Learn how to make thick Gingerbread NYC Cookies. These buttery New York-style cookies are filled with warm spices and white chocolate. They’re easy to make and are ready to eat in under an hour.
I love gingerbread this time of year (or any time!). And these Gingerbread NYC Cookies are something special – trust me. Bursting with ginger and warm spices and oodles of white chocolate chips, they’re big, buttery, a little spicy and oh-so festive!
Using my secret for creating extra thick cookies, these super chunky Gingerbread Cookies are surprisingly easy to make.
There’s no chilling the dough, so they can be ready to eat in under an hour.
If you love thick New York-style cookies, you’re going to fall head over heels for these!
Why you will love this recipe
Super thick: If your dream cookie is extra chunky with crisp edges, you’ll love these BIG NYC Gingerbread Cookies.
Full of flavour: These cookies are full of ginger and spices, so they’re buttery, sweet and just a little spicy.
Quick and easy: My Gingerbread Cookie recipe requires no chilling, so these cookies can be ready to eat in under an hour. This easy recipe is perfect for amateur bakers!
Make-ahead: You can easily make the dough ahead of time and freeze it for the busy holiday season.
Recipe testing
While I will always adore a Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookie, these thick NYC Gingerbread Cookies are next level.
When I was in New York City a few years ago, I was smitten with the chunky cookies that can found at popular establishments like Levain Bakery.
I even came home and made my own version of their Chocolate Chip Cookie – and my Copycat Levain Bakery Cookies are still one of my most popular recipes.
Through that recipe testing process, I discovered how much the temperature of your butter directly affects the thickness of your cookie.
So just like my favourite Biscoff Cookies, these Gingerbread Cookies use cold butter. This helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Ive used that technique to create big Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies and even a Red Velvet Cookie.
When I started recipe testing this cookie, I tried adding golden syrup and molasses to the cookie dough. But while they were super tasty, the middle was just too fudgy.
Unlike my Chewy Molasses Cookies, the moisture was just too much for a chunky New York-style cookie.
Once I removed the molasses, and simply opted for more spices to create that fragrant gingerbread flavour, I discovered the ultimate NYC Gingerbread Cookie.
This beautiful Gingerbread Cookie is sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
Ingredients
You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make a batch of these chewy cookies. Just the basics will create the most festive Christmas cookie.
Here’s a quick rundown of the key ingredients you will need, including any substitutions you can make.
- Cold butter: It is VERY important to use cold butter straight from the fridge to achieve the thickness we want here. If you choose to use room temperature butter, you will need to chill the dough before baking. If you use salted butter, omit the salt included in the recipe list.
- Brown sugar: You will only use brown sugar in this recipe – no granulated sugar or caster sugar is required. Brown sugar not only adds moisture and caramel notes, but it helps to prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven.
- Ginger: I’ve tested this recipe using storebought ground ginger. You may want to play around with the amount of ginger according to your taste. My measurements give a healthy dose of ginger, leaving you with a slight tingle on your tongue. But they are still kid-friendly – even my toddler approved!
- White chocolate chips: I tried this recipe using different types of chocolate, but found that white chocolate chips gave the best result. Chocolate chunks or hand-cut chocolate melt quicker than chocolate chips and cause the cookies to be slightly flatter (abeit still delicious). You can, of course, use any chocolate you prefer. But be aware that chocolate chunks or a block of chocolate may cause the cookies to spread a little more.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Gingerbread NYC Cookies
These chunky Gingerbread Cookies are so quick and easy to make – even if it’s your first time making a cookie.
You’ll need an electric mixer to make a batch. You can use a hand mixer but I find a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment works best.
Here’s a snapshot of how to make them. The full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
Step 1: In a large bowl, add butter and sugars. Mix using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined and creamy.
Step 2: Add vanilla and egg. Mix on medium speed just until combined.
Step 3: Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until a soft cookie batter forms.
Step 4: Stir through chocolate chips.
Step 5: Portion out cookie dough (roughly 2 tablespoons each) into balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving room for cookies to spread.
Step 6: Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sea salt. Leave to cool completely.
Storage instructions
Once completely cooled, you can keep leftover Gingerbread NYC Cookies covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature.
So you’re not tempted to eat the whole batch, you might want to consider freezing some of the cookie dough.
