The Best Ginger Snaps Cookie Recipe, decorated for Christmas! (2024)

FAQs

Why are my ginger snaps soft? ›

Bake for longer.

This is a pretty simple one, but to get that lovely crunchy gingersnap cookie, I increased the bake time slightly. If you want them even more crunchy, bake them for a little longer!

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.

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.

The oven isn't hot enough. (it needs to set the top before the middle's fully risen) 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)

“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 North America these cookies are usually called gingersnaps but in Australia and New Zealand they are called ginger nuts. I cannot tell you how delicious these ginger cookies are so I'm just going to sort of beg you to make them.

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

So how do you know that they're done? Here's how to tell if gingerbread cookies are done: They'll be firmly set. They'll be a lovely medium-brown color.

However, with that amount of baking powder, your cookies (or any baked goods in which you substitute baking powder for baking soda) may end up with a pronounced bitter taste.

In announcing the settlement with the maker of Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Friday said testing revealed that a serving of the ginger snaps contained lead levels up to nine times the threshold requiring a warning under California's Proposition 65.

Can you eat too many ginger snaps? ›

An ounce of ginger snaps has 142 milligrams of sodium, which is 9 percent of the 1,500 milligrams you should limit yourself to each day, according to the American Heart Association. Despite the nutritional content, ginger snaps still aren't a health food, so only indulge every once in a while.

The most commonly sold molasses is light molasses, which comes from the first boiling of the sugar syrup and is more delicate in flavor and color. It's the tamest flavor and works well to boost other supporting ingredients instead of being intense and overpowering.

Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies. Beat each one in separately and thoroughly. If you run out of eggs while baking and find that you need more, you can add 1/4 cup vegetable oil for each egg required.

Make-Ahead and Storage

With or without frosting, the gingerbread cookies will last up to three weeks at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

Other visual cues that indicate it's time to toss the ginger include blemishes or mold on the exterior or cut ends, or a discolored interior (dark yellow, brown, gray cast) when sliced. Texture: Fresh ginger is firm, so if it's soft or mushy to the touch, it's a tell-tale sign that the ginger has gone bad.

If raw ginger turns out to be soft or mushy, then toss it out.

Wrinkled skin on ginger is not necessarily an indicator of spoilage. However, if the ginger also has a mushy texture, an off smell, a brown color, or visible mold, it is likely bad and should be discarded. It's always best to trust your senses and look for the signs of bad ginger before using it in your recipes.