Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are a mix between classic crinkle cookies & a warm, soft-baked  gingerbread cookie. A homemade gingerbread cookie is the base and then it gets covered in powdered sugar for a sweet and chewy exterior. No cookie cutters needed for this delicious gingerbread cookie recipe. 

For more twists to the classic gingerbread cookie be sure and try my Gingerdoodle Cookies and these adorable Gingerbread Kiss Cookies. 

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies Recipe

I feel like gingerbread cookies are a classic Christmas recipe to make during the Holidays. The warm gingerbread spices + perfect sugar sweetness + the fun look of these crinkle cookies makes them perfect for a cookie plate for friends and neighbors, or they look fabulous on a cookie tray at a party. 

This recipe starts with a homemade gingerbread cookie dough that gets rolled in powdered sugar. As the cookies bake, they naturally start to ‘crinkle’ which exposes some of that beautiful brown gingerbread color between the snowy white crinkles. 

Ingredients Needed

• All-Purpose Flour – I prefer using unbleached all-purpose flour for all my baking but regular bleached flour works as well. Use whatever you have. 
• Cornstarch – This helps to keep the cookies from spreading too much while baking. We want them to stay slightly fluffy looking. 
• Baking Powder
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger – This can be reduced for a slightly less gingery taste. 
• Ground Cloves
• Ground Nutmeg
• Salt
• Butter – Make sure the butter is well softened. It’s much easier, and quicker, to cream soft butter rather than cold butter that tends to chunk up. 
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar
• Large Egg
• Vanilla Extract – I always recommend only using pure vanilla extract when baking. 
• Molasses – You can find this by the maple syrups at the grocery store or the baking aisle. It’s a thick, dark syrup that is similar to corn syrup. 
• Powdered Sugar

How To Make Crinkle Cookies with Gingerbread

Learn how to make these cookies with the steps below. Be sure and read to the bottom of the post where there is a detailed recipe card with all my tips, a printable recipe button, and a pin it button so you can save this cookie recipe for later. 

• Prep : Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper, use a silpat liner, or spray with cooking spray. I definitely recommend using parchment paper as it helps cookies bake more evenly and prevents the bottoms from getting too browned. 
• Dry Ingredients : In a small mixing bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients until combined. Set aside. 
• Cream Butter + Sugar/Wet Ingredients : In a larger mixing bowl, or you can use a stand mixer, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until lighter in color and fluffy looking. This takes about 1-2 minutes to do properly. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beat to combine. Add the molasses and continue mixing until combined. 
• Gingerbread Cookie Dough : Add the dry ingredients into the larger mixing bowl and beat on low speed just until a soft, crumbly dough is formed. 
• Freezer : Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and freeze for 15 minutes. No longer than 15 minutes!
• Cookies : Use a medium cookie scoop, or 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough, and roll it into a tight ball. Completely cover the cookie dough ball in powdered sugar and place 12 cookies per cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies look puffy and they have formed ‘crinkles’ on top. 
• Cool : Let the cookies cool on the warm cookie sheet for about 5 minute before removing them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Eat at room temperature or eat one warm!

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies FAQ’s

• Texture & Flavor Notes

  • Texture : These cookies have a soft & fluffy interior with a slightly crunchier exterior with ‘crinkles’ of sweet powdered sugar. As the cookies bake they will naturally crinkle on their own which will expose some of the brown gingerbread cookie beneath the powdered sugar. 
  • Flavor Profile : The flavor is gingerbread spices (ginger and cinnamon being the forward flavors), hints of molasses, and perfect sweetness due to white sugar, brown sugar, and powdered sugar.

• Storage Instructions

  • There are several ways to store your crinkle cookies!
    • Counter/Room Temperature : Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. 
    • Fridge : Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Bring the cookies to room temperature before serving. As the cookies soften to room temp, the powdered sugar does tend to get a little melty from the moisture in the fridge. I would recommend not storing them in the fridge if you’re planning on serving them to guests, family, or friends. The fridge is a great place for leftovers that you want to keep past the 7 day mark. 
    • Freezer : Store the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookies before serving and eating. Again, the powdered sugar will look a little melty and different as the cookies thaw. This could easily be fixed by sprinkling on some additional powdered sugar to cover up the thawed powdered sugar look. 

• Serving Suggestions

  • These cookies are best served at room temperature. They’re the perfect soft consistency when eaten at room temperate. 
  • The cookies also do really well on day 2 and beyond because the flavors really have time to come together, soften slightly, and it’s just really good. 

Recipe Tips

Here are a few of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this cookie recipe in your own kitchen ♥

• Freezer Time : I normally stay away from cookie recipes that call for freezer or fridge time, cause who wants to wait that long for a cookie?! But it is necessary in this recipe and I recommend not skipping it! The time in the freezer helps make the dough easier to work with and it prevents the cookies from spreading totally flat while baking in the oven. It’s important to not leave the dough in the freezer for longer than 20 minutes. Otherwise, the cookie dough will get too hard and firm (making it impossible to roll) and the cookies will end up not spreading at all while baking. We do want them to spread a little bit!
• Baking Time : Crinkle cookies traditional have a soft-baked inside with a crunchier, chewier exterior covered in those powdered sugar ‘crinkles’. I prefer a softer crinkle cookies so I bake them at the minimum bake time. If you want a crunchier. snappier gingerbread cookie then bake them a few additional minutes. 
• Cookie Scoop : I use a medium sized cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons of dough) for this recipe. If you use something larger or smaller, it will change the serving size that you will get. And you will also have o watch the bake time because larger cookies will need a couple additional minutes to bake properly and ‘crinkle’. 

More Christmas Cookies You’ll Love

• Christmas Cookie Pizza – Sugar cookie dough makes the ‘pizza crust’ and then it’s topped with vanilla frosting and all the festive colors with sprinkles and candies.
• Muddy Buddy Cookies – Peanut butter cookie, filled with milk chocolate, and then finished off with a snow-like dusting of powdered sugar. Tastes just like the famous muddy buddy snack mix but in a cookie!
• Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies – Little soft bites of cheesecake cookie (made with cream cheese) and bits of peppermint. 
• Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies – A pretty red color makes these perfect for Christmastime. These crinkle cookies also get a dusting of powdered sugar, it almost looks like snow!
• Family Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe – I make these all the time! Be sure and use Christmas sprinkles, m&m’s, and other red & green candies to decorate these cookies with. They’re also fun to use Christmas shaped cookie cutter for. So many ways to make them festive.