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These Iced Oatmeal Gingersnap Cookies are oh so chewy, filled with oatmeal & molasses flavor, and drizzled with icing! They taste just like Christmas and are the perfect cookie to set out for Santa on Christmas Eve, or just save for yourself 😉
Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
I’m a huge fan of molasses flavored cookies, like gingersnap and gingerbread cookies. While both cookies have the same delicious flavor, these cookies are technically considered gingersnaps because the dough is rolled into a ball before baking, rather than cut into shapes like gingerbread cookies. The additional oatmeal and powdered sugar icing truly takes these gingersnaps to the next level!
Ingredients for Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
Gingersnap Cookies
- Butter – I always use salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter on hand, just add a pinch of salt to the dough.
- Brown Sugar – Yep, you need both brown sugar and regular sugar. The ratio of the two sugars together keeps this cookie soft & chewy, plus really brings out the molasses flavor.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Molasses – This is a non-negotiable for this recipe. Molasses is what gives the cookie that traditional gingerbread flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Rolled Oats – I prefer old fashioned rolled oats to give the cookie a hearty flavor.
- Ground Ginger – Another important spice for the gingerbread flavor!
- Cinnamon – The cinnamon is also vital for this recipe.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
Icing
- Butter
- Vegetable Shortening – This is what causes the icing to harden once it dries so that it doesn’t smear on the cookies and you can stack them for storing.
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla– If you are a big almond extract fan, you could definitely swap the vanilla for some almond extract!
- Milk
How to Make Iced Oatmeal Gingersnap Cookies
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy in texture and light in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure you don’t miss any ingredients.
- Next, add in the egg and molasses and mix until well combined.
- Now add the dry ingredients – flour, rolled oats, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix until dough forms.
- Use a cookie scoop or two small spoons, portion out the cookie dough. For small cookies, use 1 1/2 tbsp of dough (about 24 cookies). For medium cookies, use 3 tbsp of dough (about 12 cookies). For large cookies, use a little less than 1/4 cup of dough (about 8 cookies).
- Now it’s time to roll the dough into a ball, then break the ball in half. Press the two halves back together, with the jagged edges up. This will give your cookies that classic oatmeal look.
- Now bake the cookies! For small cookies, bake 8-10 minutes; for medium cookies, bake 9-11 minutes; for large cookies, bake 10-13 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, it’s time to make the icing.
- In a new bowl, mix the butter and shortening together until smooth.
- Then add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tbsp of milk. You can always add in more milk if needed, but the icing should be quite thick.
- Now transfer the icing into a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can place the icing in a plastic zip-top bag and cut the corner to make your own piping bag.
- When the cookies finish baking, allow them to cool on the pan for 3-5 minutes.
- After 3-5 minutes, zig-zag the icing on top of the cookies. Allow the icing to melt, then use a spoon to push the icing and fill in all the dips in the texture on top of the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to finish cooling on the pan and the icing to harden.
- Now enjoy!
How should I store these cookies?
You can store your gingersnap cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What is the difference between gingerbread and gingersnap cookies?
Both are spiced molasses cookies, but gingerbread cookie dough is usually rolled out and cut into shapes before baking, whereas gingersnaps are usually baked in balls of dough like regular cookies.
Recipes Similar to Iced Oatmeal Gingersnap Cookies
Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
These Iced Oatmeal Gingersnap Cookies are oh so chewy, filled with oatmeal & molasses flavor, and drizzled with a vanilla icing!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
- 3/4 cup (166.5g) salted butter
- 3/4 cup (184.5g) packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (57.5g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (60ml) molasses
- 2 cups (304g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) rolled oats
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Icing
- 1/4 cup (55.5g) salted butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups (160.5g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla, I use clear vanilla to keep the icing bright white
- 1 -2 tbsp milk, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the egg and molasses. Mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, rolled oats, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Mix until the dough forms.
- Portion the dough out -For small cookies, use 1 1/2 tbsp of dough for each cookie. For larger cookies use 3 tbsp of dough.
- Roll the dough into a ball. Break the dough in half and then press the two halves back together leaving the jagged edge up. This will give your cookie that classic texture on top. Arrange on a silicone or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C). For small cookies, bake for 8-10 minutes. For larger cookies bake for 9-11 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, make the icing. Make the icing by combining the butter and shortening until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk. You can always add more milk, if needed. The icing should be quite thick.
- Transfer the icing to a zip top bag with the corner clipped or piping bag.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, allow them to cool on the pan for 3-5 minutes.
- After the cookies have cooled just slightly, zig zag the icing on top of the cookies. Allow the icing to melt and then use a spoon to push the icing to fill up all the dips in the texture on the top of the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to finish cooling on the pan. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 247IU | Vitamin C: 0.005mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Easy and absolutely delicious!
Awesome.
SO GOOD! This is the perfect fall/christmas recipe! My dad was skeptical when I told him the name but as soon as he took his first bite he said “I’m so impressed”. I never leave reviews but this cookie deserved it!
In theory, these are amazing. Texture is wonderful, icing is a nice touch, but it was HEAVY on the Molasses and I’d rather have that as a note, or for texture than a feature. It totally drowned out the ginger. 🙁 Since it already has brown sugar, which is made with Molasses, I can’t help but wonder if dark brown sugar and dark corn syrup might be better? I needed a gingersnap punch and didn’t get it. HOWEVER, they’re delicious.
This cookie is bursting with flavor. They stay so soft and chewy. I took it to a Christmas party, and numerous people asked for the recipe. This cookie will forever be on my Christmas cookie list!
Has anyone tried making these with GF old-fashioned rolled oats? I grabbed those by mistake.
The flavor and texture on these is unreal. My only hang up is I found them too sweet for my liking. I wish I could go back and play with the sugar levels a little. Although it wasn’t a total win in my book, that’s not a knock to Karli.
Fantastic. Great cookies, great instructions. Can hardly wait to make every other one of Karli’s recipes!
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023!
This was the holiday hit of my cookies. We could not get over how chewy they were yet held their shape and weren’t raw.
Honestly my new favorite cookie. Great for the holidays