Yield: 6 gingerbread snickerdoodles // Total Time: 20 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //
Soft and chewy gingerbread cookies rolled in gingerbread spiced sugar and made small batch!
Small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles
Gingerbread snickerdoodles are my all time favorite type of snickerdoodle! These are so soft, chewy and flavorful thanks to dark brown sugar and a bit of molasses. And of course, they’re rolled in sugar so you know it’s going to be good!
Why do you post small batch recipes?
I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. Small batch helps cut down on waste and eliminates the feeling that all that excess dessert MUST be eaten. Here on my blog I post a lot of small batch bakes with a mix of some 8-10″ single layer cakes from time to time. All my recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit your need, so long as you use grams to measure!
Small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles recipe tips
Weigh your ingredients
Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. In a small batch recipe it is especially important to get those correct measurements because there is less room for error. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. The cookies may look a little underdone at 10 minutes, but it’s important to take them out to keep them nice and soft. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool (or just eat them right there!)
Cookie scooting
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
Chill the dough
Is this part annoying? Yes. Is it 100% worth it and required? Most definitely. This cookie dough is super soft and sticky. If you try to roll it out right away, it’s not going to look pretty and the cookies will spread to be massive blobs on your baking sheet. All that’s required is 10 minutes of chilling prior to baking!
Ingredients and substitutions
For the gingerbread snickerdoodles:
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise.
Baking soda: for helping the cookies rise and giving them crisp edges.
Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. I highly recommend splurging a little and using European style butter here for the best flavor.
Dark brown sugar: for sweetness, flavor and for moisture. I do highly recommend using dark brown sugar because it helps make the cookies super soft and chewy and gives more of that classic gingerbread molasses flavor. However, in a pinch you can substitute in light brown sugar.
Molasses: essential for the perfect texture and gingerbread-ness to these cookies!
Egg: for binding and for moisture.
For the coating:
Granulated sugar & gingerbread spice: If you don’t have a pre-made gingerbread spice, I usually just substitute in 1/4 tsp each of ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg!
Small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles: how-to
1. Melt the butter. Add the butter to a small mixing bowl that is microwave safe. Melt the butter in 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Doing so will ensure that your butter is not so hot that the cookie just completely spreads out in the oven!
2. Add in the sugar, molasses, and egg. Whisk the sugar into the melted butter, followed by the molasses and egg.
3. Fold in the dry ingredients. To the bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold the mixture together just until no more flour streaks remain. Overmixing will lead you to a super tough and chewy cookie.
4. Chill the dough. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
4. Coat in gingerbread spiced sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and gingerbread spice. Scoop out the dough using a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop. Place the cookies one by one in the pumpkin spice sugar, and gently roll around until the dough is completely coated.
5. Bake the cookies. Evenly space out the coated scoops of the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F / 175°C.
6. Get perfect cookies. Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend “scooting” them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie perfectly circular. It’s not needed at all but it will help you get that perfectly round cookie look! Also, leave the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes to help them set up.
Small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles Q & A
Can I double this recipe?
- Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
Can I make these cookies ahead of time?
- Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again.
How should I store these cookies?
- These cookies will taste the best on the day that they are baked, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
Tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
Did you make these small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles?
If you made these small batch gingerbread snickerdoodles I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Small Batch Gingerbread Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 56 g unsalted butter (¼ c.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 20 g molasses (1 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.) for coating
- ¾ tsp. gingerbread spice for coating
Instructions
- In a small microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval just until the butter has completely melted.
- Whisk the dark brown sugar into the melted butter. Then, vigorously whisk in the molasses and egg until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to gently mix the flour into the dough just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the dough and transfer it to the fridge to rest and set up for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and gingerbread spice.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies. One at a time, place the cookie dough balls into the gingerbread spice sugar and gently move them around until they are fully covered in the sugar.
- Evenly space out the coated cookie dough balls on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Hi, I made it one hour ago it’s yummy but without any cracks , i don’t know why!??
I like low sweet , can I reduce sugar?
Just made these and they were very good. Buttery and soft. I did add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to the flour. I kept the sugar and spices the same for the rolling of the cookies.
Thank you so much for making these! So happy you liked them 🙂
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled??
Hi, this recipe can be scaled up. I just recommend using a scale for the best results!