Maple Ginger Snaps are crispy, crunchy and absolutely delightful! This lightened up version of a traditional ginger snap is mildly spiced and made without the heaviness of molasses. An easy holiday cookie recipe that everyone will love!
Ginger snaps are a classic cookie that's always in season, but certainly celebrated most around the holidays. It's easy to see why since these cookies have a blend of cozy spices; ginger, cinnamon, clove and sometimes even black pepper.
If you've had ginger snaps before, you know that the flavor can be a bit intense! That's because of the added molasses.
The version I'm sharing today is made without molasses giving you all the tasty zings of the other spices, without those smoky, bitter notes you might detect normally.
Instead of molasses, I use pure maple syrup for this recipe. The syrup lends sweetness just as molasses would, yet produces a lighter more balanced flavor.
This allows the other spices to really shine through, yet is softer on the taste buds.
I feel like ginger snaps really need to be crunchy and crumbly in texture, so, I made sure this recipe fit the bill.
If you've seen my other posts on biscotti, you know that I'm a big complainer of crunchy cookies. Not gonna lie; if I had the choice between both, I will pass up a crunchy cookie for a soft and chewy cookie every single time.
I do have to say though, I enjoy these cookies A LOT. In the world of ginger snaps, these cookies are perfect.
Let's Make Maple Ginger Snaps
Let's Make Maple Ginger SnapsThis cookie recipe is fairly straightforward!
- Vegetable shortening (I'll explain why butter is not used)
- Sugar (preferably Domino Golden Sugar)
- Salt
- Baking soda
- 1 egg
- Pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup!)
- All purpose flour
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
- Ground cinnamon
- Allspice
- Ground cardamom (optional but recommended!)
Making Maple Ginger Snaps
I promise you, these cookies are a breeze to make!
This recipe follows standard cookie procedure. Cream the fat and sugar. Add the remaining wet ingredients (maple syrup and egg). Then, stir in the dry ingredients until you have dough.
To bake the cookies, you'll want to scoop the dough, use your hands to roll it into balls, give them a quick coat in sugar and place them on a tray lined with parchment.
What I love most about these cookies is that they always bake up beautifully.
Each cookie came out perfectly round with distinctive cracks all over the top. Plus, they have that sparkly sugar - they're gorgeous!
How to Make Snappy Ginger Snaps
As mentioned, a true ginger snap should be crunchy cookie.
To get a crunchy cookie, this recipe uses vegetable shortening in place of butter. I'm not in love with the idea of not using real butter in baking, but there is a time and a place where you need to concede.
Butter will not get you to a snappy ginger snap, it just won't. The cookie will always be a bit soft.
Shortening is absolutely the way to go here. These cookies are crispy and crunchy all the way through, making them a true snap!
Plus, you don't have to wait for butter to soften! Using shortening means you can make these cookies on a whim, any time.
These cookies bake at a high heat, 375° for about 13 minutes.
I found that at about 11 minutes, the cookies were slightly soft in the middle. With just a bit more time in the oven, they will crisp up nicely.
Why Domino Golden Sugar is a great choice for this recipe
Domino Golden Sugar is a fabulous ingredient. This type of sugar is less processed than regular, white sugar making it a superb choice for this recipe.
Less refined sugar means more flavor and makes recipes a bit more wholesome.
The problem with using straight up raw sugar is, it doesn't always bake well when swapping it in recipes. The large grains of raw sugar may not dissolve in low moisture recipes like this one.
Domino Golden Sugar is made from cane sugar and is perfectly adapted to use cup for cup in recipes.
I like to use it for Maple Ginger Snaps because of it's very, very slight hint of molasses. It is the perfect pairing!
More importantly, this sugar makes a glittery, stunning coating on the outside of these cookies.
These cookies are easy to make, beautifully spiced, satisfyingly crisp and the perfect little indulgence for a cozy winter day.
Better yet, this recipe yields A LOT of cookies! You might even have enough leftover for a cookie crust for pie!
