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The best ever chewy Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies. A cross between a really great ginger cookie and a delicious chocolate chip cookie. Made with dark brown sugar, rich molasses, ginger, and the real secret…chocolate chips! These cookies are generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy maple glaze that melts in your mouth. There’s really nothing not to love! The perfect holiday cookie to bake, share, and gift this holiday season!
I’ve never been someone who’s picked a ginger cookie over say a chocolate chip cookie. But I know so many of you guys love them, and I love to bake them around the holiday season. They’re perfect for gifting, and I will admit, they always smell delicious while baking.
Since I’m making ALL the Christmas cookies I can this December, I really wanted to figure out how to make a ginger cookie be extra delicious. Not just gingery and good, but gingery and really darn delicious, with perfect edges and chewy middles. These cookies are that. Soft, chewy, filled with molasses and a good amount of ginger, plus sweet and chocolatey.
And the vanilla maple glaze really makes them special, maybe even a little over the top.
These have been on my list since mid-November. I wasn’t sure I’d make them, but I’m so glad I did!
The doughy details
Beat the butter with dark brown sugar, then add the eggs and molasses. Next, add the dry ingredients and stir in some chocolate chips. That’s the dough…and as you can tell, it’s simple as can be.
Roll the dough into decently sized balls using buttered hands. The buttered hands are key, the dough is on the sticker side, so the butter helps to roll without drying the cookies out.
Then just bake. That’s literally it for the cookie. No fuss, but totally delicious.
On to the glaze
This glaze is everything. I first used it with my maple cookies back in the fall and it’s been a favorite ever since. It’s what makes these cookies really melt in your mouth.
It’s simply butter, maple syrup, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt.
Once you’ve finished the glaze, drizzle it over each cookie. You can eat them warm or allow them to cool, either way, they are delicious.
A few important things
One thing that really sets these cookies apart from other molasses-based cookies is extra molasses (and chocolate chips). I like to use a bit more molasses than most molasses cookie recipes call for. I wanted each cookie to be extremely chewy and for the molasses flavor to really be pronounced. So, I upped the amount of molasses and added vanilla extract. This combo does a nice job of highlighting the molasses and ginger flavors. The result is a perfectly chewy molasses cookie with hints of vanilla and ginger throughout.
Then, of course, the chocolate. It’s not expected, but everyone loves the addition of chocolate…and the sweet mapley glaze on top.
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies
Servings: 22 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 215 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Maple Glaze
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- 1. Position an oven rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and molasses and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, beating until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 3. Rub your hands with butter and roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls (if the dough is too sticky, chill for 20 minutes). Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to set around the edges, the centers should be a little doughy. Let cool on the pan. 4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Melt together the butter and maple syrup in a small pot over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, vanilla. and a pinch of salt. Drizzle or dip the glaze over each cookie. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
These cookies were very easy to make and taste delicious! The only problem
I had was that my glaze was super thin and you could see chunks of powder sugar in it. What can I do differently?
Hey Lindsey,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sounds like you might need to add more powdered sugar next time and you can sift it to avoid the chunks! Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄
Cookies turned out great! The chocolate chips weren’t my fave but still so yum. Also substituted gluten free flour and worked fine.
Thanks for the yummy recipes!
Hey Adriana,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas! 🎁🎄
I am excited to try these. I just made a different variation of this and the blackstrap molasses was really a weird taste, not sweet and too intense. The dough was so heavy and sticky. I was worried it was the molasses. Thoughts?
Hi Jolene,
It’s really hard for me to say without knowing what recipe you used:) So sorry! xx
These are one of my favvvs now!
Is there any trick to getting them to flatten? I’ve made them 4 different times now and they don’t seem to flatten like yours!
Hey Megan,
Happy Wednesday!! I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a hit:) Have you tried tapping your baking sheet on the counter? xx
I made them too i probably won’t roll into a ball next time, or I’ll do a ball and press them down a bit before they go in.
Could I freeze the leftover glaze on its own to use on a later date to glaze the cookies?
Hey Lauren,
I don’t think it will work all that well, but you could give it a try! I hope you love these cookies! xT
My first time making these cookies were last year, they’re now a fall/Christmas staple in my house. I’m making my fifth batch now. SO good and everyone in my family loves them. The chocolate chips are such a nice surprise too. * I do flatten them before baking as I find they don’t flatten when baking & it gives it such a nice texture *
Hey Kaila,
Wonderful!!❄️ Thanks a bunch for making this recipe so often and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it is always a winner:)
Can you make the dough ahead of time and freeze? Or bake the cookies and freeze
Hey Christine,
Yes, you can do either one:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Cookies are good (nothing beats my normal gingersnaps I make, though, these are very close!) – 9 minutes was a bit too underbaked for us but could just be my oven 🙂 skipped the chocolate chips because I didn’t have any – still good. Really just came here to say that I WANT TO PUT THIS GLAZE ON EVERYTHING okay bye 🙂
Oh yeah, also, in case anyone was wondering – I used King Arthur’s 1-for-1 gluten free flour blend so very well could be why we needed more baking time!
Hey Amy,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for giving it a try! Lol glad the glaze was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:)
I’m not sure what happened but my cookies never flattened out, they stayed in a ball shape. While still good I feel it took away from some of the flavor as it’s not crisp.
Hey Desiree,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Did you try tapping the baking sheet on the counter? Let me know how I can help! xx
You might want to flatten cookies with fork, mine did not flatten at all. The glaze is maple colour not white. I was hoping for a pretty Christmas cookie. They tasted good …although very sweet.
Hi Lonna,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try and sharing your review, sorry to hear you didn’t love them! xx
Just…yep. So, so delicious and easy!
Hey Ashley,
Happy Monday!! 🍁 Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xT
These cookies are incredible!! I am making them again for sure. The dough is very sticky when rolling the balls.
Hey Nancy,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xx
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Plain, iced or modified for fall whoopie pies. Super soft and fluffy on the inside with almost a thin crunchy buttery shell. Ate half the batch, I regret nothing!!!
Hey Stephani,
Happy Sunday! 🎃 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
I made these and they tasted great but I’m curious if you could use regular molasses instead of blackstrap?
Also, my first pan didn’t flatten out at all. I had to flatten each before putting them in the oven and then use the pan banging technique as well. Not sure if this was bakers error?
Thanks!
Hey Shannon,
Happy Friday!🎃 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it out and sharing your review! I used black strap molasses, and then did you chill the dough at all? The longer you chill the less they will spread. I hope this helps! xx
These are sooo yummy, but the maple drizzle is very sticky! If making I maybe would suggest going without the drizzle or have it on the side to top just before eating/serving.
Hi Mary,
Happy Monday!! 👻 I am so glad this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
They look delicious! Is there any way that you could suggest a vegan variation? I would appreciate it so much. Thank you!
Hi Marie,
Thanks so much!! Unfortunately, I’ve not tested this recipe with vegan substitutes, you could try using ghee in place of the butter and a flax egg. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I also have a vegan section of recipes you might find something there that you like! xT
Hi teighan – do you have any tips of freezing and storing these/the glaze and if it’s possible?
Hey Caitlin,
You can freeze the cookies, but you will want to glaze them once thawed:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx