These easy, Chewy Ginger Creams are soft ginger molasses cookies sandwiched together with the dreamiest vanilla cream cheese frosting filling. Warmly spiced super chewy cookies with sweet creamy centres that are sooooo easy to make… they’re pretty darn close to cookie perfection.
These guys are kind of like the cookie version of a gingerbread latte… sweet, spiced, and a little bit (ok a lot) indulgent. And my fave part? They look fancy, but actually take minimal effort. With me? Yes you are.
One of our favourite bakeries used to sell ginger sandwich cookies that were as big as my head. It took two of us a couple of days to get through one, but we’re not quitters so we always worked our way through them. These are my slightly more reasonable take on those cookies or maybe they’re just my way to justify eating a few smaller ones. Who cares though really… prepare to meet your new cookie addiction…
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Chewy Ginger Creams
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 cup butter soft
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Sugar for rolling
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer for several minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, vanilla and molasses. Mix well.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Form dough into 1”-1 1/2” balls.
- Roll dough balls in sugar and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes.
While the cookies cool, make the cream cheese frosting.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well.
- When the cookies are completely cool, spread a thick layer of the cream cheese filling between two cookies and sandwich together.
my pro tips for making the best chewy ginger creams
The Underbaking – don’t over bake these – or any – cookies. Slightly under is always better than slightly over.
The Smashing – if the cookies still look a little puffy when you pull them out of the oven give the baking sheet a good smash on the counter to flatten them out a bit.
Piping – If you’re fancier and more patient than I am you can pipe the filling in to make the cookies a little bit prettier.
recipe substitutions and variations
Try playing with the spices for variety. Increase the cloves or cinnamon… add a little allspice or cayenne.
Lemon Cream Version – add the zest of one lemon to the butter and cream cheese when you’re making the frosting.
Frosted Cookie Version – instead of sandwiches, use the filling to frost each cookie individually and then top with some fun sprinkles.
Super Ginger Version – Add 1/2 cup chopped candied ginger to the cookie batter along with the dry ingredients and add a pinch of powdered ginger to the frosting.
how to make them – quick overview
- Make the ginger cookie dough.
- Roll the dough balls in sugar.
- Bake until just set and crackly.
- Whip up the fluffy cream cheese filling.
- Sandwich two cookies together.
- Eat one immediately. It’s mandatory.
storing and freezing…
Storing – cookies keep well in the fridge in an air-tight container for about 5 days.
Freezing – I freeze the cookies in a single layer on a tray and once frozen I transfer them to a freezer bag. You can also freeze unfilled cookies and then make the filling when you’re ready to serve them.
You can also freeze the filling separately and then thaw at room temperature to use.
questions about these chewy ginger creams
Can you freeze the dough balls? absolutely! Just add a couple of minutes to the baking time
Can you use different fillings? yes, easily. You can use buttercream frosting or even dulce de leche as alternate filling ideas.
Got any other fun cookie ideas? of course I do and I’m so glad you asked! Some of my current faves are: Salted Caramel Apple Cookies, Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies and Sprinkles Sugar Cookies.
I know you’ll love these Chewy Ginger Creams as much as I do and if you do try don’t forget to drop a comment, rate the recipe, or tag me over on Instagram @thepyperskitchen so I can see your delicious meals!
