Old-Fashioned Ginger Biscuits baked with molasses and earthy christmassy spices, the best cookies for the festive season. Call them ginger nut cookies or ginger snap cookies, you know you are in for a treat.
They might look simple, but how good they are! It you haven't got time to bake fancy gingerbread houses or other iced biscuits, these are a great alternative, everyone will love the taste.
I would say that these ginger cookies are a much more simple variation of the gingerbread cookies.
Not quite sure why the British version is called gingernut cookies, as they do not contain nuts at all, so they are surely safe for people with nut allergies.
The ginger flavour brings heat, but is not too sharp. Taken out of the oven, the cookies are soft and chewy, but once they cool down, they harden, and you can get that snap and a good crunch.
They really go well with a hot drink, be it your favourite tea, hot chocolate or coffee. Talking about hot chocolate, fancy a good homemade one? I've got the perfect recipe: Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows and Cream, way tastier than the one you buy.
If you have kids, this is an easy recipe, so they can give a helping hand, they would love measuring the ingredients and mixing. And you really don't need to worry about a perfect shape.
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Ingredients needed
- unsalted butter - soften but not melted
- granulated sugar +2 tablespoon to roll the dough balls in
- plain flour
- ground ginger
- egg - at room temperature
- molasses -it can be replaced with golden syrup)
- ground cinnamon
- ground cloves
- bicarbonate of soda
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Like with other cookies, using the right amount of ingredients is crucial if you want cookies that spread nicely, and have the shape you are after. There are many recipes out there, but after many trials, I have found the perfect butter : flour ratio.
- in a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until you get a smooth paste
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Make sure the butter is at room temperature and is soft enough to be beaten well with the sugar. One trick here, if the butter is not soft enough, is grating the butter before using it. In this way, it softens really quickly, and you don't need to wait around for hours.
- add the egg, and beat again well until smooth
- in go the spices, molasses, and bicarbonate of soda; mix again
- add the flour, and mix to a smooth consistency - it can be done with spatula as well
Expert tips
Now, the dough is not hard, it's quite soft and a bit sticky, but it can still be rolled into a ball. Do not be tempted to add any more flour, or the cookies won't spread well anymore.
- use about one tablespoon of dough and roll into balls, then coast them with sugar
- arrange on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, making sure there is at least one inch between each ball, they do spread quite a lot
There is no need to flatten the balls up, if the dough is the right consistency, the cookies will flatten up properly. You might have to bake them in batches, depending on the size of your baking tray, you won't be able to have more than 6 balls baking at a time.
- bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 12-15 minutes, or until they flatten, and the edges are a bit crispy
When you remove the cookies from the oven, they are still soft, but they do harden quickly once they cool down, so leave them on the baking paper for 5 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling rack, otherwise they loose their shape.
And these are your Christmas cookies, quick, easy, and so delicious too. Have are your favourite Christmas cookies?
If you’ve tried my OLD-FASHIONED GINGER BISCUITS or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Old-Fashioned Ginger Biscuits
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, soften (50 g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (+2 tablespoon to roll the dough balls in)
- 1 cup plain flour (125 g)
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon molasses (it can be replaced with golden syrup)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
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Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the soften butter with the sugar until you get a smooth paste.
- Add the egg and beat again well so that the egg can be fully incorporated.
- Add the spices, molasses, mix again, then add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and mix to get a soft sticky dough.
- Take about one tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball, then dip it into the sugar to coat.
- Arrange on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, leaving at least one inch between each dough ball; depending on the size of your baking tray, you should not have more than 6 balls baking at a time.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (360 Fahreneheit) for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are spread nicely and the edges are slightly crispy.
- At this stage, the cookies are still soft, but leave them to cool down on the baking paper for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. If the cookies are too soft, they will take the shape of the cooling rack.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
Nutrition
Bonnie says
Hi Daniela, Thanks for the recipe. I just found it now, July 2020 (mid COVID 19). I have 2 questions both quite simple. Does this recipe make only 12 cookies? You say 12 cookies are one serving? The reason I am picky is my grand daughter has just been diagnosed with Type one diabetes, she can eat cookies but needs to take insulin according to the amount of carbohydrates in each cookie. Ryan and I both love ginger cookies and would like to try your recipe. She is only 8 but made cookies with me before her diagnoses in March. Now we live by measuring everything. Thanks for your help.
Daniela Apostol says
Hi! The ingredients used make 12 cookies, but the nutritional value is calculated for one cookie only, I use an automatic program that calculates it based on one serving, in which case one cookie is considered one serving. I hope this helps!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
YUM! I love the idea of these gorgeous cookies and making them with my daughter! While she's still a little young, I have aspirations for us to bake holiday goodies together soon. 🙂
Thanks so much for participating in this year’s Sweetest Season! I’ve loved seeing all the recipes, getting in the spirit and feeling inspired to bake EVERYTHING this month! Well done!
Daniela Anderson says
Thank you, Erin! I enjoyed taking part in the Cookie Exchange!