If you're looking for a ginger cookie recipe that stays soft for days, you've found it! These big ginger cookies are full of spiced flavour and easy to make. They're perfect to add to your Christmas cookie rotation!
Ingredients in Soft Ginger Cookies
You can make this easy ginger cookie recipe with just a few simple ingredients:
- Unsalted butter: or use salted butter and omit the added salt. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Caster / superfine sugar: this finer form of sugar dissolves easily into the butter. You can substitute with regular white sugar.
- Brown sugar: gives the ginger cookies a divine, rich caramel flavour.
- Egg: I use large sized eggs. Room temperature is best.
- Golden syrup: or substitute with light treacle (best!) or light molasses.
- Vanilla: extract or essence are both fine.
- Plain / all-purpose flour
- Baking soda: also known as bicarbonate of soda or baking soda. NOT baking powder. Check it is in-date and measure it out carefully.
- Ground ginger: make sure your spices are fresh. They will lose flavour after a couple of months.
- Ground cinnamon: can omit or substitute with pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice.
- Ground clove: can omit.
- Salt: to taste. I find ¼ teaspoon is enough. Omit if using salted butter.
How to Make Big Soft Ginger Cookies
To make this easy ginger cookie recipe, you'll need:
- A large bowl
- A medium bowl
- Stand mixer OR handheld electric mixer
- Wooden spoon OR spatula
- Cookie trays
1 & 2: Cream together the butter and sugars until pale and creamy. This takes me about 2-3 minutes on high speed.
3 & 4: Add egg, vanilla and golden syrup. Beat until creamy and well combined (approx. 2 more mins). Start on slow speed then increase speed to high, or you'll end up with golden syrup splattered everywhere!
5. Whisk together your dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to the butter mixture.
6. Stir together to form a soft dough. Don't over-mix!
7. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place on your trays. Allow room for spreading.
8. Bake until just lightly golden around the edges and puffed up in the centre. Allow to cool for 10 mins on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Troubleshooting
Why did my ginger cookies fall flat?
Reason 1: not enough flour. These cookies need just the right amount of flour so they hold their shape but are also not dry. To measure flour properly: fluff your flour with a spoon, then spoon flour into your measuring cup, then level off with the back of a butter knife. Or even better, use gram measurements!
Reason 2: butter is too soft. If your butter was closer to melted rather than just softened, the cookies won't hold their shape while baking. The ideal temperature is 18-19°C (65-67°F) or soft enough to leave an imprint when you prod it.
Reason 3: too much OR expired baking soda. Make sure your baking soda is in-date and measure it carefully. Too much rising agent causes these ginger cookies to rise and collapse.
Why did my ginger cookies go hard?
Reason 1: too much flour. Using too much flour will dry out your cookie dough. Make sure you are measuring your flour correctly (see above for how-to!).
Reason 2: they were over-baked. There are only a few critical minutes between perfectly baked cookies and over-baked cookies. The cookies should just be very lightly golden around the edges when you take them out of the oven. I bake my cookies for 8 minutes, turn the tray around 180 degrees, then bake for a further 3 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are ginger cookies healthy to eat? Although these soft ginger cookies are still a sweet treat, they contain surprisingly fewer calories than other baked treats (just 161 cals per cookie!). Still, they are best enjoyed in moderation - which is what makes them great for special occasions.
What's the difference between these cookies and gingerbread?
Gingerbread usually refers to a type of ginger cookie which is rolled out flat, cut into shapes, baked and decorated (like my soft and chewy gingerbread recipe here!). These ginger cookies have similar flavours but are just rolled into balls and baked - easy!
Storing Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Keep these soft ginger cookies stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days. They should remain soft for up to a week.
How to freeze ginger cookie dough: Roll the cookie dough into a log. Wrap well in glad wrap, place in an airtight container or zip-loc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight then slice, roll into balls, and bake as usual. Perfect for baking ahead for Christmas.
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
These big ginger cookies are easy to make, full of flavour and stay soft for days! Try adding these to your next Christmas cookie rotation.
Ingredients
- 190 g (6.7 oz / ¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (120 g) caster / superfine sugar (or white sugar)
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (95 g) golden syrup (or light treacle / light molasses)
- 2 teaspoon (10 g) vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ (338 g) cup plain / all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
- 1 tablespoon (16 g) ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan-forced/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line two large cookie trays with baking paper.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer (or using a handheld electric mixer), beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, golden syrup and vanilla. Beat until fluffy, pale and combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Add to butter mixture and stir together until a soft dough comes together.
- Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place on prepared trays, allowing 3 cm (1 inch) between cookies for spreading.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just lightly golden on the edges. Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Measurement
Please note that my recipes are measured in metric cups and spoons which are larger than US cups and spoons. Most recipes will be fine if measured in US cups and spoons, but please use the weight (grams) measurement for the most accurate result.
Storage
Keep these cookies stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 10 days. They should remain soft for up to a week.
Substitutions
- Using salted butter: omit salt if using salted butter.
- Sugar: instead of using half brown half white sugar, you can use 1 cup of brown sugar (will be chewier) or 1 cup of white sugar (will be cakier).
- Golden syrup: replace with light molasses or light treacle (or honey in a pinch).
- Spices: must use ginger. Can omit cinnamon and cloves if needed, or replace with 1 teaspoon mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 cookiesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 6.9gSaturated Fat: 0.1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 8.6mgSodium: 71.5mgCarbohydrates: 23.5gFiber: 0.5gSugar: 12.3gProtein: 2.5g
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