I know you're going to love them!
Looking for more ginger recipes? Try these!
Maple Ginger Snaps
Maple Ginger Snaps are crispy, crunchy and absolutely delightful! This lightened up version of a traditional ginger snap is mildly spiced and made without the heaviness of molasses. An easy holiday cookie recipe that everyone will love!
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 55 cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ c vegetable shortening
- 1 c granulated sugar (preferably Domino Golden Sugar)
- 1 egg
- ⅓ c pure maple syrup
- 2 ⅓ c all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
- ¼ c extra granulated sugar poured on a plate, set aside (for coating the cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix well. Then add the maple syrup and mix well.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again to ensure everything is combined.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; flour, salt, baking soda and spices.
- Add the combined dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once and slowly mix until everything is absorbed and the dough is formed. The dough should be smooth and firm; not sticky.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough into 1 ½ teaspoon sized balls and roll in between your hands until the ball is smooth and even.
- Drop the cookie dough ball onto the plate with sugar and roll until fully coated.
- Place on the lined tray leaving nearly 2 inches between each one as these cookies will spread.
- Bake for 11-15 minutes (11 for a little chew in the centers or up to 15 minutes for a totally crisp and crunchy cookie).
- Allow to cool on the tray or on a baking rack.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days at room temp.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
-These cookies have a lighter spice taste than traditional ginger snaps. Feel free to crank up the intensity & flavor by increasing the amounts of spices!
-Grind up/crush cookies for a homemade cookie pie crust!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 58
- Sugar: 4.4 g
Debbie Hauss
I used coconut oil - worked great! I also added a bit of squeezable ginger paste for an extra ginger taste. I had organic brown sugar so I used that in the recipe and on top of the cookies. Also worked great! Overall very delicious cookies!!
Jessi
I made this recipe but altered it. I ground my own wheat berries, used refined coconut oil( no coconut taste) and for the sugar replacement I used 2/3cup of date sugar & a 1/4 tsp of pure monk fruit, uncut. These turned out the best so far. I have altered this recipe a few different ways but this was great-and I didn’t roll them in anything….Thanks for the great recipe!
Bethany
I made these cookies with my grandmother yesterday and they turned out great! We wanted to make gingerbread cookies but had no molasses, so this was perfect! I also substituted softened unsalted butter for the shortening, which worked just fine! Thanks so much for the recipe, it will be added to my Christmas cookie arsenal!
Liz
That means so much to me! Thank you for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Rose
Hi, I was looking for a g-snap cookie without molasses (a bit too strong for me) and I came across your recipe. Whoo-hoo - sure glad I did! I have to say, I was a bit skeptical about the shortening thing, but these cookies turned out beautifully and taste so wonderful! I’ll think of you every time I have one with my cup of tea. Thank you so much!!
Liz
Thank you so much Rose!! Exactly why I created this recipe! Molasses can be very strong!
Mary Ann B.
Let me start by saying I am a terrible baker. I am having my Girls Club over in a couple days so as the hostess, I am responsible for homemade desserts to have with our coffee. I dread it! I made these cookies today and a pumpkin dip to dip them in and I have to say I even impressed myself. They look just like the picture. I followed the recipe exactly. It made 57 cookies. They were delicious and dipped in the pumpkin dip was a homerun. Thanks and I may even bake another one of your recipes now.
Liz
Woo!! I'm so happy you loved the recipe!! Pumpkin dip with these sounds like the PERFECT combo! 🙂
Anne Knights
These came out really well. Using the small cookie scoop and dumping dough into sugar without rolling works equally well.
Karen
These were delicious, though I did use unsalted butter instead of shortening, they still 'snapped' just fine! I also added a used a 3:1 mixture of white to brown sugar. My gingersnap-loving husband loved them!!
Liz
Hi Karen! Thanks so much for sharing! That's great that the recipe worked using butter, I'm going to have to try this!