This chewy triple ginger cookies recipe creates sweet, spicy, and chewy cookies that are a great addition to your holiday baking! If you like a spice cookie that packs a punch, these are the classic ginger cookies you’ve been looking for.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
“I have made these a few times last year and plan on making them again in a few weeks, but I must say these are the best ginger cookies I have ever made. Very chewy and everyone I have given them to have commented how great they are.” – Marina
This is one of my family’s favorite cookie recipes, and my mom has been making them for years. Thanks to the use of three types of ginger, these have an intense ginger flavor that has you coming back for more.
I’ve developed nearly 70 dessert recipes for this website, with over 20 of them being easy cookie recipes, and these are the ones I get asked about most during the holidays. Making them year after year has taught me a few things worth passing along. Chilling the dough isn’t optional if you want them to hold their shape. Rolling the balls fully in turbinado sugar is what gives you that crackled top, so a light coating means a smooth cookie instead of a crinkle. And the crystallized ginger has to be chopped small, or you get big chewy pockets instead of the pops of spicy sweetness you’re after.
If you or someone you love is a fan of spice cookies, you need to give this triple ginger cookie recipe a try (along with our popular snickerdoodle cookie recipe without cream of tartar and our cardamom cookies recipe too).
Jump to:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
- Why You’ll Love These Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Ingredients for Ginger Crinkle Cookies
- Step-By-Step Instructions for Making These Chewy Ginger Cookies
- Triple Ginger Cookies Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Making a Cookie Tray?
- Expert Tips for Making Molasses Ginger Cookies
- Storage
- Recipe FAQs
- Love This Recipe? Try One of These Easy to Make Cookie Recipes Next!
- Chewy Triple Ginger Cookies
- More Cookie Recipes To Try
Why You’ll Love These Ginger Molasses Cookies
Perfectly chewy ginger cookies. The texture of these cookies is chewy and lovely.
Bold and spicy flavors. These ginger molasses cookies are bursting with a wonderful amount of ginger spice, that is bold, spicy, and fun.
Easy to make. This is an easy cookie recipe to prepare, making it a great option for all levels of bakers.
Ingredients for Ginger Crinkle Cookies
- Dried Minced Ginger and Water. The first of our three gingers. Rehydrating dried minced ginger in a little water before adding it to the dough gives you soft bits of ginger flavor distributed throughout the cookie. If you can’t find dried minced ginger, there’s a fresh ginger substitution in the variations section below.
- Ground Ginger. The second ginger, and the one that gives these their warm background heat. It gets mixed in with the dry ingredients so the flavor carries through every bite.
- Crystallized Ginger. The third ginger and the one that makes these special. These sugar coated pieces give you little pops of spicy sweetness as you eat. Chop them small so they distribute well through the dough.
- Salted Butter. Creamed with the brown sugar to build the base of the dough. I use salted butter because it’s what I keep on hand, and the salt balances the sweetness from the molasses and sugar.
- Brown Sugar. Brown sugar is what makes these molasses ginger cookies chewy rather than crisp. The molasses content in the sugar adds moisture and deepens the flavor. Pack it tightly when you measure.
- Dark Molasses. Molasses is a key ingredient in many ginger and gingerbread cookies. It has a warm, sweet, and somewhat smoky flavor. For a more robust flavor we’ve used dark molasses. For something milder, you can use light molasses if preferred.
- Large Egg. Binds the dough together and adds structure. Room temperature works best here (more on that below).
- All-Purpose Flour. The structure of your cookies. Measure carefully, because too much flour will give you a dry, cakey cookie instead of a chewy one.
- Baking Soda. Our leavening agent. It helps the cookies spread and rise, which is part of what creates that crackled top. Worth checking that yours is still fresh, since old baking soda is a common culprit behind cookies that don’t crinkle.
- Salt. A small amount to enhance all the other flavors.
- Turbinado Sugar for Rolling. Turbinado sugar is made from sugar cane like regular granulated sugar, but it’s less processed. This results in grains that are coarser and darker, adding nice texture to the outside of your cookies. It also has a slight molasses flavor of its own, making it a great fit here. Roll each dough ball until it’s fully coated, since that’s what gives these ginger crinkle cookies their signature crackled tops.
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Ingredient Tip – Room Temperature Eggs
Using room temperature eggs is often suggested for baking because the eggs will incorporate into the butter easier. This results in a smooth, uniform batter. If you’re setting your eggs out on the counter to bring them up to room temperature, the standard rule of thumb is to set them out for at least 30 minutes prior to using them.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Making These Chewy Ginger Cookies
Place the dried, minced ginger and water into a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment), add the softened butter and brown sugar.
Cream the butter and brown sugar together until well combined (if using a stand mixer, beat on low speed until the ingredients are mostly incorporated then increase to medium-high speed until fluffy). The mixture should look fluffy. It may be a little grainy because of the sugar.
Add in remaining wet ingredients (the molasses and eggs) and mix until combined.
Slowly add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger) into the bowl and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Add in the re-hydrated ginger and crystallized ginger.
Gently mix until well distributed throughout the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap and place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Optionally line baking sheets with parchment paper if preferred for ease of cleaning.
