These chewy and soft ginger cookies are going to become a new favourite. Just try to not go back for one after another. Definitely for the ginger lover they’re filled with ginger in two forms and have the most wonderful texture.
For you true ginger lovers, try these ginger shortbread and this ginger loaf cake.
Why you’ll love it
With Christmas just weeks away, I am well and truly dreaming of that sweet aroma of holiday spices – like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. I’m going to jump straight in and say these cookies are lifechanging. Ok, big call but they’re just so good.
- The perfect combination of spices – cloves and ginger
- Rich and deep flavour from treacle, brown sugar and ginger
- Their texture is soft and chewy in the middle, but the edges are crisp
- Rolled in sugar, they have a gorgeous crunchy coating
- No need to chill the dough
They definitely earned a spot on my list of the 25 best Christmas cookie recipes.
I can honestly say, these are my new favourite cookie and watching how people just can’t stop at one gives me so much joy. While I can guarantee I’ll be making these soft ginger cookies every holiday season from here on, they’re just as lovely any time of year.
You’ll love these Biscoff butter cookies too.
Tools you’ll need
- A handheld electric beater makes it easy
- A small cookie scoop makes scooping the dough simple
- A cookie sheet or two
Ingredients for soft ginger cookies
For such a flavour-packed cooked, there really aren’t too many ingredients.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is all you need.
- Treacle: I use treacle but feel free to use molasses too. It gives this cookies such a depth of flavour. If you use molasses, make sure it’s regular molasses and not blackstrap molasses.
- Crystallised ginger: This is real pieces of ginger that has been candied in sugar.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar helps to give these cookies their chewiness.
- Egg: Just one large egg.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, so you can control the salt level.
- Baking soda: The baking soda gives these cookies a fluffy, soft centre.
- Salt: Always add a touch of salt, even to sweet treats, as it will enhance the flavours.
- Ground ginger: This gives a good punch of ginger flavour. If your ginger has been sitting around for a while, it’s a good idea to buy a fresh jar – the flavour will be better.
- Cloves: I add a touch of ground cloves too to give them that real spiced cookie flavour.
- Demerara sugar: Demerara sugar (very similar to turbinado sugar) has large crystals so it gives a lovely crunch to these cookies. You can use white granulated sugar too but the crystals are smaller.
How to make ginger cookies
These easy cookies are all mixed in one bowl and there’s no need to chill the dough before baking, which means you can have these chewy and soft ginger cookies ready to devour in half an hour.
Detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
- The dry ingredients: Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set that aside.
- The wet ingredients: Beat together the butter, treacle and sugar in a large bowl for about 1 minute, until well combined and looking fluffy (photo 1).
- Add the flour and ginger: Add the dry ingredients and beat those through followed by the finely chopped crystallised ginger (photo 2).
- Roll in sugar: Roll balls of dough in demerara sugar until covered all over (photo 3).
- Bake: Place them at least 2 inches apart on a baking tray (photo 4) and bake for 9 minutes.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t overbake them. The key to keeping these ginger cookies perfectly soft and chewy is to cook them until just cooked or ‘set’ and not cooking until firm or crunchy.
- Use a small cookie scoop. You’ll want to use a small cookie scoop (roughly 1 tablespoon in volume) or you can use a tablespoon measure to get level spoons of dough.
How to store ginger cookies
Make sure to store these cookies in an airtight container to retain their lovely soft texture. They will keep well at room temperature for at least a week.
These ginger cookies can be frozen too so you can make them ahead of time for gifting during the holidays.
The cookie dough can also be frozen so you can have cookies whenever you feel the need. Roll balls of dough and freeze them on a baking tray until solid. Transfer them to an airtight container and it will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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More ginger recipes you’ll love
- Ginger Loaf Cake
- Ginger Shortbread
- Mini Flourless Ginger Orange Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Pear Upside Down Cake
- Gingerbread Cheesecake Balls
- Jam Filled Speculaas Cookies (Speculoos Cookies)
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Ingredients
- 260 g plain (all-purp) flour (2 cups / 9.2oz)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter, room temp (½ cup / 1 stick / 4oz)
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ cup / 5.3oz)
- ¼ cup treacle (85g / 3oz)
- 1 large egg
- 55 g crystallised ginger, chopped finely (⅓ cup / 2oz)
- ⅓ cup demerara (turbinado) sugar
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350F /160C fan forced. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking paper.
- Sift together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, ground cloves and salt and whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar and treacle until lightened and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture and beat through until 90% combined. Now add the crystallised chopped crystallised ginger and give it all a mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Use a small cookie scoop or eye-ball approximately 3 teaspoons of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll in the demerara sugar and place on baking trays 1-2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes – be careful not to overbake. Let them cool on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire
Notes
- Both the dough and the baked cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container to keep their soft texture.
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17 Comments on “Chewy and Soft Ginger Cookies”
the dough is delicious! I have just put them in the oven – but only made 15 cookies???
So happy you love them Debbie. I would say this just comes down to different cookie scoop sizes. I roll these quite small (a US tablespoon size).
OMG. I’m gonna eat the whole batch. These are soooo tasty
So happy you love them Cindy. What would you give them out of 5 stars?
Can I use molasses instead of treacle or would light or dark corn syrup be a better substitute?
Hi Jodie, yes you can use molasses. Regular molasses, not blackstrap. Happy baking 🙂
What kind of holiday season can be without some (And I totally mean a lot) of gingerbread cookies, right? These look and sound terrific!
Thanks so much Ben
These cookies are so easy to make. They taste even better that any you can buy in the shop. I love the soft chewy texture they have. As the mixture makes so many at your suggestion I put some in the freezer. They taste just as lovely as the day I made them. My Husband who can be a bit fussy really loves them. Thank you very much for posting.
I’m so happy you love these Heather. One of my favourites too.
Oh my goodness Marie, I took your advice and gave these ago. They honestly have to be the best ginger cookies I have ever had. They are so good that I have had requests already for more.
They have just the right amount of ginger and the chewy centre with the bite of the ginger pieces delicious.
Thank you for your lovely recipes.
You’ve made my day, Joanne. So happy you love them. Thanks so much for your support.
Yes, I think we’re both big fans of those ones.
FINALLY! I don’t know who issued the memo that ginger cookies must be crunchy, but I disagree with it. I have been waiting for a recipe like this! <3
Haha! Yes, we’ve been doing it wrong all this time! I’d love to hear what you think if you try them 🙂
I am definitely a fan of ginger-flavoured things! These look like perfect little bites. Your work colleagues are lucky to get such delicious desserts from you! 🙂
Thanks Marie. Every so often, I find a bottle of wine on my desk so it’s win-win I’d say 🙂