I love ginger-spiced treats – and if you love ginger too, you will love these Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies! Bite into one of these delicious treats, and be delighted as the sugar crusted coating gives way to a tender cookie beneath. These soft, chewy cookies have a deep gingerbread flavour highlighted with a hint of orange that makes them absolutely irresistible.
Whether it’s Banana Gingerbread with Ginger Icing, Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins or even my Triple Ginger Pound Cake, I always enjoy a piece of something gingery as a treat with a cup of tea or coffee – especially these Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies! They are by far the favourite cookie around our house at Christmas, although I generally start making them about October and don’t stop until the early days of spring.
I’ve been making these Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies for over ten years now. My husband takes them to work, my son shares them with friends and I’m often asked to bring them to holiday parties. They are perfect with a glass of milk or a hot drink. Some folks even like them with a wee nip of whiskey!
Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies – Top Tips For Making These Yummy Treats
Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies really are very easy to make, and you’d be amazed how quickly the dough rolls up into little balls. I timed myself this year, and it only takes 7 minutes per batch! Do leave time for the dough to chill before rolling if you can though. It’s so much easier if you do! Also, be sure not to over-bake the cookies. If you do they will get too crunchy. It’s not a disaster, but I really think they are nicer with softer centres.
One of the things I love about these yummy cookies is how well they keep in a sealed container at room temperature. You can definitely make them a few days ahead of time. However they also taste really nice warm from the oven! They make the house smell amazing while they are baking too.
Easy to make and even easier to eat, these Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are seriously addictive and are sure to become a family favourite round your house too!
Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies – Printable Recipe
Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar this is for rolling the cookies in before baking
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- the grated rind of one orange
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar together in an electric mixer.
- Beat in the molasses and the egg and then add the orange rind.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt together and then stir into the wet ingredients. Blend thoroughly but don't over-mix.
- Put the ¼ cup white sugar in a small open bowl.
- Roll the cookie mixture into small balls and roll each ball in the sugar.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets, leaving a bit of space between each cookie for them to spread just a bit.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the cookies will become very crisp.
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 4 or 5 days.
No wonder, April, you get asked to make those pretty Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies. I will head right now to the recipe. The cookies do sound so so good.
Thank you, Hadia! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do 🙂
These look & sound AMAZING!!! My family will adore them!
Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday!
Thank you so much, Chris 🙂
Delicious cookies April it has all the festive flavors.
Thank you so much, Swathi!
Hi April,
Your Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies look delicious and just know they will be perfect for the holidays. I really wish I had a couple right now to go with my afternoon tea. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great day.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
I’m so glad you like them, Miz Helen! Hope you have a lovely week!
These sound just perfect for holidays. Love how you added oranges. Oranges and ginger goes perfectly together. Sharing the recipe. Happy Holidays!
Thank you so much, Natalie, and thank you for sharing too. Happy Holidays!
The crinkle on these cookies make them look so inviting and delicious! I also adore the combination of gingerbread and orange flavors. Yum!
Luci’s Morsels | fashion. food. frivolity.
Thank you, Luci!
These are really beautiful cookies! I want to reach into the screen and grab a few!
Thank you, Lisa!
Looks perfect for the holidays! Thank you so much! Beautiful pictures! Cannot wait to try this recipe.
Thank you so much, Elaine! Happy Holidays!
Beautiful cookies! Combining some of my favorite flavours (I’ll be adding an orange cookie to the linkup when I post Thursday). Perfect with tea!
Thank you so much, Jean 🙂
They sound so delicious and they look perfectly crinkled!
Thank you, Kat! I love how easy they are to make 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing at #Over the Moon. We look forward to seeing what you’ll share with us next week.
Thank you so much, Shelley! I always enjoy Over the Moon.
Hi April, I’m on the second steam of your Christmas Pudding recipe in prep to serve today. I am wondering if that’s a packed 1/2 cup of brown sugar in your orange ginger crinkles? Thanks, Greg.
Wonderful, Greg! I hope you all enjoyed the pudding 🙂 Did you serve it with brandy custard, or brandy butter, or something else? Yes, you can use a packed ½ cup of brown sugar in the orange ginger crinkles, but I must admit I do pack it lightly now I am a bit more concerned with sugar content 🙂
Hi April, the pudding (pardon me, as I haven’t quite picked up on the abbreviated lingo, “Christmas pud?”) was very well received at my holiday potluck. I think it was most of the guest’s first experience, though they were familiar with the term “plum pudding” or “figgy pudding”. I did follow in steeped tradition and flambe it with some brandy and serve it with Bird’s custard. It might have made it on Facebook as the phone cameras were out as I prepared it for serving – I had to dose it a second time for the flame to catch. It was a huge success as I introduced my friends to another culture’s holiday tradition, and they liked it!
The orange ginger crinkles were another huge success today at my cookie exchange. I was fortunate to not have over baked so I produced the desired crunchy outside and chewy interior combo texture plus the molasses, ginger, and orange flavors were perfectly balanced. Thanks for your blog!
