Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
These gingerbread crinkle cookies are soft, chewy, and full of warm spices. The molasses adds rich flavor, and the powdered sugar gives each cookie a snowy, festive look. Whether you’re hosting a holiday party, preparing gifts for neighbors, or simply baking for fun, these easy Christmas crinkle cookies bring cozy holiday flavors in every bite.
Love crinkle cookies? Try these other flavors: chocolate, pumpkin, peppermint, coconut lime, and lemon.
The Ultimate Christmas Crinkle Cookie Recipe
I took my favorite recipe for soft-baked gingersnap cookies and tweaked it to make these festive Christmas crinkle cookies. While testing this recipe (four times) I learned the best tricks to create the most beautiful cracks, while also preventing the powdered sugar from absorbing too much.
In this post, you’ll learn how to make gingerbread crinkle cookies that stay soft, bake evenly, and deliver that iconic crinkle pattern every time.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
Gingerbread crinkle cookies combine everything you love about classic gingerbread (ginger, cinnamon, and molasses) with the soft, fudgy texture of traditional crinkles.
- Perfect holiday flavor: Warm spices, sweet molasses, and a hint of vanilla.
- Soft and chewy texture: The hallmark of great Christmas crinkle cookies.
- Festive appearance: The snowy powdered sugar coating makes them picture-perfect.
- Easy to make ahead: Chill the dough and bake fresh when you’re ready.
These are the cookies you’ll want to bring to your next Christmas cookie swap or add to your holiday cookie box. They are guaranteed to be a standout among your favorite Christmas cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need
NOTE: Full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
Jump
To make these delicious gingerbread crinkle cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Unsulfured Molasses (not blackstrap)
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Granulated Sugar (for rolling)
- Powdered Sugar (for the signature crinkle)
Step 1: Make the Ginger Cookie Dough
Follow these simple steps to achieve perfect crinkles and a rich gingerbread flavor:
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together.
- Mix in the Wet Ingredients: Mix in the egg, vanilla, and molasses until combined, scraping the bowl as needed. (May look a little curdled/separated, but will come together with the dry ingredients.)
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Step 2: Scoop and Chill the Dough
- Scoop & Chill the Dough: Use a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough) to scoop the dough into balls and place them on a parchment or silicone lined tray. (They can be close together, just not touching. Do NOT roll dough balls with hands to keep a rough surface area to ensure the most cracks.) FREEZE for 20-30 minutes until firm.
- Preheat Oven: While dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 3: Coat and Bake the Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Roll and Coat: Once chilled, roll each dough ball in granulated sugar first, then powdered sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2-3 inches apart (no more than 8 per tray). NOTE: Keep extra cookies chilled while you bake each pan and only coat the dough in the sugars just before baking.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake at 350˚F for 12-14 minutes until the cookies spread and the cracks look almost matte, not very wet (just slightly underbaked). (NOTE: The spreading and cracking mostly happens during the last 5 minutes of bake time.) Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Storing and Freezing
- TO STORE: Store gingerbread crinkle cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Some of the powdered sugar may absorb into the cookies the longer they are stored.
- TO FREEZE: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Set in the freezer for 1-2 hours until very firm. Then transfer frozen dough balls into a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. NOTE: Do not coat dough balls in the sugars until ready to bake. You will need to bake the cookies roughly 3-5 minutes longer, if baking from completely frozen. Otherwise let them sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before coating with sugar and baking as written.
- NOTE: I do not recommend freezing these cookies after they are baked due to the powdered sugar and moisture from the freezer.
Recipe Notes
Tips for Perfect Crinkle Cookies
- Do NOT roll the dough into balls with your hands. Smoothing the dough with your hands will minimize the amount of cracks. Instead, use a trigger cookie scoop to evenly portion the dough into balls and create a rough exterior. Just scoop and release the cookie dough for the most cracks.
- Don’t skip the chilling — it prevents the cookies from spreading too quickly and slightly dries out the exterior, creating more cracks when the dough starts to expand in the oven. Be sure to scoop the dough into balls before you chill it. This keeps it the coldest. (Plus it won’t break your cookie scoop this way. This dough is THICK.)
- Double-coat the cookie dough in granulated sugar, then powdered sugar to get a bright white crackle. Using granulated sugar first prevents the powdered sugar from absorbing too much, so it will stay bright white.
- Slightly underbake the cookies to keep them soft and chewy.
FAQs
The dough may not have been cold enough. Chilling helps the exterior set while the inside expands, creating cracks. Also, be sure to use enough powdered sugar.
Absolutely! The dough can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours or frozen for later.
Unsulfured molasses is a milder, sweeter syrup from the first boiling of sugar cane, while blackstrap is a very dark, more bitter molasses from the third boiling, with most of its sugar removed. Avoid blackstrap as it’s too bitter.
Granulated sugar helps create structure, and powdered sugar gives the cookies that classic snowy crinkle look.
They’re meant to be soft, chewy, and slightly fudgy—similar to classic chocolate crinkle cookies. The outside is just slightly crunchy due to the granulated sugar.
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
Coating
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, for rolling
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and molasses until combined, scraping the bowl as needed. (May look a little curdled/separated, but will come together with the dry ingredients.)
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Use a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tbsp of cookie dough) to scoop the dough into balls and place them on a parchment or silicone lined tray. (They can be close together, just not touching. Do NOT roll dough balls with hands to keep a rough surface area to ensure the most cracks.) FREEZE for 20-30 minutes until firm.
- While dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Once chilled, roll each dough ball in granulated sugar first, then powdered sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2-3 inches apart (no more than 8 per tray). NOTE: Keep extra cookies chilled while you bake each pan and only coat the dough in the sugars just before baking.
- Bake at 350˚F for 12-14 minutes until the cookies spread and the cracks look almost matte, not very wet (just slightly underbaked). (NOTE: The spreading and cracking mostly happens during the last 5 minutes of bake time.) Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- FYI: The cookie dough is really THICK, so use a stand mixer. If you only have a hand mixer, go ahead and mix the wet ingredients, then mix in the dry ingredients by hand with a spoon/spatula.
- TO STORE: Store gingerbread crinkle cookies in an airtight container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Some of the powdered sugar may absorb into the cookies the longer they are stored.
- TO FREEZE: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. Set in the freezer for 1-2 hours until very firm. Then transfer frozen dough balls into a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. NOTE: Do not coat dough balls in the sugars until ready to bake. You will need to bake the cookies roughly 3-5 minutes longer, if baking from completely frozen. Otherwise let them sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before coating with sugar and baking as written.
- NOTE: I do not recommend freezing these cookies after they are baked due to the powdered sugar and moisture from the freezer.
Nutrition
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