Next Post
Shredded Brussels Sprout and Prosciutto Salad.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
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.
The flavor of these cookies are nice but like other reviews, I felt they were too fluffy. I banged the tray and they flattened a little but not enough.
So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe Andrea! xTieghan
Hello there, I would like to make ahead and freeze the dough, can I do that?
Hey Cindy,
You bet! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
My cookies turned out a little fluffy and more round. I made your Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies from last years Christmas Cookie box and the same thing happened. I did bang the baking tray on the bench however this did not make the cookies any flatter. Any suggestions? Should my dough be a little wetter? Thanks, Kat 🙂
When I rolled my dough into small balls I also flattened them a little before putting them on the cookie tray and they came out just as in the pictures. Maybe worth trying for next time?
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! Next time, try gently flattening the dough balls with your hand before baking and then bang the baking sheet multiple times during the baking process. This should help! xTieghan
Thank you for the advice Tieghan. I will try this next time! 🙂
Delicious tasting! I accidentally forgot to add the chocolate chips and they still came out great! Only thing was that my cookies were very fluffy.. any tips to help with that?
Jenn
Hey Jenn,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Next time try banging your baking sheet on the counter for a flatter cookie. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
I haven’t tried these yet but definitely plan to soon. You’re very specific about the position of the rack in the oven, would it be the same in a gas oven?
Hi Heather,
Yes, I would do that for your oven as well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Do these freeze well? If so, do you freeze before icing and then thaw before icing when you’re ready to decorate?
Hi Abby,
You bet! I would freeze without the icing and then add when you thaw the cookies. I hope you love this recipe, happy holidays! xTieghan
Delicious cookies!! Will definitely make again. However, I do wish that my icing would be white like yours. Any suggestions?
Hi Karlie,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! What color was your icing? Mine is not white:) Happy Holidays!? xx
The icing got more creamy when they sat on the cookies overnight! It was a light brown when I first drizzled over the cookies. Have a great Christmas!:)
Awesome!!
Disappointing and probably won’t make again :/ My cookies turned out fluffy and didn’t flatten like the pictures. They weren’t chewy in the slightest. I did use regular molasses rather than blackstrap, I doubt that could have such a significant effect on the texture. I also had to use a full cup of powdered sugar to get the glaze to the right consistency. Don’t forget to let the glaze set and thicken a tad before drizzling.
Hey Kristen,
So sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t enjoyed? Did they at least taste good? To get a flatter cookie, just bang the baking sheet on the counter a few times. Yes, sometimes glaze will need a little more powdered sugar, it just depends how thick or thin you like yours. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Delicious and very easy. I just have one question. Why did my glaze come out light brown instead of white? It blends in with the cookies
Hi Lauren,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Light brown is totally normal, mine is not white. Happy Holidays!? xx
Ok, these are a nice change of pace! Here are my notes.
This dough likes to spread so definitely pop it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes after you roll the balls.
To yield 22 cookies, the individual dough balls are more like 2 tablespoons each, rather than the 1 tablespoon written.
The cookies are tender and will need plenty time to set before you’re handling them. Budget a couple hours for that.
Hi Rosita,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
A very good combination of flavors—and very pretty. The first time I had drizzled icing. Note that different pans and parchment paper versus simpatico alter the cooking time.
Hey Karin,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
Hi there. Looking forward to trying this cookie recipe. I only have fancy molasses. Will that work for this recipe?
Hi Bev,
Yes, that will work, it may affect the color of the cookie though:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan! I just made these and they are absolutely delicious (the glaze is unreal!!!), but they turned out thick and fluffy instead of thin and chewy like yours look. Just wondering if you had any ideas about how to fix that for next time?
Hey Ali,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! Next time, try banging them on the counter for a flatter cookie:) xTieghan
I have to admit that I found this recipe while searching for a glaze for some molasses cookies I already made, so thus far, I have only tried the maple glaze but it is so yummy. Next time, I will try this cookie recipe too. I found I needed more like the 3/4 C of powdered sugar. Mine also was not so light colored, but I did add a little bit of instant coffee to the melted butter and syrup because it just sounded good to me, and it smelled and tasted great.
Hey Kristin,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I am so excited about these cookies! I made a test run tonight and they spread far too much (IMHO). The taste is perfect, but they definitely spread more than the pics. Suggestions? I shaped the rest of the dough and left in the refrigerator overnight. Hoping a chill will help them retain a bit more shape. Thank you!
P.S. I did not make any substitutes. Followed the recipe exactly and baked only for 10 minutes.
Hey Jessica,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Chilling the dough should help with the spreading. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These cookies turned out pretty good! The dough itself isn’t super sweet despite the 2 different types of sugar sources. Would not recommend letting them cool on baking sheet.. mine got overcooked that way unfortunately.
Overall, 4 stars for me since the glaze didn’t quite set + didn’t turn out white so the texture and finishing were a little off. This could very likely be a result of me never having glazed cookies before. Otherwise, solid recipe
Hi ali,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
I made these and they are delicious !
Hi Pam,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I’m so looking forward to trying these cookies! Will light brown sugar work? Having trouble finding dark brown sugar right now.
Hi Maggie,
Yes, that will work just fine for you! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
My family are chocolate lovers but I wanted something different for my cookie box and these were a winner. I chilled them for about 20 minutes before making the balls and they were just the right size. The trick is not overcooking them – hard to tell on dark batter. I added powdered sugar until the glaze was the right consistency for a good drizzle. I believe the chocolate chips & glaze were the keys to an exceptional cookie. Love your cookbooks and have never been disappointed in any of your recipes. Thank you!
Hey Debbie,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx