18 Merry and Bright Ginger Desserts

By Megan Soll
Updated December 20, 2018
© Kristin Perers
The winter season brings a desire for a well-loved spice: ginger. More specifically, ginger desserts. Soothing yet bright and stimulating all at once, ginger is the perfect addition to sweet holiday confections. Ginger snaps, ginger cakes, ginger cookies, fresh ginger desserts, candied ginger and of course every variation of gingerbread are all here for your baking (and tasting) pleasure. The best holiday ginger dessert spread is at your fingertips.
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Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

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Julianne Jones’s wonderfully zingy gingerbread cookies have a tender and cakey texture, yet they’re sturdy enough to decorate.

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18 Merry and Bright Ginger Desserts

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Cranberry Gingerbread

© John Kernick
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The loaf is perfect sliced, spread with sweet butter and served alongside a cup of hot tea.

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Gingerbread Roll with Cinnamon Cream

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A riff on a bûche de Noël, it combines tender ginger cake with a tangy cream-cheese filling.

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Triple-Ginger Rye Cookies

Greg DuPree
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Hearty rye flour paired with three types of ginger—powdered, candied, and fresh—lends an earthy, lightly spicy flavor to these delicious holiday cookies.

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Slightly Chewy Ginger Cookies

© John Kernick
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Unlike most shortbread cookies, these are made with whole wheat, which gives them a nice, toasty flavor.

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Molasses-Gingerbread Cake with Mascarpone Cream

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This supermoist cake, flavored with molasses for a mellow sweetness, is excellent with wine-poached pears or a topping of whipped mascarpone

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Peach-Gingersnap Crisp

Lucy Schaeffer
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Bakers typically pair ginger with apples or pears, but Grace Parisi loves using fresh peaches, too.

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Pepparkakor

Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
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Pepparkakors are spiced Swedish ginger cookies served commonly around Christmas.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin-Ginger Cupcakes

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These supermoist, gluten-free cupcakes have terrific pumpkin flavor and an irresistible topping of fluffy, creamy frosting and golden caramel sauce.

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Dark Chocolate Fudge with Candied Ginger and Pistachios

© Abby Hocking
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To prepare this festive fudge, just stir a few flavorings into the melted-chocolate base.

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Crispy Ginger Snaps

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While the dough for these cookies needs to rest for at least four hours, the final product—a crispy, spicy ginger snap—is well worth the wait.

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Gingerbread and White Chocolate Mousse Trifle

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This trifle is three desserts in one: mousse, gingerbread and caramel. Each part is delicious on its own, too.

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Ginger and Pear Upside-Down Cake

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This unmolded cake can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

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Ginger Sandwich Cookies

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Nick Malgieri adds a puckery note to his gingersnap cookies by sandwiching them with a fresh lemon cream.

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Pumpkin-Gingerbread with Lemony Cashew Cream

© Sarah Bolla
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The density of this dairy-free gingerbread cake pairs perfectly with the lightness of the lemony cashew cream.

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Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

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This supple dough is very easy to work with, and the scraps can be rerolled and cut out.

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Gingerbread Pear Loaf Cake

© KAMRAN SIDDIQI
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This super moist loaf spiked with candied ginger is the perfect tea cake.

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Ginger-Molasses Scones

© Kristin Perers
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“These scones are basically my excuse to eat gingerbread for breakfast,” says Claire Ptak of Violet, a cult London bakery.

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