The best ginger cookies should be peppery, spiced, slightly sweet, and wonderfully crunchy. Store bought ginger cookies are a Holiday treat because they pack bold, aromatic flavor. Nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and ginger feel all warm and fuzzy when it’s cold outside, so we want our ginger cookies and ginger snaps to recreate that experience. The best ginger cookies and the best ginger snaps are all about comfort, warmth, and spice. Make us feel something, dammit! These did just that.
We don’t think we’ve ever had two ginger cookies that tasted exactly the same. The main thing that makes these cookies stand apart from one another is that every brand uses a different level of spice. Some go light on the ginger, others use so much it’s like they want to set your chest on fire. Then there’s allspice, clove, cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses—all of which are ingredients used interchangeably in ginger snaps and gingerbread cookies. We found this taste test to be very comforting. Snapping into a crispy, crunchy cookie that’s packed with a delightful concoction of spices is the kind of experience we look forward to. The best ginger cookies are simple, but they speak loudly. Here are five that impressed the Sporked team.
- Sprouts Old Fashioned Ginger Flavored Snaps
After this taste test, I took these Sprouts old fashioned ginger flavored snaps home with me. Why? Because their spice level is aggressive. The clove flavor is off the charts, and its intensely aromatic nature works very well with the peppery notes of ginger. Truly, these cookies are loaded with spices. Sprouts’ ginger snap cookies pack a big, big flavor. They might be too much for your average cookie eater, but for me that boldness made them addictive and some of the best ginger snaps we tasted. —Danny Palumbo
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- Pepperidge Farm Gingerman Cookies
Pepperidge Farm makes great products and that includes their gingerbread cookies.These ginger cookies are light, crispy as heck, and filled with great flavor. The ginger flavor isn’t super strong, but there’s a deep, well-rounded sweetness here from the brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and cane sugar listed in the ingredients. They come shaped like little men, too, so if you love dismembering human-shaped cookies you’re pretending are your enemies, go with Pepperidge Farm. They’re the best ginger cookies if you’re looking for a nuanced flavor and a light, crispy crunch. —Danny Palumbo
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- Tate’s Bake Shop Gluten Free Ginger Zinger Cookies
I gravitate towards crispy and crunchy gluten-free snacks, so Tate’s Bake Shop is a huge winner for me. These gluten-free Ginger Zinger cookies have a big-time ginger flavor, and a rich, nutty, almost brown butter taste that feels wholly decadent. Crystals of sugar give them crunch and sweetness. I love the way these look, too—they’ve got a rustic, homemade vibe to them. They also contain eggs and are delightfully fatty. Tate’s Ginger Zingers are indulgent, peppery, and fully satisfying, and could easily be the best ginger cookies on our list—they just fall slightly short of what we think the ideal ginger cookies should be, which is a little more thin and a bit less rich. —Danny Palumbo
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- Walkers Stem Ginger Biscuits
They might call themselves biscuits, but these are some of the best ginger cookies money can buy. These cookies feel expensive and fancy thanks to the packaging and taste. There’s tons of chewy ginger mixed into these cookies, making them the perfect ginger cookies for ginger lovers. These slap you in the face with ginger flavor. Yum! —Jordan Myrick
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- Dewey’s Bakery Triple Ginger Cookies
Dewey’s Bakery makes the thinnest, crispiest ginger cookies on the market. They have a wonderful snap and they aren’t hard at all. These airy cookies are some of the best ginger cookies I’ve ever tasted. If you’re looking for a light dessert with a great sweetness and real ginger flavor, Dewey’s makes the best ginger snaps for you. –Jordan Myrick
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- Nyakers Ginger Snaps
Nyakers Ginger Snaps are in a virtual first-place tie with Annas, but that doesn’t mean they’re identical. Though Nyakers ginger snaps have the same pronounced ginger flavor and thin, crunchy quality as Annas, Nyakers have a delightfully rich, almost buttery flavor that kept us all coming back for more bites. These cookies are so rich and luxurious, which is honestly breathtaking for ginger snaps (and why we consider them some of the best ginger snap cookies). Bite into one, then let it dissolve in your mouth so you can savor all the wonderful flavors. This was a delightful experience and a flat-out surprise. I didn’t know gingerbread cookies could be so…buttery. —Danny Palumbo
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- Annas Ginger Swedish Thins
Annas Ginger Swedish Thins took our breath away with their straightforward yet wonderful flavor. They’re plain, yes, but as a result you just get that pure, spiced ginger and clove flavor that’s emblematic of the Holidays. Annas cookies have less sugar than other cookies, but that’s a strength. With less sugar, you really get to taste the peppery, mellow notes of the ginger. The texture is also quite crispy, and the cookies themselves are indeed thin, so the crunch factor is even higher. Annas Thins are the best gingerbread cookies because they do all the little things so well. —Danny Palumbo
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Best Spice
Best Ginger Person
Best Surprise
Best for Ginger Lovers
Best Thin
Best Buttery
Best of the Best
Other Products We Tried: Nabisco Ginger Snaps, Kroger Ginger Snaps, Lofthouse Soft & Chewy Ginger Cookies, Signature Select Ginger Snaps, Belvita Gingerbread Breakfast Biscuits, ShaSha Gingersnaps, Stauffer’s Ginger Snaps, Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snaps, Great Value
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!