idea why they even bought it.
At the scientific level, cream of tartar is a byproduct of winemaking. It’s a type of acid salt that forms when fermenting tartaric acid, which is a naturally occurring acid in a lot of fruits, like the grapes used in making wine. The resulting powder is called potassium bitartrate, or potassium hydrogen tartrate.
As for its usage in food, cream of tartar can be used to help stabilize egg whites and whipped cream, it can help keep sugar syrups from crystalizing, and it can be used to make a type of homemade baking powder. In baking, it can make cakes whiter and give them a more tender crumb. In snickerdoodle cookies, cream of tartar’s acidity gives the cookie a slightly tangy flavor and keeps the texture nice and chewy.
🍳 How to Brown Butter
If you’re unfamiliar with the process, browning butter is pretty simple but requires constant attention because the magic happens quickly. The difference between beautifully browned butter and burnt, unusable butter can be a matter of seconds, so don’t walk away from the stove.
Don’t use frozen or cold butter here. It doesn’t need to be 100% room temperature, but let the butter sit out for a good 20-30 minutes before browning it. If it’s too cold, it tends to splatter a lot more as it heats up. Another tip is to slice the butter before adding it to the pan. Cut the butter into roughly 1 tablespoon slices, this helps to melt and cook the butter evenly.
Another recommendation is to use a lightly colored pan. A white or light-colored enameled pan or stainless-steel works best. You can make browned butter in non-stick, but they tend to be quite dark. The reason for using those pans is there are visual cues to when the butter is perfectly browned, and a lighter colored pan makes this easier to see.
Melt the butter gently over medium to medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam a lot. Keep stirring and around the 4–5-minute mark the butter should begin browning and you’ll see small brown specks on the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring for a few more minutes and the foam should start to subside slightly.
When the butter gives off a strong, nutty aroma and there’s lots of small specks forming in the pan, you’re good to go. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the browned butter into a heat-proof container to stop the cooking process. The browned specks you see are the milk solids in the butter getting toasted, so definitely include them when you transfer the butter, don’t strain them out.
Again, this whole process should take between 5-8 minutes on average, so don’t walk away from the butter and keep stirring. If the small brown specks become lots of black specks, the butter was burned, and you shouldn’t use it.
🔪 How to Make Gingerdoodle Cookies
Start by browning the butter because you’ll want it to cool some before mixing with the wet ingredients. Cook the butter over medium to medium-low heat in a light-colored skillet or stainless-steel pan, stirring constantly for 5-8 minutes. Once browned, set aside in a heatproof container until cooled slightly. You can also set the bowl in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to speed things up. For more detailed information, read “How to Brown Butter” above.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and all the spices. Whisk until thoroughly combined and set aside. In another small bowl, whisk together the sugar and spices for the rolling mixture and set aside as well.
In another larger mixing bowl, add both sugars, browned butter, vanilla extract, and molasses. Whisk together until the sugars are mostly dissolved and the mixture looks homogenous. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until no streaks remain.
Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 increments, whisking until just combined. The cookie dough will be quite sticky and soft. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.
Remove cookie dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature while the oven warms. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
Scoop the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop or portion into 1 ½ tablespoon balls. Roll the cookie dough in your hands into a smooth ball and then roll through the reserved ginger-sugar mixture and place on the baking sheet an inch or two apart. You should be able to fit about 12 on a sheet.
Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. The cookies should just barely be browning on the edges and look undercooked. Allow them to cool and finish setting on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Optionally, sprinkle a little pinch of the ginger-sugar mixture on top of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
The cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, and taste even better after a day of resting and letting the flavors meld.
📖 Variations
Gluten Free Snickerdoodles Recipe – You can make this gluten free by swapping the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free 1:1 flour, such as King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. If you’re using a 1:1 gluten-free flour that does not include xanthan gum, you’ll want to add about a ¼ teaspoon per 1 cup of the flour.
Vegan Snickerdoodles – If you want to make these vegan, you’ll need to replace the butter and egg. There’s a couple of options for this, such as using a cup of a vegan butter sticks (not the spreadable kind) and a bit (about 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons) of non-dairy milk. You could also replace the butter with vegetable oil, or coconut oil. Be sure to check that the sugar you use is vegan also, as some refined sugars may have been refined with bone char.
