My Favorite Cookies
April 12, 2009 at 5:17 pm 89 comments
It doesn’t matter how many cookie recipes I dog-ear or bookmark. I’ve tried everything from tuiles to the famous Word Peace cookies. These gingersnaps will always, always be my favorite cookie EVER.
I don’t mean to go over the top, but I love these cookies. I am in love with them. I love them down to the last detail.
First of all, they are beautiful. I’ve never made any cookie that is this consistantly perfect. Chocolate chip cookies come out misshapen and flat, sugar cookies always seem to brown unevenly, even oatmeal raisin cookies can come out bland – never these cookies. Every single cookie comes out a perfectly round circle, beautifully cracked, and sparkling with big crystals of sugar. And the flavor! Cinnamon is my favorite spice, and these cookies have the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
Love!
Really, I could keep raving, and I’m trying not to go overboard. But if you’re not already sold and measuring out the sugar, I won’t feel bad about continuing. The texture of these cookies is just right; they’re lightly crisp around the edges and chewy in the middle. The cookies are (in my opinion) the best size, gone in three bites and leaving you wanting more. You don’t even a mixer. It only takes two bowls. The dough takes 5 minutes to make! Plus, plus, they’re only 60 calories a cookie. Not that that matters. :)
On another note… I’m enjoying the last days of my spring break and decided to make myself a light box for my photography. I had all the materials on hand, so it was free, instructions courtesy of Strobist. These were my first photos using it… I’m pretty pleased with the results, although I was using natural sunlight. I’ll have to see how it works with artificial lighting.
But back to the gingersnaps. Please, please do yourself a favor and make these.
While I wouldn’t suggest messing with a good thing, you could easily add mini chocolate chips or lemon zest to these cookies. These cookies are perfect on their own, but I always dunk mine in milk. I also suspect, since all the cookies are uniform circles, that these would make great ice cream sandwiches (vanilla? Maybe peach ice cream.)
Perfect Gingersnaps
Makes 5 dozen 2″ cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
Sugar for rolling (I like evaporated cane juice or raw sugar)
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine together the brown sugar, molasses, canola oil, and egg until smooth. Mix the flour mixture into the brown mixture, stirring until dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop up bits of dough by the heaping teaspoonful and roll into balls between your palms, about the size of a quarter. Roll the balls in sugar and place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes – if you like crispy gingersnaps, try 9-10 minutes.
Cookies will be very soft but will firm up. Leave on the baking sheet several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Entry filed under: Cookies. Tags: Christmas cookies, cinnamon, Cookies, ginger.
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17 and Baking 
1. A Walk in the Woods » Blog Archive » Gingersnap Cookies | February 15, 2011 at 2:10 pm
[…] sell the house (or even get us an offer), but they tasted pretty good. I found the recipe on 17 and Baking’s web site (which is an awesome web site by the way!) and the cookies were […]
2. Tom Hodgson | August 30, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Thanks! These came out well. I had no parchment paper, no “Pam”, and the cookies came off the pan without trouble. Doubled the ginger, added a big teaspoonful of ground pepper, and used coarse salt. The salt holds together, so you get occosional salty bursts along with the sweet.
3. Ione | September 3, 2011 at 1:50 pm
I love the recipe! Seriously, you are the best there is recipe-wise with these!! I tried them out with a different mixture of flour since I’m Celiac’s, but omg they turned out perfect for each one! An the best part is…..? XD I’m the only in my family who likes ginger snaps so I get the whole batch to myself!! ^_~
4. Diane Petty | September 11, 2011 at 12:34 am
I am about to try your gingersnaps this morning, can’t wait. Your blog is fab. Just to let you know that I live in Dubai.
5. Recipe: Gingersnaps « khandii | November 20, 2011 at 1:34 pm
[…] Adopted from:https://17andbaking.com/2009/04/12/my-favorite-cookies/ […]
6. No Molasses Ginger Snaps (Spice Cookies) | December 1, 2011 at 7:33 pm
[…] Modified from 17 & Baking […]
7. Laura | December 23, 2011 at 11:21 pm
These are perfect! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. My sister just made them and they are amazing!
8. Chad | January 6, 2012 at 9:12 pm
I made these twice, and they really are perfect! The second time, I added a half-teaspoon of ground white pepper, which really worked out well.
9. Heute bleibt die Küche kalt -Ingwerkekse- « kuechenzettelblock | January 11, 2012 at 6:37 pm
[…] des Kühlschranks. Auf 17andbaking.com habe ich ein tolles Rezept für Ingwerkekse gefunden. https://17andbaking.com/2009/04/12/my-favorite-cookies/ Nur sehen die bei mir nicht sooo schön aus, schmecken aber saugut. Das Rezept ist nicht vegan, […]
10. Meg | September 2, 2012 at 6:54 am
Is the batter supposed to be super runny? After i added the flour it was like goo. I was sure i did it wrongly so i added more flour. But it affected the baking. It didnt melt and crack nicely like yours.