Make Ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead of time. Simply roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, let the cookie dough thaw at room temperature before baking as per instructions below.
Recipe tips
Here are my tips for creating classic NYC cookies every time.
- Use cold butter: For a truly thick cookie, it’s best to use cold butter straight from the fridge. Don’t be tempted to thaw your butter, otherwise you will need to chill the dough before baking.
- Get a baking scale: I highly recommend weighing out your dry ingredients using a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make your cookies dry and tasteless. It’s VERY easy to overmeasure flour when using a measuring cup.
- Don’t flatten the cookie dough balls: Once you portion the cookie dough into balls, don’t flatten them before baking. Simply leave them as balls and watch them spread while they bake.
Frequently asked questions
If your cookies spread too much and you used cold butter, you may have over-mixed the cookie dough – making the butter too warm. Next time, consider chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking. Here are nine common reasons why cookies go flat in the oven.
You can make these cookies without the chocolate chips but they will spread a little more. The chocolate chips help keep the cookies thick and chunky. If you prefer you could add milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. Even Caramilk chips would be lovely! Alternatively, you could add another mix-in, like roasted macadamia nuts instead.
These Gingerbread Cookies have some spice with the addition of ground ginger but they are not overly spicy. My 3-yo ate them with gusto!
More gingerbread recipes
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Let’s Bake
Gingerbread NYC Cookie Recipe
Big thick New York-style Gingerbread Cookies.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, COLD (straight from the fridge), roughly chopped
- 180 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, cold
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 150 grams (1 cup) white chocolate chips
- Sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cold butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add vanilla and egg. Beat again until combined – but try not to over mix.
- Add flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and beat on a low speed until soft cookie dough forms. Add chocolate chips and beat briefly.
- Scoop out cookie dough, roughly 2 tablespoons per cookie, and place on prepared oven trays, leaving room for the cookie to spread.
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt. Leave cookies to cool completely.
Notes
Cold butter: It is VERY important to use cold butter straight from the fridge to achieve the thickness we want here. If you choose to use room temperature butter, you will need to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. If you use salted butter, omit the salt included in the recipe list.
White chocolate chips: I tried this recipe using different types of chocolate, but found that using chocolate chips gave the best result. You can, of course, use any chocolate you prefer. But be aware that chocolate chunks or a block of chocolate may cause the cookies to spread a little more than chocolate chips.
Storage: Once completely cooled, you can keep leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make Ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead of time. Simply roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, let the cookie dough thaw at room temperature before baking as per instructions above.
Nutrition Information
Our favourite
driveshusbandnuts says
Outstanding cookies! Just made them for the first time, and they turned out great! Soft interior with chewy edges. Amazing flavor. Quick to make. Very excited to include these on my Christmas cookie trays. I yielded 16 cookies even though just 10 were expected. I thought I measured out 2 TBLS. scoops, but maybe I was a little short.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Yes I do like my cookies quite large 😂 but it’s really up to you how big you would like them.
S says
Made these! Fab! Used less white choc chips & bit more ginger. That touch of sea salt after baking is perfect. My sister said ‘These are the best ginger cookies I’ve ever had’. New fav. (I put a small piece of bread in container w/ them, trick from grandma, to keep them alittle soft)
Jessica Holmes says
Ahh I love that so much! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback!
Elaine Robson says
This is a lovely cookie. The only change I made was to reduce the amount of white chocolate chips, I added some chopped crystallized ginger to replace them. YUM!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Elaine – adding crystallized ginger sounds awesome!
Tess says
Jess these were utter perfection! Knowing your recipes are a sure thing, I knocked up a double batch and I am SO glad I did. Highly highly recommend this for any Christmas festivities
Jessica Holmes says
Aw how wonderful! I’m so glad you love these as much as I do Tess! Thank you so much for your kind feedback.
Sarah says
These are AMAZING! Just the perfect texture and balance of flavour. I made them gluten free and simply replaced the flour and added 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum and they worked perfectly! Thank you Jess!
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! So glad they worked well for you Sarah!
Angelina says
I haven’t made them yet but could you use a food processor to mix all the ingredients?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Angelina, I’ve never tried to make a cookie dough using a food processor. I think it might work if you didn’t overblitz the mixture? If you try it, let us know how it goes.
Josh says
Absolutely loved these! My new favourite Christmas cookie.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved these!