This triple ginger cookie recipe creates sweet, spicy, and chewy ginger cookies. If you like a spice cookie that packs a punch, these are the classic ginger cookies you’ve been looking for!
Ginger cookies are a classic at Christmastime! This soft and spicy ginger cookie recipe has been made for years and years by my mom and it is always a holiday favorite.
This triple ginger cookies recipe uses three types of ginger to create soft, chewy, and spicy ginger cookies. These are a must try for those who love spice cookies!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Level of difficulty: Easy.
Flavor: Ginger and molasses
Time: You’ll need about 90 minutes to make these spicy ginger cookies, including prep, a 30-minute chill-time, and baking your cookies 1 tray at a time.
Ingredients Needed
Three types of ginger! A combination of ground, crystallized, and dried ginger gives these soft, chewy cookies their intense flavor.
Dark molasses. Molasses is a key ingredient in many ginger / gingerbread cookies. It has a warm, sweet, and somewhat smoky flavor. For a more robust molasses flavor, we’ve used dark molasses. For a milder flavor, you can use a light molasses if preferred.
Turbinado sugar for rolling. Turbinado sugar is made from sugar cane (like regular granulated sugar), but it is less processed. This results in grains that are coarser and darker, adding nice texture to the outside of your cookies. Turbinado sugar also has a very slight molasses flavor, making it an excellent choice for this recipe!
INGREDIENT TIP: 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.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
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.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Place the dried, minced ginger and water into a small bowl and set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the softened butter and brown sugar.
Step 3: Cream the butter and brown sugar together until well combined. The mixture should look fluffy. It may be a little grainy because of the sugar.
Step 4: Add in remaining wet ingredients (the molasses and eggs) and mix until combined.
Step 5: Slowly add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger) into the bowl and mix until combined.
Step 6: Add in the re-hydrated ginger and crystallized ginger.
Step 7: 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).
Step 8: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 9: Scoop 1 tablespoon-sized portions of chilled dough, roll into balls, and roll turbinado sugar to fully coat each dough ball.
Step 10: Place dough balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown.
Step 11: Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Making a Cookie Tray?
COOKIE TRAY TIP: 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
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!
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.
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📖 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.
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!