These gingerbread crinkle cookies are full of classic gingerbread flavor in the form of the popular crinkle cookie. They are soft and chewy, with a burst of warm spices that make these cookies the perfect holiday treat.
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Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor, and I love making treats filled with its warm, aromatic spices for family and friends every year. While gingerbread men and ginger snaps are the most popular way to enjoy the flavor, I recently decided to branch out from the traditional and put a spin on two holiday classics. Taking the flavors of gingerbread and wrapping them in the form of a crinkle cookie, you get a soft, chewy holiday treat that melts in your mouth. They’re absolutely delicious!
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Why You’ll Love These Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Simple Ingredients: Everything you need to make this recipe are likely in your pantry.
Easy: This simple recipe only takes a few simple steps. You only need one bowl to mix the batter all together.
Soft and Chewy: My favorite kinds of cookies are the ones that melt in your mouth with a soft, almost gooey center.
Classic Holiday Flavor: Every bite is loaded with the warm flavor of ginger and molasses!
Vegan: These cookies are made with vegan butter, making them vegan-friendly. You can also use regular butter if you prefer.
Ingredients and Notes
Vegan Butter: Vegan butter works like regular butter, adding the fat the cookies need for their rich flavor and soft texture.
Flax Egg: A mixture of flax and water takes the place of eggs, helping to bind the dough together.
Molasses and Brown Sugar: Molasses and brown sugar combine to add the classic sweet component to the gingerbread cookies and make them ultra chewy.
Spices: A blend of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon creates the warm, aromatic gingerbread flavor.
Cane and Powdered Sugar: The cookie dough balls are rolled in this blend before baking to give them extra sweetness and a crackled look.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Substitutions and Variations
Frosting: Omit the sugar for the crinkle top, and frost these cookies with vegan cream cheese frosting or vegan chocolate frosting.
Black Pepper: Believe it or not, adding a pinch of black pepper brings out the flavor of these cookies without making them spicy or peppery.
How to Make Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Whisk the ground flax and water and let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix the flax and molasses into the butter mixture. Then, fold in the baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Finally, mix the flour ½ cup at a time until combined.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate it for about two hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll them in the cane sugar and the powdered sugar.
- Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake until flattened, crackling, and golden brown.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
FAQ
Gingerbread is a mixture of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon in various baked goods. It’s usually sweetened with molasses to complete the flavor profile.
Cookie dough recipes that use a lot of fat must be chilled before baking. This slows down the melting of the fat in the oven and prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
Store the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of white bread. The moisture from the bread will keep the cookies from getting too dry.
Yes! Most cookie recipes are very freezer-friend, with many of them lasting for up to 2 months or longer.
Expert Tips
- Be sure your butter is soft but not melted to achieve the best cookie texture. Take your butter out of the fridge in the morning and let it come to room temperature. This will take a couple of hours.
- To ensure you use the perfect amount of flour, loosely spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Never scoop the flour out with the cup. It compacts the flour, and you’ll use too much.
- Be sure your cookie dough is thoroughly chilled before baking, or the cookies will spread too much.
Serving Suggestions
These cookies are the perfect holiday snack with a mocha latte, frothy almond milk latte, or hot chocolate. They are also an excellent addition to a Christmas cookie tray, along with chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies, cranberry oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and my other favorite Grinch cookies!
Storage
Room Temperature: Store these cookies for up to a week in an airtight container.
Refrigerator: It’s best to avoid refrigerating these cookies as it will dry them out.
Freezer: Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap, then freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag. You can also freeze the cookie dough to use for later.
More Vegan Christmas Cookies!
Recipe
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies (Vegan)
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Ingredients
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoon water
- ¾ cups vegan butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup cane sugar for rolling cookie dough balls
- 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling the cookie dough balls
Instructions
- Whisk together the ground flax and water, and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes.
- Cream the room-temperature butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flax egg and molasses to the butter and sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Fold together to combine.
- Add the flour a half a cup at a time.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and then roll the balls in cane sugar and then the powdered sugar.
- Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until flattened, crackling, and golden brown.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Be sure your butter is soft but not melted to achieve the best cookie texture. Take your butter out of the fridge in the morning and let it come to room temperature. This will take a couple of hours.
- To ensure you use the perfect amount of flour, loosely spoon the flour into your measuring cup. Never scoop the flour out with the cup. It compacts the flour, and you’ll use too much.
- Be sure your cookie dough is thoroughly chilled before baking, or the cookies will spread too much.
- One week at room temperature in an airtight container.
- Up to 3 months in the freezer, wrapped in plastic, and stored in a freezer-safe airtight container.
- Defrost at room temperature overnight or 8 hours.
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