Pumpkin Spiced Snickerdoodles – The spices for gingerbread are incredibly similar to pumpkin pie spice. The biggest difference is that ground ginger is the main spice or equal to the amount of ground cinnamon. You can easily substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices called for in the recipe. Simply use 2 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and add an extra 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. In the ginger-sugar mixture, use 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and an extra ½ teaspoon of ground ginger.
Gingerbread Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar – Cream of tartar is one of the main differences between snickerdoodles and regular sugar cookies, but if you really want to replace it, you can. Use baking powder in a 1:1.5 substitution. So instead of 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar, use 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder. Reduce the baking soda to a ½ teaspoon as well. This will slightly change the flavor and texture however, and the cookies will probably be a bit cakier with a bit more of a rise also.
Another option that keeps the acid and some of the tang is to use lemon juice. Use about 1 teaspoon for each ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar called for in the recipe.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
While you can, I don’t recommend it. Cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles their unique tang and chewy centers. If you really want to remove it, you can try and substitute cream of tartar with baking powder at a 1:1.5 ratio, or with lemon juice at a 1:2 ratio.
If you don’t use cream of tartar, snickerdoodles may come out a bit drier and cakier, especially if you use baking powder instead. Creaming the butter and sugar instead of using melted butter can also make cakier cookies.
Yes, aim for slightly undercooked and trust that they will set as they cool. Cooking until they start browning can lead to a drier, crispy cookie without the signature chewiness of snickerdoodles.
🍽 Equipment
Other than the usual kitchen items like mixing bowls and baking sheets, there’s nothing special required for these ginger molasses snickerdoodles. Here’s just a handful of items I do recommend if you don’t already have them.
Baking Mat – Parchment paper is fine, but if you do a lot of baking, I recommend using a silicone baking mat. They work incredibly well, they’re nonstick, and easy to clean.
Cookie Scoop – While you could eyeball the amount of dough for each cookie, or even weigh them, using a medium cookie scoop that’s already measured for 1 ½ tablespoons is much easier and helps making cookies of a consistent size.
❄️ Storing and Freezing
Once cooled completely, gingerbread snickerdoodles can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. The baked cookies can also be frozen for 3-4 months.
If you want to make these ahead of time, you can leave the cookie dough covered in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until soft enough to scoop and roll before baking.
You can also freeze unbaked cookies. Roll into balls and set onto a baking sheet without rolling in the ginger-sugar mixture. Place into the freezer for at least an hour or two, then you can transfer the frozen dough balls into an airtight container for up to 3-4 months. When ready to bake, allow the dough to come to almost room temperature before rolling and baking. You could bake from frozen and add a minute or two to the baking time, but the ginger-sugar mixture has a harder time adhering to frozen cookie dough.
📋 Recipe
Gingerbread Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Gingerbread Snickerdoodle Cookies:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, or light brown, packed
- ⅓ cup molasses, not blackstrap
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
Ginger-Sugar Mixture:
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, or ground cloves
Directions
- Start by browning the butter because you’ll want it to cool some before mixing with the wet ingredients. Cook 1 cup unsalted butter over medium to medium-low heat in a light-colored skillet or stainless-steel pan, stirring constantly for 5-8 minutes. Once browned, set aside in a heatproof container until cooled slightly. You can also set the bowl in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to speed things up. For more detailed information, read “How to Brown Butter” in the post above.
- In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice. Whisk until thoroughly combined and set aside. In another small bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup white sugar, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice for the rolling mixture and set aside as well.
- In another larger mixing bowl, add ¾ cup white sugar, ½ cup dark brown sugar, the cooled browned butter, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, and ⅓ cup molasses. Whisk together until the sugars are mostly dissolved and the mixture looks homogenous. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until no streaks remain.
- Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 increments, whisking until just combined. The cookie dough will be quite sticky and soft. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.
- Remove cookie dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature while the oven warms. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop or portion into 1 ½ tablespoon balls. Roll the cookie dough in your hands into a smooth ball and then roll through the reserved ginger-sugar mixture and place on the baking sheet an inch or two apart. You should be able to fit about 12 on a sheet.
- Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. The cookies should just barely be browning on the edges and look undercooked. Allow them to cool and finish setting on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Optionally, sprinkle a little pinch of the ginger-sugar mixture on top of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- The cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, and taste even better after a day of resting and letting the flavors meld.
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