Hi Greg, I’m so pleased both recipes were a success! Bird’s Custard is always my husband’s first choice for accompanying Christmas pudding 🙂 We do call it Christmas pud for short, but not all the time 😉 Although if a Brit is asking ‘what’s for dessert’ year round, you will often hear “What’s for pud?” because any dessert is referred to as ‘pudding’. British English is nothing if not confusing!! (I grew up in Canada.) Anyway, I really appreciate you letting me know how you got on. It’s lovely to get feedback 🙂 Thank you so much. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Christmas!
These look yummy April. Such beautiful photos 🙂
Thanks for sharing at Welcome To The Weekend Blog Hop.
Thank you, Claire. I took the most recent ones (the first and last photos in the post) on my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I can’t get over how fantastic the camera is!
Your cookies look great, I love they are crinkle and I bet very soft! I will be making cookie dough recipes ahead of Christmas week to bake fresh and will include your recipe to share with my family!
Pinned to share!
Thank you for stopping by to share on #ohmyheartsiegirl #omhgff this week. Hope to see you again soon!
Happy Holidays!
Thank you so much, Karren. I hope you and your family enjoy the cookies as much as we all do! Thank you for pinning too. Happy Holidays!
be nice if these reviews were of people that actually MADE & TASTED them instead of “they LOOK delicious from the pictures! Yes they do but baking REVIEWS are suppose to be of the BAKING not the pictures of same. It does an injustice to the recipies!
I’m sorry, Dana, I don’t have a reviews section on my blog, just a comments section, and I like it that way. There are no rules for my comments section (except for folks to be polite), and I always appreciate a comment on how things I’ve made look as photography is something I am working on. (I’m a good home cook, not a photographer 😉 ) If you look further down, you will see a comment from Greg talking about his success with the cookies (as well as his success with my Christmas pudding recipe). I’ve had a lot of positive comments for these cookies on social media as well, most recently this weekend, and the reviews of these cookies on Pinterest are good. My friends and neighbours love them. I can’t guarantee how you will feel about them if you make them as I don’t know your tastes, but I know this is a cookie that is a big part of our holiday season every year. Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Can I use light mollasses?
I haven’t tried light molasses in this recipe, Carolyn, but I am pretty sure it would work. It might alter the flavour just slightly, in that it might not be as ‘deep’ and rich. I can’t be a hundred percent sure, having not tested it, but I think it would be worth a try. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes.
Hi April
I added an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. (Not sure if it was needed). They turned out great! I even doubled the recipe. My husband loved them plus I took some to work & guys loved them, especially the boss, he had about six!
Hi Carolyn, I’m so glad the cookies were such a success! I’m really glad the lighter molasses worked. Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
I just finished making the orange ginger cookies and they are perfect. Will have to make another batch as these ones won’t make it till Christmas.
I’m so pleased you like them as much as we do, Susan! I’m about to make some more today! Thank you for your lovely comment. Merry Christmas!
I can’t wait to give these a try!
Thank you, Helen!
Any results or suggestions for making a vegan version of the orange ginger crinkle? So, no dairy and no eggs is what I mean in this recipe as I always need to double-check on nutrition restrictions. Thanks and happy holidays.
I’ve never tried a vegan version of this recipe, Greg. You could try a plant based “butter” or spread to replace the butter. I have heard of replacing an egg with 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons of water. I must stress though I have never tried either so I can’t guarantee how the recipe will turn out. If you do try it, please let me know how you get on. I’m sorry not to be more help. Happy Holidays!
I just made 3.5 dozen cookies from this recipe, and SISTER! They are the absolute best! I live in Colorado, and cookies at this altitude are sketchy. I hope these stay chewy. I used fresh orange peel and fresh ginger grated… what a brilliant flavor. And they are pretty with the white sugar glistening. Thanks so much
LeeAnna at not afraid of color
Thank you so much, LeeAnna! I am so glad you love them too. In my experience they do stay chewy, so fingers crossed they will do the same at your altitude. I like the idea of using the fresh grated ginger – lovely!
Crinkle cookies are so fun and festive. I’ve been really tempted to do some baking with orange flavor lately.
I love how orange adds something special to baked recipes, Alexandra! I also like what it does to chocolate…
I’ve pinned this to make some time. I love a chewy ginger cookie and the addition of orange sounds perfect.
Thank you, Valerie! Happy New Year!
I made these this weekend and while they taste amazing, they came out of the oven as flat as a ginger snap…but still chewy. I followed the recipe exactly, so not sure why they aren’t more fluffy and crinkled. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Hi Steve, It could be that the cookies over-baked a little. The centres of the cookies are softer (and therefore fluffier) if they are cooked less. Oven temperatures vary radically over time and if your oven is running a little hot it could just be that the cookies baked a little faster than normal. If you make the cookies again, perhaps set the timer for just seven minutes. See how the cookies look at that point and watch them really carefully from there. It’s okay if they are not in the oven for the whole ten minutes. My late Mom used to suggest setting the oven 25 degrees cooler too – so 325°F in this case. My only other thought is that the weather can sometimes affect baking as well, particularly if there is a lot of dampness in the air – but I think that is less likely than issues with the oven temperature or cooking time. I hope this helps and I am sorry you were disappointed!