Scoop 1 tablespoon-sized portions of chilled dough, roll into balls, and roll turbinado sugar to fully coat each dough ball.
Place dough balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown.
Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Triple Ginger Cookies Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use fresh ginger instead of dried ginger. If you can’t find dried ginger, or prefer to use fresh, you can replace the 2 Tablespoons of dried ginger + 2 Tablespoons of water in the recipe card with 2 Tablespoons of fresh ginger root that is finely chopped.
- Make into slice and bake cookies. Roll dough into a 1-½″ thick log prior to chilling. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to bake, slice into small discs, roll the edges in sugar (and sprinkled additional on top if desired), and bake as directed.
Making a Cookie Tray?
Because ginger is such a strong flavor, putting these triple ginger cookies onto a larger cookie tray may cause everything to taste gingery. This is also applicable with mint or peanut butter treats (like these Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies, Chocolate Mint Squares, and Peanut Butter Blossoms) BUT this is easy to avoid! Pack your triple ginger cookies on a separate plate (at least for transport to your event), and this will prevent this from happening!
Expert Tips for Making Molasses Ginger Cookies
Midwest chilling tip: embrace and use the cold winter weather! If you live in a place that is cold when you make this soft ginger cookie recipe, you can chill your dough outside! Find a flat surface, ensure your dough is covered well, and let mother nature chill your dough for you.
Use a cookie scoop to get all of your cookies to be the same size. While not a necessity, a cookie scoop is a super helpful tool that I use a lot in my kitchen. This small cookie scoop is the perfect size for this triple ginger cookies recipe. For larger cookie lovers, a medium cookie scoop or large cookie scoop may be preferred. If you can’t decide which size to get, they do have a variety pack of cookie scoops so you can try them all!
Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze these cookies in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
There is some debate on this, but generally the terms candied ginger and crystallized ginger are used interchangeably.
Candied ginger MAY be stored in a syrup (but not always), whereas crystallized ginger always refers to the dried and sugar coated ginger.
For this recipe, we do not want to use a ginger stored in a syrup. This will add too much moisture to your cookies, altering the final product.
Molasses is a key ingredient in many ginger / gingerbread cookies. It has a warm, sweet, and somewhat smoky flavor. Most ginger cookie recipes will call for a dark molasses. This is because dark molasses has a more robust flavor, great for baking. For a milder flavor, use a light molasses.
Love This Recipe? Try One of These Easy to Make Cookie Recipes Next!
Chewy Triple Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon dried minced ginger*
- 2 tablespoon water*
- 1 cup 2 sticks salted butter, softened
- 1 C brown sugar
- ½ C dark molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ C chopped crystallized ginger*
- 3 C all-purpose flour
- ½ C turbinado sugar for rolling*
Instructions
- Place the dried, minced ginger and water into a small bowl and set aside to rehydrate.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar.
- Beat in the molasses and eggs until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger) into the bowl and mix until combined.
- Gently stir in the re-hydrated ginger and crystallized ginger until well distributed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic-wrap and place into the refrigerator to chill.
- Chill the triple ginger cookie dough for at least 30 minutes.*
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon-sized portions of chilled dough into your hand and roll into balls. Then roll the balls in turbinado sugar to fully coat each dough ball.
- Place balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
- Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container.
Kel says
Is it supposed to be packed brown sugar?
Meredith says
Hi Kel, yes, brown sugar should always be tightly packed when measured out. Let me know how the cookie baking goes!
Marina says
I have made these a few times last year and plan on making them again in a few weeks, but I must say these are the best ginger cookies I have ever made. Very chewy and everyone I have given them to have commented how great they are.
Meredith says
This makes me so happy to hear Marina!! Thank you so much for making our recipe, and I’m so glad everyone you share them with loves them too 🙂
Misty says
Does anyone know how these would turn out with a gluten free 1:1 flour swap?
Meredith says
Hi Misty, I haven’t tried this cookie recipe with a GF 1:1 flour, but I’ve done a ton of other recipes using the Bob’s GF 1:1 flour and they’ve all turned out nicely. I think it would work just fine for these too! The texture will be a little different than the all-purpose flour, but I think you’ll still end up with a delicious ginger cookie. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Kim says
Im an advid baker and your ginger cookies didnt crackle i chilled the dough i have oven thermometer some cookies i flatened a little to see the difference i doubled pan and still no crackle???
Meredith says
Hi Kim, this is bizarre! Great job on chilling and checking the oven temperature, that is where I would have started as well. Have you checked to make sure your baking soda is still good? If it’s not, the cookies may not rise/spread as expected which could affect the ‘crinkle’. Another thought is did you ensure your cookie dough balls were well coated in the turbinado sugar? If they were only lightly coated or some spots weren’t coated well they may also not show that ‘crinkle’ as they bake. But even without a ‘crackle’, I hope the cookies were still wonderfully chewy and delicious (I’m sure they were!).
David says
Easily the best of ginger cookies I’ve ever had. Very chewy, and the crystallized ginger in their mix for snaps of spicy sweetness.
Meredith says
So happy to hear you love these too! Thanks for making my recipe.
CB says
These are a holiday staple! Easy to make and always a holiday hit!
Meredith says
So glad you love them too CB! These are definitely a holiday staple in our house too!