Giant and Soft Ginger Spice Cookies
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These Big Soft Ginger Spice Cookies are a perfect fall cookie and a delightful, delicious Christmas cookie too! Richly spiced, soft, and chewy, these ginger cookies also make a scrumptious treat all year — really, they’re the BEST ginger cookie recipe!
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Though we so often think of Soft Ginger Spice Cookies in the autumn and at Christmas, truly, they seem always to find their way onto my baking list.
Someone somewhere is always requesting one. And I’m more than happy to bake a batch.
The richly spiced flavors of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses are a comforting and familiar blend that evokes memories of warmth and love, and laughter.
It’s a favorite cookie recipe with us — no matter what the season.
Unlike the U.K.’s favored delectable Ginger Biscuit, which generally has a crisp texture, this recipe yields soft, giant-sized cookies that are equally delicious and perfect. Pair with a glass of milk, a cup of hot tea, or coffee. It makes me happy just thinking about it.
Ingredients
Pantry Ingredients:
The usual baking ingredients of all-purpose flour (I spoon and level mine), baking soda, white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and cornstarch for softness.
Spices:
Gather the following spices for these fragrant cookies: ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Additionally, you will need salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Additional Ingredients:
You will also need 3/4 cup of softened butter and one large egg.
Tips for Making Perfect Ginger Cookies
- Chill the dough for up to 30 minutes before baking. I like to make the dough and chill it while the oven preheats. If you chill the dough for more than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to achieve the right cookie spread while baking.
- After baking the cookies, let them sit on the cookie sheet for 4 to 5 minutes before cooling completely on a rack.
- Adjust baking time according to the size of the cookie. I’m using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop (affiliate link). In my oven, the cookies are perfect at 10 minutes.
More Cookie Recipes We Love
- Easy Hamantaschen Cookies with Jam Filling
- Carrot Cake Spice Cookies with Raisins
- Best Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints Recipe
- Spiced Cut Out Sugar Cookies for Fall
- Double Chocolate Mint Cookies Recipe
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Giant and Soft Spiced Ginger Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
- 3/4 cup butter softened (12 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup white sugar plus 3 tablespoons (divided)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla, water, and molasses. Then gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients into the butter, molasses mixture until a smooth dough forms. Chill the dough while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Scoop dough with a cookie scoop (affiliate link) and then roll into balls; dredge in the 3 tablespoons remaining sugar. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 4 to 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Chill the dough for up to 30 minutes before baking. I like to make the dough and chill it while the oven preheats. If you chill the dough for more than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to achieve the right cookie spread while baking.
- After baking the cookies, let them sit on the cookie sheet for 4 to 5 minutes before cooling completely on a rack.
- Adjust baking time according to the size of the cookie. I'm using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop. In my oven, the cookies are perfect at 12 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Add me to the ‘they got hard’ group. The flavor is absolutely fantastic, one of the best ginger spice cookies I’ve ever had….but they did get hard. ☹️
Hi Jude! I’m so sorry these cookies turned hard. I’ve made them for years and haven’t been able to replicate this issue. However! I’ve added cornstarch to the recipe and tested it about 5 times. I always store them in an airtight container (a lidded container with an airtight seal or a ziplock bag) and they remain soft and delicious. I am glad you enjoyed the flavor!!
I used crisco, nice and puffy, I chilled dough for about an hour.
I made these twice, and both times they were very flat, even after thoroughly chilling the dough and buying fresh baking soda. I swapped butter for shortening and they came out perfect, though I think the butter gives the original recipe a slight edge in flavor.
Thank you for trying the Ginger Spice Cookies. I’ve not had the issue with these cookies becoming flat. Shortening is a very consistent ingredient and does make cookies spread less and hold their shape. Cookies made with butter will be crisper and as noted, the flavor will be different. I’m so glad you had success with the shortening. Thank you for your input!
Cookies taste great
The dough was too dry
I made them vegan by using 1/4 cup applesauce in place or the egg and using vegan certified margarine. They turned out great!
Hi Rena! Thank you so much for trying the cookies and letting me know the adaptations you made and how you liked them. Your egg replacement is also great for those with allergies too!