11. Sweet Pea's Kitchen » Gingersnaps | September 9, 2012 at 2:26 pm
[…] Source: adapted from 17 and baking […]
12. Holly N. | November 5, 2012 at 12:44 am
Made these tonight, and they turned out great!! I made mini ones, so I used my small cookie scoop and divided one scoop in half to make 2 cookies. Baked for 5 1/2 minutes. So cute, and perfect size for my kids. The texture really is perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
13. variety | December 19, 2012 at 6:34 am
Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels.
I will be grateful if you continue this in future. Numerous people will
be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
14. Mae | November 10, 2013 at 8:22 pm
Hi Elissa!! I absolutely adore your blog and your chattering on and on about these cookies… haha! I’m planning on making these on Thursday for my friends that are coming over! :) Thank you for sharing!
15. Delana | December 3, 2013 at 7:23 am
Excellent cookies! Instead of the light brown sugar and molasses, I used 1 1/4 c dark brown sugar. Came out just as beautiful as your picture…and delightfully tasty. Thanks!
16. Leilani | October 29, 2014 at 11:57 pm
Looks yummy, anyone know if you could substitute pumkin pie spice for the ginger, cloves, and cinnamon? And how much? I thought it would give them more flavor, but idk how much to use. Id love to here your feedback. Thanks
17. J G | October 30, 2014 at 11:43 am
Pumpkin pie spice is almost the same mixture. try using the same amoutn of pp spice as the combined amount of the other spices.
18. Sonia | November 18, 2014 at 1:44 am
Can I do this recipe without molasses? I remember my Grandmother getting these in her store, they were lite colored & quite strong so there couldn’t have been any molasses.
19. Sonia | November 18, 2014 at 1:47 am
Can I make these without molasses. I remember my Grandmother in her store selling them. They were lite colored, crispy & spicy hot.
20. Karen | December 2, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Can these be frozen? If so how long?
21. gratis sextreffen | January 20, 2015 at 10:47 am
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I believe that you just can do with a few % to drive the message house a little bit, however other than that,
that is excellent blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.
22. Paula | November 15, 2015 at 6:14 pm
I’m not a fan of traditional pie crusts and wondered if you have you ever tried this recipe as a dough for pumpkin pie?
23. Justmy2cents | December 27, 2015 at 11:12 am
I never make comments on receipe a but for this one I had to!!!! These cookies are AMAZING! Absolutely perfect! Seriously they were super easy to make and came out bakery looking perfect! I used vegetable oil instead of canola and it worked just fine! The flavor of the cookie was exactly perfect and chewy in the middle…I was shocked at how awesome these came out! If you are thinking of trying it…stop thinking and try it, you will not be disappointed :)! I am an avid baker and try receipes all the time (as bakery and store bought baked goods are simply nasty) this receipe by far exceeded my expectations and will go in my receipe box for years to come!
24. Kathy Barber | December 30, 2015 at 11:51 am
Add a 1/4 to 1/2 t. of cayenne pepper for a more “adult” taste.
25. Ginger Snaps | weeklydelights | April 5, 2016 at 1:39 pm
[…] Ginger snaps have been by far one of the easiest cookies I have ever made and the beauty of this recipe is that it is dummy proof. If you are feeling a bit bored and snackish, I can definitely recommend […]
26. LLF | February 13, 2017 at 4:44 pm
just made these as a Valentines treat for my father! They are great! Not a chewy as I hoped, but soft and delicious. I used vegetable oil instead of Canola oil, maybe that made some difference?
27. Deb | August 12, 2017 at 10:50 am
Have you tried adding chopped crystalized ginger? I am about to try it.
28. Gingersnaps | Diana H Lim | October 7, 2017 at 11:04 am
[…] used this “Perfect Gingersnaps” recipe – because who can argue with […]
29. baking pan | November 3, 2017 at 9:03 pm
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30. Dot | December 23, 2017 at 8:15 am
This cookie is one Of the best cookies I have ever tasted. It is perfect in so many ways. It’s soft, chewy and just the right amount of spices. I made six different cookies. I actually made this one for my kids grandfather but this cookie was everyone’s favorite. Grandpa will just have to share. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
31. Dorothy | September 3, 2018 at 2:08 pm
These were absolutely the best cookies!
32. Bret | October 22, 2018 at 11:59 am
If I use a cookie cutter to shape these will they bake neatly?
33. Mim | November 26, 2018 at 12:47 pm
I have tried them..what a balance of flavours!
I adore them.. but I have one thing that I would like to change ..I feel as if there is too much oil . My fingers were a bit greasy ! can I do something to avoid this problem.
Many thanks
34. cydne | December 6, 2018 at 10:44 pm
Thank you for the excellent recipe….my new favorite. :)
35. Gingersnaps - Sweet Pea's Kitchen | June 30, 2022 at 8:02 pm
[…] Source: adapted from 17 and baking […]