This recipe for ginger cookies with white chocolate is made with crystallized ginger, which adds a ton of ginger flavour, while the white chocolate adds a sweet creamy taste to smooth it all together. These white chocolate ginger cookies the best chewy ginger cookies, still a little soft middle, and with that signature crackled finish.
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White Chocolate Ginger Cookies Ingredients
If you want to make ginger cookies, you will need the following ingredients:
- butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise your cookies may be too salty
- granulated sugar though brown sugar would also work here and would add to the molasses flavour. Brown sugar may also lead to a slightly thicker cookie
- molasses, specifically Fancy molasses or baking molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, which is too bitter for this recipe
- large eggs, don't use smaller eggs because your cookie dough may be too dry and your cookies won't spread enough, but don't use extra large eggs because they could cause the cookie dough to puff too much as it bakes, leading to a more cakey cookie
- all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the cookies structure, contributing to the chewiness of the cookies as well. If you don't use enough flour, your cookies may spread too much as they bake
- baking soda is a base (alkaline) and contributes to that signature cracked finish that we expect of the best ginger cookies. You need baking soda for the cookies to spread properly and to crack. Do not use baking powder. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure
- ground ginger and cinnamon are added to the dough to make these cookies very flavourful.
- salt is really important to balance out the sweet molasses flavour. Don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the cookies will be saltier and you may want to halve the salt in that case.
- crystallized ginger is the secret to the best ginger cookies because they add a ton of potent ginger flavour to really bring it up a notch.
- white chocolate chips or chunks are optional in this recipe, but the white chocolate does provide a creamy sweet flavour that pairs really nicely with the spicy ginger, especially the crystallized ginger.
See recipe card for exact quantities and recipe details.
Substitutions and Variations
- White chocolate:
- I like to use white chocolate chips in the cookie dough and also to press a few extra chips on top of each scoop of cookie dough before baking to make sure you can see the chocolate. You can also use chopped white chocolate for a bakery-style effect
- Instead of using white chocolate chips, you could also dip the ginger cookies in melted white chocolate, setting the dipped cookies on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat until the chocolate sets and crystallizes. This is what I did for these chocolate cookies dipped in white chocolate. The effect is very pretty.
- Molasses: we are baking with Fancy molasses (which you can find on Amazon), which is sometimes called baking molasses or original molasses in the US (available on Amazon). Mild molasses also works. Another option worth exploring would be black Treacle, which I used in these soft gingerbread cookies. Lyle's Black Treacle is very popular in Great Britain and it's used to bake instead of molasses. You can also order it on Amazon.
- Raisins: you can replace the crystallized ginger with raisins, which would be excellent in this spiced cookie.
Hint: Do not use blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is very dark and has a more bitter taste, whereas Fancy molasses has a milder taste that is more suited for baking and Christmas cookies in general.
How to Make White Chocolate Ginger Cookies
This is a drop cookie that is simple to make and the cookie dough doesn't require any chilling because it has slightly more flour than these soft ginger cookies with crystallized ginger.
Step 1: Start by creaming softened butter with the two types of sugar (image 1) until it's well mixed (image 2) before incorporating the egg (image 3) and the molasses (image 4).
Step 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (image 6) and when the creamed mixture is smooth (image 5), mix in the dry ingredients (image 7). Add the chopped crystallized ginger and the white chocolate (image 8).
Step 3: I highly recommend portioning out all the dough with a cookie scoop onto a quarter sheet pan (image 9) before chilling it for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Place 8 scoops of cookie dough on a half-sheet pan, evenly spacing them to allow airflow (image 10). Bake until the edges have set (image 11).
Top Tip
Crystallized ginger is the secret ingredient to make the best ginger cookies because it packs a massive amount of flavour in every bite!
Baking FAQs
In general, drop cookie dough will spread out more when it bakes if you don't use enough flour, use too much butter or sugar in the dough, or if your cookie dough is too warm when you bake it.
Make sure to use a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for the best success. Also read about the reasons cookies spread, which will also guide you on how to control this.
This recipe has a little more flour than the other ginger cookie recipe with crystallized ginger, which makes these cookies thicker. Make sure to chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes before baking to delay spreading when you bake these!
Store ginger cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can place a few marshmallows, a brown sugar saver, or even a piece of bread in the container to keep the cookies soft and chewy, like you would brown sugar to prevent rapid drying.
Of course, drying out is inevitable at a certain point and in some climates. Freeze cookies for longer storage.
This recipe yields thick, chewy ginger cookies with white chocolate. They will definitely satisfy the ginger and gingerbread-obsessed who are tight on time. The addition of crystallized ginger adds a punch of flavour to the cookies, and the white chocolate makes them a little decadent.
Other Ginger Cookie and Gingerbread Recipe Variations to Try
Other options if you are in the mood for ginger cookies and gingerbread variations:
- slice-and-bake gingerbread cookies
- crystallized ginger cookies
- glazed soft gingerbread cookies
- german gingerbread cookies
- matcha gingerbread cookies
If you tried this recipe for ginger cookies with white chocolate (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Ginger Cookies with White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 310 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 10 mL baking soda
- 10 mL ground ginger
- 5 mL ground cinnamon
- 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 170 grams unsalted butter softened
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 60 mL Fancy molasses
- 1 large egg(s) room temperature
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped crystallized ginger
- 150 grams white chocolate chopped or chips, plus more for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Prepare a couple of baking sheets by lining them with parchment or a silicone liner.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Set them aside for later.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar.
- Add the egg, and then the molasses, being sure to scrape down the bowl as needed and mixing well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the whisked dry ingredients, then the chopped crystallized ginger and the white chocolate.
- Form the dough into 1–1.5 inch balls.
- Place them on the prepared baking sheets (8 per sheet pan) and lightly press a few extra pieces of white chocolate into each ball (don’t squish too much!).
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until they just start to crack. Let them cool for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Notes
- Feel free to use chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips in these cookies.
- Make sure to use baking molasses, light molasses, or fancy molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, which has a completely different flavour.
- To portion out the dough, I highly recommend using a ¾ ounce disher, which will help you create perfect, even scoops.
- Don't overbake the cookies. Take them out of the oven when the edges have begun to set and the surface is slightly cracked.
- Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C) to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.
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