My Soft and Chewy Brown Butter Gingersnaps host all the classic appeal that you know and love – plus SO much more! The edges are irresistibly crunchy, while the thick centers stay soft and chewy. They’re a Christmas cookie miracle!
We’re three days into this crisp month of November, and already my brain is like “the holidays are coming, the holidays are coming, the hoooooolidays are COMING.”
Crazy brain? Maybe. But that’s completely beside the point.
The point is the holidays really are coming. In fact, they’re right around the corner! 24 days till Thanksgiving and 52 days till Christmas. We’re ankle deep! But don’t panic. Because this is when all the fun begins! Holiday baking, homemade gifts and festive cakes… we’re going to do it all together, OK? It’ll be a joint effort. And between the two of us, we most definitely got this.
Bring on the comfort and joy… and COOKIES!
Let’s kick off this holiday bake-a-thon (psst… we’re starting right now!) with something sure to please your sweet tooth. Soft and Chewy Brown Butter Gingersnaps. And yes, they are exactly as  buttery and delicious as you’re dreaming them to be. Promise. Your cookie dreams —> about to come true!
When it comes to gingersnaps, you’d be correct to consider me a HUGE supporter. I’m a mega fan! Obsessed. Drunk in love. I want all the ginger in my cookies and I want it now. Have you ever made triple ginger lemon cookies? They’re a must for any ginger fan. These cookies, however, are not an intense gingersnap. They’re not IN YOUR FACE SPICY. Or “holy crap, I think I just chipped my tooth” snappy. They don’t require you to grate fresh ginger. Or hunt it down in fancy (albeit delicious) crystallized form. They’re humble. And easy.
They’re for everyone… they’re for you.
These gingersnaps are what I like to call a meeting place cookie. For ginger lovers and not-so-loving ginger loving folks to meet, eat cookies, and be happy. In addition to ginger, these cookies are also flavored with brown butter (aka my soulmate), a fresh pop of orange zest, and hearty molasses. The dough will be soft and sticky upon first glance, but once you pop it in the fridge for an hour (or up to a day!), it will firm up into a perfectly scoopable texture.
And trust me… I know waiting for cookie dough to chill sucks big time. But you do NEED to chill this dough. One hour! You can do this.
The good news? Once the dough has chilled, you’re only 9 minutes away from soft and chewy gingersnap salvation! Go get after it, friend!
From one baker to another, do yourself a favor and add these cookies to your holiday plans now. You’ll thank me later 😉
If you try this recipe for Soft and Chewy Brown Butter Gingersnaps, leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram!
Soft and Chewy Brown Butter Gingersnaps
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, browned and brought back to room temperature
- 3 cups (361g) all-purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (106g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (85g) molasses (mild, not blackstrap)
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
For the Sugar Coating:
- 1/2 cup (99g) granulated Sugar
Instructions
How to Brown Butter:
- Cut the butter in tablespoons and place them in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, until the solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour browned butter into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until solidified, about 2 hours.
To make the Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator. Microwave the butter on low power, for 10 to 15 seconds, or until it’s just softened, but not melted.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the softened butter until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Add in both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the molasses and orange zest and beat until combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating just until combined.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour (or up to one day).
When ready to Bake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Scoop out 2 tablespoon sized mounds of cookie dough and roll them into evenly round balls. Roll the balls in the sugar coating, then transfer them onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2-inches between for spreading.
- Bake cookies, one tray at a time, for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden. Cool cookies on the baking sheet, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes before serving warm or transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Diana says
I am always craving bakery style ginger cookies but am too scared to make them. Not today! These are incredible! Crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. So much flavor. These taste just like the ones found at any fancy bakery. Great recipe!
Sandy Kay says
I followed the recipe to a T and I just couldn’t get these to come out right. The dough was sticky, even after leaving in the refrig. Overnight. Then, I had a hard time forming the dough into the balls, as too soft. They never puffed up in the oven, but spread together and flattened. Yikes, what did I do wrong? They are incredible delicious, even in their sorry state…..
bakerbynature says
Hi Sandy. Oh boy, I’m sorry to hear your cookies didn’t come out. Did you let your browned butter firm back up to room temperature? It shouldn’t be liquid when added into the cookie dough.
Peggy says
“sounds” like too much butter… they flatten and spread out, I realize this is 6 years old. But I’m just now reading and others may as well.
Auntiepatch says
Yum!
Pamela G. says
These look scrumptious, I can’t wait to make them. However, there is one problem I would like to ckeck about. When I downloaded this posting the ingredients to the recipe do not appear. The instructions are fine, just no ingredients except for the sugar at the end. The only way I was able to get the ingredients for this cookie is to open the link for the printable version, they now appear. Is for some reason this problem is only happening for me or is there a problem on the blog?
thanks
bakerbynature says
Hi Pamela. I don’t know too much about the process of what happens to the recipe once it’s downloaded. If you print it from the recipe box it should come out fine, or keep the recipe up on your screen. I just took a quick look and it’s all good from the back end 🙂 I hope you enjoy the cookies!
ally says
Hey !! These look amazing !! Can I use blackstrap if that’s all I have on hand ??
bakerbynature says
Hi Ally. I really don’t recommend using blackstrap as it will take over the flavor and make them quite malty/bitter. My advice is to grab a bottle of mild molasses, then make them as instructed 🙂
Sheryl says
Love anything ginger. Can’t wait to make these, (all year around)
In Australia we do not have sticks if butter. What would this amount be in grams or by cup measure?
bella says
One half a cup
Andrea says
I’m about to make here but I have a question about the butter. The recipe calls for one and a half sticks but this comment says just a half cup of butter. In my cooking one stick is half a cup so should the recipe be for half a cup or three quarters of a cup of butter. Can’t wait to have these this weekend!
bakerbynature says
Hi Andrea. I can’t seem to find the comment you are referring to, but I can assure you the proper amount is 1 and 1/2 sticks (12 ounces). Please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Andrea says
I just realized the comment wasn’t made by you.
Thanks for your speedy clarification!!!
heather says
Hello!
My butter comes in 4 ounce sticks so I used 3/4 cups butter and they came out amazing! I am eating them as i sit here! Thank you so much for an amazing recipe it is definitely going into my keepers.
Natalie says
These are so good! I made them today and delivered them to friends and everyone loved them. They are super soft and chewy. Thank you!
bakerbynature says
Natalie, that’s awesome news! So happy everyone enjoyed them 🙂 Have a happy New Year.
Deborah Wessel says
Can you freeze the dough?
bakerbynature says
Hi Deborah. You can roll the dough into balls, freeze the balls, then bake when needed. Just be sure to tack a few extra minutes onto the bake time; they’ll take longer to bake if frozen.
Deborah Wessel says
Wow that was a fast response! thanks so much. I am going to try them this weekend and bake on Tuesday for friend’s arrival. She loves ginger cookies.
Marie says
I could not find mild molasses. I substituted with half regular molasses and the other half regular karo syrup. They turned out excellent. I had never browned butter.
Ann says
I’m so excited to make these! They look amazing. This is my first browned butter recipe. I am making some for this weekend and some for next week. If I freeze the ones for next week, how long do they need to thaw before eating and are they as good? Thanks for sharing this recipe!
bakerbynature says
Hi Ann. Are you freezing the cookie dough or the baked cookies?
Ann says
Baked cookies!