Homemade Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between gingersnaps and ginger cookies? ›

Ginger Snaps are simply a variation of the traditional Gingerbread cookie. They're known for their crisper quality; their “snap” if you will. Introduced in colonial times, the main differences between Gingerbread and Ginger Snaps are a longer bake time for an extra crisp and the use of molasses versus sugar.

The smaller, crispy gingersnaps are a plain, round cookie and a healthier choice when compared to other cookies because they are usually lower in calories. Ginger not only adds delicious flavor to food, but it's also full of nutrients. There are lots of different vitamins and minerals in ginger.

Margarine and butter can both be used as a substitute for shortening, though their moisture contents should be taken into consideration before making the swap. While shortening is 100% fat, margarine and butter contain a small percentage of water (so, shortening adds more fat, thus more richness and tenderness).

Not enough leavening (it needs to be strong enough to crack the top once it's set) Using a single-acting baking powder (double acting gives extra rise when it gets heated) Not creaming the fat long enough (creaming cuts little air pockets into the fat, which means the leavening has to do less work)

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

In conclusion, ginger snaps cookies are not only delicious but also have some nutritional benefits. They contain important nutrients like iron, calcium, and fiber. Ginger, the key ingredient in these cookies, is known for its various health benefits, including aiding digestion and reducing inflammation.

Ginger is safe to eat daily, but experts recommend limiting yourself to 3 to 4 grams a day — stick to 1 gram daily if you're pregnant. Taking more than 6 grams of ginger a day has been proven to cause gastrointestinal issues such as reflux, heartburn and diarrhea.

The Best Molasses Substitutes

Honey, dark corn syrup, and maple syrup can also be used to replace molasses in recipes.

Check your oven

If your oven is too hot, the fat melts faster than the cookie can set, and you end up with pancake cookies. Always preheat your oven and invest in a good oven thermometer. Even new ovens can be incorrectly calibrated, so check the actual temperature every time you put a pan in the oven.

If you use too much butter, the cookies will end up flat and greasy. And if you use too little flour, the amount of butter and sugar will be proportionally too high, meaning the cookies will spread for the aforementioned reasons.

How do you know when ginger cookies are done? ›

Gingersnaps typically have a crisp, snappy texture and a spicier, more pronounced ginger flavor, while molasses cookies are soft with a deeper, rich molasses flavor. Can this dough be frozen? Definitely! Just follow the instructions for sugar coated cookies in my post on how to freeze cookie dough.

Using too much flour will make your cookies too cakey, so try reducing the flour amount by two tablespoons.

Some go light on the ginger, others use so much it's like they want to set your chest on fire. Then there's allspice, clove, cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses—all of which are ingredients used interchangeably in ginger snaps and gingerbread cookies. We found this taste test to be very comforting.

In North America these cookies are usually called gingersnaps but in Australia and New Zealand they are called ginger nuts.

The spiced wafer is like the gingersnap, except it includes other non-ginger spices like clove and cinnamon, as well as real blackstrap molasses. They're also baked longer than regular cookies, so they're extra crunchy.

These early ginger cookies originated in Europe and came with the German, Dutch, and English settlers to America. Gingersnaps were named from the German or Middle Dutch word snappen, meaning "to seize quickly."