Recipe By Ben Mims
Published on August 27, 2026
This Scandinavian take on ginger cookies is bristling with spicy ginger flavor and the deep toffee notes of caramelized sugar.
Time
50 minYield
Makes 1 ½ dozen cookiesWhy This Recipe Works
In this country, ginger cookies are typically sweetened with molasses. Our Scandinavian version features the sweeter, less bitter, toffee notes of caramelized sugar syrup, which allows the cookies’ three forms of ginger—fresh, ground, and crystallized—to shine. You can buy the syrup online or follow our recipe to make your own. For the dough, we creamed the sugar syrup with butter, brown sugar, and the fresh ginger before combining it with the remaining ingredients. We chilled the dough for a good 2 hours to hydrate the flour and make the dough less sticky to work with. After shaping the dough into balls, we rolled them in turbinado sugar for a crackly crunch on the cookies’ exteriors. To ensure the proper moist chew, we made sure to remove the cookies from the oven when they were puffed, cracked, and only slightly darker at the edges. We then banged the baking sheets on the counter, eliminating the largest air pockets to create a more dense, even crumb.
Ingredients
Caramelized Sugar Syrup
Ginger Cookies
Instructions
Cook along with these step-by-step instructions
- FOR THE CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP: Place sugar in narrow, high-sided medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar liquifies completely and turns dark caramel color, 5 to 8 minutes (mixture may smoke and just begin to bubble on the edges but should not be bubbling all over).
- Remove pan from heat and carefully pour in water (mixture will bubble). Return pan to medium heat and continue to cook until mixture is homogenous, thickened, and measures ¾ cup (allow bubbles to settle when measuring), 2 to 4 minutes.Recipe TipBen uses boiling water so it matches the temperature of the sugar and will minimize bubbling.
- Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup caramelized sugar syrup for this recipe; reserve remaining for another use. (Store syrup in airtight container or bottle at room temperature.)
- FOR THE GINGER COOKIES: Whisk flour, candied ginger, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in medium bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, ¼ cup reserved caramelized sugar syrup, and fresh ginger on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and continue to mix until fully incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture; mix until dough just comes together and no dry patches of flour remain. Refrigerate dough until chilled, at least 2 hours (dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days).
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place turbinado sugar in shallow dish.
- Divide dough into 18 equal portions, a scant 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) each. Roll into balls then add to dish with turbinado sugar and turn to fully coat. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets, 9 per sheet.
- Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until slightly darker at edges and puffed on top (cookies may seem underdone between cracks), about 8 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Remove sheet from oven and transfer to wire rack; immediately bang sheet on rack to collapse cookies.
- Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (Cooled cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week in airtight container.). Serve.
CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP
GINGER COOKIES
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