Soft and chewy Ginger Cookies with Crystallized Ginger and earthy spices, a delicious Christmas cookie recipe that goes down really well during the festive season, but also all year around. They are really easy to make with a few simple ingredients, and they make great edible gifts too.
'Tis the season of baking, and ginger is one of the most popular ingredient at this time of the year. Some of my favourite traditional Christmas desserts have ground ginger in them: Gingerbread Men, Ginger Cake and Gingerbread Cupcakes.
But add crystallized or candied ginger in the mix, and you are in for a big treat! Surprisingly, when added to desserts, the crystallized ginger looses its sharpness a bit, leaving us with a wonderfully spiced treat.
These ginger cookies are based on my Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe, and they are deliciously soft, chewy and rich, with a lovely spiced kick that makes them really festive.
Crystallized ginger has a wide range of health benefits, and can be added to so many baked goodies, so it's always worth having a good package around, whether for baking or having it by itself.
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Ingredients used
- dark brown sugar - adds the chewiness and the caramel-like taste to the cookies
- granulated sugar - adds sweetness to the cookies
- butter - either salted or unsalted, I quite like salted butter in baking though
- eggs - at room temperature, I used one whole egg and one egg yolk
- flour - plain regular flour would do
- bicarbonate of soda
- spices: I used cinnamon, ground ginger and mixed spice
- crystallised sugar - or candied sugar
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- in a pan set over a medium heat, add the butter cut into cubes and allow it to melt
- remove it from the heat and leave it to cool down slightly
- in a mixing bowl, add the sugars and melted butter, and use a hand mixer to beat everything well
- add the egg and egg yolk, and beat again
- sift in the flour, add the spices, and use a spatula to mix well to incorporate
- add the crystallized ginger cut into small pieces, and mix again
- set the batter aside for 5 minute so it can harden a bit
- use your hands to shape balls the size of a walnut, and arrange them onto baking trays lined with baking paper - I used 3 baking trays
- bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 11-12 minutes or until slightly light brown around the edges
- remove them from the oven and leave them to cool down on the trays for at least 20 minutes, before transferring them onto cooling racks to cool down completely
Expert tips
Once the ingredients are all incorporated, the batter will feel too soft to be shaped into balls, that is why it is important to set it aside for at least 5 minutes, once it hardens, it will be the perfect consistency.
Do not be tempted to add any more flour, as that will prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven. Too sloppy though, and they will be flat and spread way too much.
Always weight the ingredients for cookies, as the ratio flour: butter is crucial to get cookies that have the perfect shape when they come out of the oven. They will be a but puffed up at first, but once they cool down, they will look the right consistency.
Allow plenty of room between the cookies on the baking trays so they can spread while baking, I would not have more than 7-8 cookies on a tray.
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Ginger Cookies with Crystallized Ginger
Ingredients
- 275 g plain flour
- 175 g salted butter
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 125 g granulated sugar
- 125 g dark brown sugar
- 1 cup crystallized ginger cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Cut the butter into cubes, and add it to a pan set over a medium heat.
- Leave the butter to melt, then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, add the granulated and dark brown sugar together with the butter, and use a hand mixer to beat them well.
- Add the egg and egg yolk, and beat again.
- Sift in the flour, bicarb of soda, add the spices, and use a spatula to mix them.
- Add the crystallized ginger, and mix again.
- Set the mixture aside for at least 5 minutes to harden.
- Line 3 or 4 baking trays with non-stick paper.
- Use your hands to shape balls out of the batter the size of a walnut, and transfer them onto the baking trays, making sure there is enough room between them to allow them to spread.
- Bake each tray for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly light brown around the edges.
- Remove them from the oven, and leave them to cool on the tray for 30 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack to cool down completely.
Video
Notes
- Once he ingredients are all incorporated, the batter will feel too soft to be shaped into balls, that is why it is important to set it aside for at least 5 minutes, once it hardens, it will be the perfect consistency.
- Do not be tempted to add any more flour, as that will prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven. Too sloppy though, and they will be flat and spread way too much.
- Always weight the ingredients for cookies, as the ratio flour: butter is crucial to get cookies that have the perfect shape when they come out of the oven. They will be a but puffed up at first, but once they cool down, they will look the right consistency.
- Allow plenty of room between the cookies on the baking trays so they can spread while baking, I would not have more than 7-8 cookies on a tray.
Melanie says
Refrigerating the dough and baking the next day worked out well. The cookies were very good. My only note for the recipe itself is that a weight for the crystallized ginger would be more helpful than the 1 cup volume. I had a 4oz container of diced ginger and I was worried it wasn't enough. It was fine in the end though.
Daniela Apostol says
Thank you for the letting me know, I am glad that the recipe worked well for you. I find using measuring cups easier for me, as I also work with the metric system being European, so I can get a bit confused by the oz, but I will try to give alternative measurements too.
Melanie says
Hi, do you think it will be ok if I refrigerate the dough overnight and bake the next day? Should I let it come back to room temperature?
Daniela Apostol says
Hi! You can definitely refrigerate and bake chilled, that should be fine.