gingersnap

American  

[jin-jer-snap] / ˈdʒɪn dʒərˌsnæp /

noun

1. a small, brittle cookie flavored with ginger and molasses.

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Etymology

Origin of gingersnap

First recorded in 1795–1805; ginger + snap

Explanation

A gingersnap is a crisp, spicy little cookie. Gingersnaps are perfect for dunking into milk, tea, or coffee. The gingersnap is also known as a "ginger nut," especially in the U.K. It's a sweet, brittle cookie that's flavored with plenty of ginger and often other spices like cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg, and baked in small rounds. The predecessor to the gingersnap is the Cornish fairing, a little ginger biscuit that was sold at fairs in Cornwall as early as the 12th century.

Example Sentences

“Made in Minnesota! These are my great-grandmother’s recipe for gingersnap cookies,” Walz said.

From Slate • Oct. 17, 2024

This gourmet popcorn gift pack from Bremerton features four seasonal flavors: hot chocolate, sugar and spice, gingersnap and snowman crunch kettle corn.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2023

They blend into the overall flavor and provide sweetness much like molasses in a gingersnap.

From Salon • Sep. 25, 2022

They missed a family funeral in New York and subsisted on Diet Dr Pepper, cheese crackers and gingersnap cookies while their gas tank neared empty.

From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2022

He kept looking and looking, and the colors he found were gingersnap and light fudge and dark fudge and acorn and butter rum and cinnamon and burnt orange.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli