Honey-Ginger Snaps

These ginger snaps swap out the usual molasses for honey, and that single change shifts everything. The cookies come out slightly softer and chewier than a traditional gingersnap, with a floral sweetness that lets the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves really come through instead of hiding behind the heavy bitterness of molasses.

Creaming the honey with butter, sugar, and egg traps air that gives the cookies a lighter crumb. The honey also holds moisture, so these stay chewy for days instead of going rock-hard overnight like many gingersnaps do.

Chilling the dough for an hour is not optional. The butter needs to firm back up so the balls hold their shape on the cookie sheet. Skip this step and you’ll get flat, spread-out discs instead of the thick, crackle-topped rounds you’re after.

Chef Tips

• Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar before baking for a sparkly, crackled top. The sugar crystals catch the light and add a slight crunch to the chewy cookie.
• Pull at 10 minutes for chewy, 12 for crispy. They’ll look slightly underdone in the center at 10 minutes but firm up as they cool on the sheet.
• Use a level tablespoon and keep the sizes consistent. Uneven balls mean some cookies burn while others are underdone.
• Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a rack. They’re fragile right out of the oven.

Variations

• Add a pinch of black pepper for a sharper, more complex heat alongside the ginger.
• Sandwich two cookies around lemon cream cheese frosting for a ginger-lemon cookie sandwich.
• Fold in finely chopped crystallized ginger for an extra punch of ginger in every bite.