These were excellent!
Oh yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I’m making a batch for Christmas next week.
Can you freeze the dough shaped into balls and bake later?
Hi Keller— Yes! Just give them a little extra time when you bake them.
Questions! Do you know how Truvia or other sugar substitute would work–they have both white and brown versions.
Also, I heard blackstrap molasses was not good for cookies, but to use unsulphered only–do you have an opinion on this?
Your cookies look amazing. Also want to try peppermint shortbread ones. :–) Thx!
Hi Linda! I have not tested this recipe using Truvia or another sugar substitute. It’s a great question though. I’m sure you’ve come across the Truvia conversion calculator: https://www.truvia.com/conversion-charts. As you mentioned, they have several different kinds of sugar, some are a 1:1 conversion while others are not.
On molasses, my favorite is unsulphered blackstrap molasses. The color is dark and rich and it is the healthiest molasses because it’s the most concentrated. However, it can also be a tad bitter and some people are not fond of the strong flavor. In this recipe, I’ve found most of the people I bake for prefer a light molasses, which makes the cookies lighter, sweeter, and softer. On brands, I always have a jar of Grandmother’s Original Molasses on hand. Hope this helps!!
Can anyone tell me how much fresh grated ginger I have to use iso powder ginger? I did it before but cannot rember the equivalent…
You will need 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger to replace the ground ginger.
Delicious and tender! These are so flavorful and soft.
Loved this recipe just tried it.
Hi. I just finished making this recipe. While they taste great, and of course make the house smell fantastic, they are really flat. Nothing like the “plump” picture shown that I was hoping for. Any suggestions for my next time?
Hi Shawn, I’m so glad you liked the cookies! I actually baked a batch yesterday to see if I could replicate the problem. I’ve made them countless times and they were all as shown in the photo. My biggest suggestions are to make sure the baking soda is fresh (like within a few months of opening) and that you chill the dough until cold. This helps with spreading. Measure the flour by scooping and leveling with a knife. In my oven, they are perfectly fine at 10 minutes with a 2 tbsp scoop.
I made these for Christmas Eve. They were so delicious! Mine were perfectly baked after 10 minutes. They came out fluffy, then went flat after cooling and the texture was soft and chewy, not crumbly. We loved them! (I was scared to put in the black pepper but it was fine!)
I absolutely love these cookies! We had them last night too and they are always one of the first cookies to disappear. I’m so glad you put in the black pepper — and that you enjoyed them!
My grandma had a recipe for soft molasses cookies but the only thing bad about the recipe was she really couldn’t tell you what the measurements were she says you have to go by taste texture and the look of the cookie they were absolutely to die for but I made your cookie has a good flavor the only thing was they do come out a little flat they’re fluffy when they come out but they go a little flat after sitting for a few minutes so I don’t know if I need to add more flour I don’t know what I’m doing wrong
Hi Linda! I took a day to retest these cookies, which my husband was thrilled with as these are his favorites. I’m not able to replicate this. Adding more flour could cause the cookies to become tough and crumbly. That being said, I wouldn’t add more than 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour.
Also, be sure the softened butter isn’t melty. If I haven’t set my butter out the night before, I often will microwave it for a few seconds. However, if it becomes slightly melty, the cookie texture will be off.
Another tip is to leave the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes (3 to 5) so they can further set and hold their shape.
I love my grandmother’s recipes as well, but the measurements and instructions are equally vague (smile). I hope these tips help and thank you so much for trying them!
Hi there. My cookies turned out amazing
This is such a fun and easy recipe. Did I mention that it’s super good???
Love to make these in the Fall. Thanks for this great recipe!
My cookies are hard too. My mom use to use half butter and half Crisco in recipes, will that mixture keep them soft?
why did my cookies get hard?
Can you freeze these ginger cookies? Or better to leave “out”? I will bake these ahead if so. Not, wait till last minute!!
Yes — they freeze really well! I’m beginning my Christmas cookies now too. I wrote an article a while back on which cookies freeze best: https://www.31daily.com/christmas-cookies-bake-ahead/
Happy baking!