Easy Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
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Transport your taste buds to a winter wonderland with these Easy Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies. No chill time required, yet this recipe still makes a deliciously soft and chewy holiday cookie!
If you’re looking for more gingerbread recipes, check out some of my other favorites like my Frosted Gingerbread Banana Bread, Frosted Gingerbread Cookies, or my Gingerbread Florentines.
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
No Chill Time: These Easy Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies require no chill time, yet they still create a soft and chewy cookie with a slightly crispy edge. I love not having to chill cookies, especially during the holidays when you just want cookies and you want them now!
Soft & Chewy: The best kind of crinkle cookies are soft and chewy! And these Easy Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are both. The dark brown sugar and added molasses really makes these cookies incredibly soft and chewy.
Holiday Spice: This recipe is full of holiday spice! I’m obsessed with gingerbread this time of year; it’s my absolute favorite flavor and I make it well into winter as well. This recipe for Easy Gingerbread Crinkle cookies is the perfect holiday cookie to give as gifts, have out at a party, or to just enjoy with a hot chocolate!
The Secret to Perfect Crinkle Cookies
You may have made crinkle cookies before and have had the powdered sugar just melt into the cookie or fall off completely. If you’ve struggled with crinkle cookies, then you’re not alone. There’s one key tip that is crucial for making the best crinkle cookies!
That tip is rolling the dough in cane sugar first, then rolling it powdered sugar. The cane sugar will help create a layer between the cookie dough and the powdered sugar. This does two things; first, it prevents the powdered sugar from melting into the cookie dough as it bakes. And therefore, it creates a bright white crinkle cookie that does not turn the powdered sugar a yellowish color. So, this step is super important!
Ingredients
Homemade Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Cairnspring Mills Organic All Purpose Flour (use code MIMIORGANIC15 for 15% off your order!)
Wholesome Sweeteners Powdered Sugar
Tools Needed
Baking Sheet Half Sheet Pan (use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off my favorite stainless steel sustainable bakeware!)
Parchment Paper (get my favorite nontoxic parchment paper and get 10% off with MIMIBAKES)
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2
To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined and there are no chunks of butter.
Step 3
Add the eggs and mix slightly, enough to break the yolks.
Step 4
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and sea salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until a stiff dough forms.
Step 5
In a small bowl, add the cane sugar for the topping. And in a separate bowl, add the powdered sugar for topping. Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and roll them in the cane sugar first, then in the powdered sugar and flatten them slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter. Place on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them at least 1-inch apart.
Step 6
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies look cracked on top and golden brown around the edges. (Check the notes for high altitude times). Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Baker's Tips
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to soften butter naturally on the counter overnight, especially in the winter. It takes time to soften butter naturally (the best way). So, plan ahead. If you must microwave it, only do 10 seconds per 1/2 cup, even if you have to do 2 intervals, this will at least help from melting portions of it.
- I use dark brown sugar in this recipe, which I believe is crucial! The only difference between light and dark brown sugar is the amount of molasses in the sugar. But that equates to flavor. Brown sugar has more molasses, so it has a richer flavor. But this is key for gingerbread to get that dark color and rich flavor! If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can easily make your own with my recipe for Homemade Dark Brown Sugar.
- I use the holy trio of spices for gingerbread (in my opinion) which is cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I do not think you need anything else! But, if you feel you want to add nutmeg, you totally can add however much you’d like (anywhere from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon) and it will be just fine in the recipe.
- Make sure to sift the powdered sugar before coating them. Powdered sugar can clump easily in your pantry so this step is key so you don’t end up with clumps of powdered sugar.
- Be sure to store these cookies in an airtight container as they are soft and chewy. This can be a Tupperware or a zip bag.
FAQ's
Yes, if you only have unsalted butter, you can use that. Just add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe. I just always use salted butter in baking as I do not like to buy two kinds of butter, so my recipes are created to include salted butter.
No, the flavor of gingerbread is highly dependent on the dark brown sugar! It really makes the cookie! Yes, you can use light brown as in the recipe will work, but I feel like it will be lackluster. If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can easily make your own with my recipe for Homemade Dark Brown Sugar.
Yes, absolutely. I give a simple substitution for gluten free flour at the bottom of the recipe in the notes.
Yes! Freezing cookies is incredibly easy. For soft and chewy cookies like these, I stack them on their sides (so they are not on top of each other) in a Tupperware and freeze the Tupperware. If you stack on top of each other, you’ll end up with a frozen stack. If you stack on their sides, you can easily pull out a few cookies whenever you want them. They’ll last in the freezer for at least a month!
Craving More?
Easy Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Dough
- 113 grams salted butter (softened)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- 113 grams dark brown sugar (packed)
- 85 grams blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 340 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Topping
- 57 grams cane sugar
- 71 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, dark brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined and there are no chunks of butter.
- Add the eggs and mix slightly, enough to break the yolks.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and sea salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until a stiff dough forms.
- In a small bowl, add the cane sugar for the topping. And in a separate bowl, add the powdered sugar for topping. Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and roll them in the cane sugar first, then in the powdered sugar and flatten them slightly so they are about 2-inches in diameter. Place on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them at least 1-inch apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies look cracked on top and golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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