While gingerbread houses and men dominate the holiday spotlight, a lesser-known treat deserves its moment of glory – the Soft Gingersnap Cookie. Topped with a dollop of silky cream cheese frosting, these spice ginger cookies with icing strike the perfect balance between the spice of ginger and the sweet tang of cream cheese.
Soft Gingersnap Cookie Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ideal for serving beside the glow of the Christmas tree, they’re equally as delightful as a sweet finish to your Thanksgiving feast. Dive in, and let’s embrace the comfort and joy these cookies bring to our holiday table!
Soft Gingersnap Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients:
Cookie Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Molasses
- All-purpose flour
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Baking soda
- Salt
Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla extract or Eggnog
- Almond extract
- Powdered sugar
- Nutmeg
Tools:
Gingersnap Cookie Instructions
Start by making the gingersnap cookies. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Mix together butter and brown sugar using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer. The trick to great cookies is to cream butter and sugar until smooth and lighter in color. This will probably take up to 5 minutes. You want it light and creamy.
Next, add the egg and molasses to the bowl. A good tip for measuring molasses or any sticky substance is to lightly spray the measuring cup with oil. It will slip right out. Mix the egg and molasses with the butter/sugar just until combined.
Finally, add the dry ingredients: flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
Mix on medium speed until it is all thoroughly combined. Stop and scrape the sides as needed to make sure everything is mixed well.
Scoop cookie dough into balls using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop. Place on the parchment-lined cookie sheets about 1″ apart.
Bake the sheets in the preheated oven for eight minutes. You can bake 2 sheets at the same time if you switch them from top to bottom at the 4-minute mark.
Immediately upon removing from the oven, use the bottom of a spatula to flatten to about ½ of an inch in thickness. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
Now, you can eat the gingersnaps as they are. But ginger cookies with icing are a top-notch treat. And using cream cheese frosting takes these cookies to the next level.
Cream cheese frosting is super easy to make. One of my secret tricks for cream cheese frosting is to add just a touch of almond extract. You can skip that ingredient if you prefer frosting without it.
While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Combine the softened butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer to mix until smooth.
Add the vanilla or eggnog, almond extract, and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
Add in the remaining powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. Scrape the sides and mix again.
Frost the Cookies
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Disposable piping bags are the best! No more needing to clean out a used piping bag.
Once the cookies are completely cool, pipe a small spiral in the center of each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg to taste.
How to Store the Cookies
These fantastic soft gingersnap cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days or frozen unfrosted for 3 months.
Soft Gingersnap Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salg
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or eggnog
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Nutmeg for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.
- Use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to combine the butter and brown sugar. Cream until smooth and lighter in color.
- Add in the egg and molasses. Mix until combined.
- Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined – stopping and scraping down the sides as you go.
- Using a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop, scoop out golf-ball-sized balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, 1 inch apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- Immediately upon removing from the oven, use the bottom of a spatula to flatten each cookie to about ½ of an inch in thickness.
- Allow cookies to cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then remove to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and cream cheese. Beat until smooth.
- Add the vanilla (or eggnog!) and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add in the remaining powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. Scrape the sides and mix again.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Once the cookies are cool, pipe a small spiral in the center of each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg to taste.