Ginger Crinkles

These spiced cookies spread and crack as they bake, creating that signature crinkle pattern with deep fissures across a sugar-coated surface. The dark molasses does double duty here: it adds bittersweet depth and keeps the centers soft and chewy days after baking.

Ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves build the warmth, but it’s the generous amount of each that makes these bold rather than timid. These taste like they mean it.

Chilling the dough is not optional. An hour minimum firms up the butter so the cookies hold their shape, spread slowly, and develop those cracks instead of melting into flat discs.

Chef Tips

• Roll the dough balls generously in sugar. The coating is what creates the crackled appearance as the cookie spreads and the sugar shell fractures.
• Don’t overbake. Pull them at 8 minutes when they still look slightly underdone in the center. They firm up on the sheet as they cool.
• Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 full minutes before moving. They’re fragile right out of the oven.
• Store in an airtight container. The molasses keeps them chewy for up to a week.

Variations

• Add crystallized ginger pieces to the dough for bursts of sharp, spicy heat.
• Roll in turbinado sugar instead of granulated for a coarser, crunchier coating.
• Sandwich two cookies together with cream cheese frosting for a ginger crinkle whoopie pie.