Save

Five Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps stacked on top of each other, with one Old Fashioned Ginger Snap leaning against the stack.

And just like that, December is officially here. I’ve been planning on sharing these Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps with you ever since my neighbor brought them over to me last year around this time. She loves to bake like me, and we are always swapping recipes back and forth and borrowing from each other’s pantries. We even have a group text thread called “The Pantry Pals”. Isn’t that great? Good neighbors are a gift!

Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

My sweet neighbor knows how much I love these Old Fashioned Ginger Snap cookies, with their sparkling sugary exterior, crisp edge and slightly chewy center, so when she gives them to me, she also gives permission not to share them. She says, “It’s okay if you want to hide these.” I love it! She knows me well.

I asked her for the recipe to share with you all, and she said that it came from her Aunt Marva, who was her mom’s identical twin sister. This Old Fashioned Ginger Snap recipe has stood the test of time for a reason. They are one of my favorite cookies of all!

A Christmas Card that is sitting next to a plate of Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps, and some more Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps on the other side of the card, with a bite taken out of one of them.

Yesterday was a fairly productive day for me. After having the boys home sick for the beginning of the week, it felt good to have the house to myself. I got caught up on laundry, worked on my editorial calendar, and made more to-do lists. After making cookies and putting my kitchen back together, I started on my Christmas cards.

We ordered them from Minted again this year, because we love the quality of the paper and print, as well as the design choices and free envelope addressing! We also love that you can view all the design options with your actual picture inserted into them. So easy!

A wood plate full of Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps, with a bite taken out of the one on top.

Should I chill the cookie dough?

There is no need to chill the dough for Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps. Generally, chilling the dough can help sticky cookie dough to be more manageable, but this dough is not overly sticky. Chilled dough will also spread less in the oven than room temperature dough, but these cookies are supposed to be nice and thin, so spreading is good!

Can I freeze Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps?

Yes, these cookies will freeze very well in a well sealed container or a freezer ziplock bag for 3-6 months. You can also freeze the dough balls on a paper plate and then slide the plate into a gallon size freezer ziplock to bake at a later time. I love baking a half batch of cookies and then freezing the dough balls of the second half for later. A freezer full of cookie dough is a joyful sight!

If you love Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps, but want to bake a thicker, chewier cookie, try these Bakery Style Molasses Cookies. I know you’ll LOVE them!

Hope your December is off to a great start as well. Go ahead and put these cookies on your to-do lists!

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

Can't get enough?

Subscribe and I'll send all my recipes right to your inbox! You can also keep up to date by following me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.4 from 33 reviews

Author: Julie
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 3 dozen 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Description

I love these Old Fashioned Ginger Snaps with their sparkling sugary exterior, crisp edge and slightly chewy center! Everyone LOVES these cookies!

Ingredients

Scale

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
additional 1/2 cup sugar for rolling (I used half coarse sparkling sugar, and half granulated sugar)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, Silpat, or by greasing it.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Add egg and molasses and mix.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger together.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl on low speed until everything is incorporated and a dough forms.
Scoop dough into balls. I used a scoop that measures about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Roll the dough ball in the sugar and place on the baking sheet (12 per sheet). No need to flatten the dough balls. They will spread out as they bake.
Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow them to cool on a cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 Cookie
Calories: 101
Sugar: 10g
Sodium: 118mg
Fat: 4g
Saturated Fat: 2.5g
Unsaturated Fat: 1.3g
Trans Fat: 0.2g
Carbohydrates: 16g
Fiber: 0.3g
Protein: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 15mg