Pogen's Gingersnaps

Thin, Crisp Swedish-Style Gingersnaps

Pogen is the storied Swedish biscuit company famous for its pepparkakor, and these gingersnaps land squarely in that thin-and-snappy camp. The combination of butter and shortening is what gives them their signature shatter: butter for flavor, shortening for the precise crispness you can’t get from butter alone.

Molasses and brown sugar do the heavy work on flavor. The molasses provides bittersweet depth and that mahogany color, while the brown sugar caramelizes during the bake to give the edges their deep, almost burnt-sugar character. A trio of ginger, cinnamon, and clove keeps the spice traditional and balanced.

The pressing technique matters. Rolling the dough into walnut-size balls and flattening them with floured fingertips is what creates the characteristic crackly tops and uniform thinness. Skip the flattening, and you’ll get puffier, softer cookies instead of true snaps.

Pro Tips

• Cream the butter, shortening, and brown sugar until truly fluffy and pale. This builds the air structure that helps the snaps go thin in the oven.
• Use unsulphured molasses for the cleanest flavor. Blackstrap is too bitter, while light molasses lacks the depth needed.
• Pull the cookies when they’re golden but still soft to the touch. They crisp up dramatically as they cool.
• Store in an airtight tin once fully cool. Even a little humidity will turn snaps chewy overnight.

Variations

• Press a sliver of crystallized ginger into the center of each ball for a candy-like ginger pop.
• Brush warm cookies with a thin lemon glaze for an iced gingersnap.
• Sandwich two cooled snaps with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting for a quick gingersnap whoopie pie.