Thin & Crisp Iced Gingersnaps

One of the best parts of the holiday season is baking Christmas cookies, and these iced gingersnaps are equally as festive as they are delicious. Filled with the best holiday spices and rich, nutty molasses, these gingersnaps truly taste like Christmas in every bite - and using festive cookie stamps makes them almost too pretty to eat! Covering them in shiny white icing gives these cookies a bit of extra holiday sparkle. Bake a batch for Santa, include them in your cookie boxes for friends and family, or just enjoy a few by the fire with a warm drink on a cold winter's night.

For more holiday cookie recipes, try Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, Spiced Apple Pie Cookies, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Chocolate Dipped Meringue Cookies.

Why you'll love these thin & crisp iced gingersnaps

• Crisp Edges & Soft Centers: These gingersnaps have the perfect balance of crisp and chewy textures, making them firm enough to hold their shape and soft enough to feel indulgent.
• Ginger Molasses Flavor: Warm, cozy spices & rich molasses make these gingersnap cookies perfect for Christmas. 
• Great Make Ahead Recipe: You can chill the gingersnap dough overnight, making this a perfect recipe to make ahead of time and bake off when needed!

Ingredient Notes

• Molasses: Be sure to use unsulphured molasses! I highly recommend Grandma's Molasses.
• Brown Sugar: No granulated sugar needed - use a high quality dark brown sugar for a richer flavor profile.
• Spices: Use a mixture of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground cloves.
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make these iced ginger snap cookies! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

STEP 2: Cream butter & sugar. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy. You can also use the bowl of a stand mixer.

STEP 3: Add wet ingredients. Add the molasses and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.

STEP 4: Combine wet and dry. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until fully combined. It will be a crumbly texture, but when pressed with a spatula it should stick together to form a cohesive dough.

STEP 5: Chill. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, then use your hands to shape into a compact disk. Chill for at least one hour or overnight.

STEP 6: Cut and bake. Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper to ⅛" in thickness. Lightly grease the cookie stamps with oil and dip into flour, then cut out as many cookies as possible. Place the cookies on a small baking sheet and freeze for at least 15 minutes. Reshape the remaining dough into a disk and chill for 15 minutes in the fridge before re-rolling and cutting out more cookies. Bake the gingersnaps for about 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet or wire rack.

Make the icing by mixing 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of warm water together with a whisk or a spoon.

Expert Baking Tips

• Chill the cookie dough. This is a soft dough, so it needs to chill for at least one hour in order to roll out easily. 
• Grease & flour the cookie stamps. To achieve a defined stamp design, grease and flour the cookie stamps before cutting out the cookies. 
• Chill the dough scraps. Before re-rolling cookie dough scraps, be sure to chill it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. 
• Freeze the cut out cookie dough. To ensure the cookies maintain their shape and design, freeze the cut out cookie dough for at least 15 minutes.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x