Gingerbread Truffles

Gingerbread Truffles are a delightful, no-bake twist on classic gingerbread cookies! These bite-sized beauties combine all the warm spices you love—cinnamon, ginger, and cloves—with a creamy, dough-like center that’s dipped in smooth white chocolate and topped with festive sprinkles. They’re simple to make, absolutely irresistible, and perfect for holiday gift-giving or your cookie tray.

Love More Truffles Recipes? Try My Christmas Tree Cake Truffles or this Grinch Christmas Truffles next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These truffles show up to every single one of my holiday parties now. They’re ridiculously easy—just mix the dough, roll it into balls, dip in melted candy coating, and you’re done. The best part? You can make a huge batch and freeze them, so when someone randomly stops by with a gift, you’ve got something homemade to offer back.

Print

Ingredient List

Dry & Spice Mix

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon allspice

Dough Base

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon milk

Coating & Garnish

• 10–16 ounces white candy melts or almond bark (for dipping)
• Vegetable shortening (about 1 teaspoon, optional, to thin the coating)
• Sprinkles (holiday-themed or your favorite!)

Yields: About 24 truffles

Why These Ingredients Work

Molasses makes them gingerbread. Without it they’re just brown cookies. Tried pancake syrup one time because I didn’t feel like going to the store in the rain. Tasted like sadness. Threw the whole batch away. My dog wouldn’t even eat them and she eats literally everything including rocks.

Check your spice dates before you dump them in. Used cinnamon from when Obama was still president once and couldn’t figure out why they tasted like cardboard until I looked at the jar. Bought new spices. Problem solved. Cost me eight bucks and twenty minutes I’ll never get back.

Leave butter on the counter while you’re getting dressed or doing whatever. Has to be squishy. Not soup. Not ice cube. Squishy. I stuck cold butter in the microwave for seven seconds once and it exploded everywhere. Don’t do that.

Candy melts from the Ghirardelli section at Walmart. White ones. Come in a bag. Super easy. Tried using fancy Belgian white chocolate from Whole Foods once because I was feeling bougie. Seized up into a grainy mess. Wasted twelve dollars. Stick with the cheap candy melts.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You won’t need much for this recipe, which is part of why I love it! Here’s what to grab:

• Medium mixing bowl (for dry ingredients)
• Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
• Whisk
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper or wax paper
• Small cookie scoop or tablespoon
• Microwave-safe bowl or disposable paper bowl (for melting coating)
• Fork or dipping tool
• Airtight container for storage

How To Make Gingerbread Truffles

Step 1: Combine Dry Ingredients

Put flour, salt, and all those spices in a bowl. Stir it with literally anything. Whisk, fork, spoon, whatever’s clean. Ten seconds. Done. Move on.

Step 2: Make the Dough

Beat butter, sugar, and molasses together with a mixer until it looks smooth and everything’s mixed. Maybe two minutes. I usually go until my arm gets tired if I’m using my hand mixer. Then add the flour stuff and milk. Beat it until it’s all one thing. Lick the beater. Safe to eat. No eggs. Tastes really good actually.

Step 3: Chill & Shape

Rip off some parchment paper. Stick it on a cookie sheet. Scoop dough with a spoon or that little ice cream scoop thing if you have one. Roll it into balls between your hands. Mine are never round. More like lumpy ovals. Who cares. Put them on the paper. Stick the whole sheet in the fridge. Set a timer for thirty minutes because you will absolutely forget about them. I once left mine in there for three hours because I started watching Netflix.

Step 4: Melt Coating

Candy melts in a bowl. Microwave. Thirty seconds. Take it out and stir. Back in. Thirty more seconds. Stir again. Keep doing this until it’s all melted and smooth. Takes me usually four times. Ninety seconds total maybe. Use those paper bowls from the dollar store so you can just toss it when you’re done instead of scrubbing chocolate for ten minutes.

Step 5: Dip & Decorate

Get those balls from the fridge. Take one. Drop it in chocolate. Roll it around with a fork until it’s covered. Pick it up with the fork. Tap fork on bowl edge couple times. Extra chocolate drips back down. Slide it off the fork onto your parchment paper. IMMEDIATELY put sprinkles on it. Like immediately immediately. Five second rule but for sprinkles and chocolate setting. Do all of them like this. I can handle maybe four balls before the chocolate on the first ones starts getting hard and I’m panicking about sprinkles.

Step 6: Set & Store

Put them back in the fridge. Wait until chocolate’s totally hard. Usually fifteen minutes. Sometimes I eat one early to test and the chocolate’s still soft and gets all over my fingers. Worth it though. Put them in whatever container you have with a lid. Tupperware. Gladware. That random container that lost its matching lid three years ago. Whatever. Keep them cold.

You Must Know

DO NOT SKIP CHILLING THE BALLS. Did this once because I was running late for a party and thought it’d be fine. It was not fine. First ball I dipped literally dissolved into the chocolate like a bath bomb. Had melted chocolate dough soup in my bowl. Scooped it out. Threw it away. Started over. Chilled them properly. Took an extra thirty minutes. Was late anyway. Learn from my failure.

Butter has to be soft enough to dent with your finger but not melted into liquid. That’s the zone. That’s what you need. Get it there however you want just don’t melt it or your dough will be greasy and gross.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Cookie scoop from Target makes them all the same size and takes half the time as using a regular spoon. Like three dollars. Worth every penny
• Chocolate getting hard and chunky while you’re working? Nuke it for ten more seconds. Fixed
• Only dip like three balls at a time. Maybe four if you’re fast with sprinkles. More than that and you’re gonna be stressed
• Sprinkles stick to wet chocolate only. Not drying chocolate. Not kinda-wet chocolate. Fully wet just-dipped chocolate. This is not negotiable
• Keep your phone away from your work area. Got chocolate all over my screen once trying to respond to a text. Had to clean it with Windex
• Put the melted chocolate bowl inside a bigger bowl with warm water while you work. Stays liquidy longer. Game changer. Saw someone do this on TikTok
• Use a toothpick to fix any bald spots in the chocolate coating after you put them down. Makes them look better

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

Stuff I’ve tried when regular ones got boring:

• Dark chocolate – Bought dark candy melts instead of white. Less sweet. Tastes more grown-up. My dad won’t eat the white chocolate ones but demolishes these
• Orange – Zested an orange into the dough. Maybe a teaspoon of zest. Really good. Tastes expensive
• Spicy – Two teaspoons of ginger instead of one. More bite. My brother requests these specifically every Christmas
• Candy cane – Smashed up three candy canes with a hammer and used that instead of sprinkles. Did this last year. Looked very festive. Tasted like Christmas threw up on them in the best way
• Double chocolate drizzle – White chocolate coating first. Let it dry. Then drizzled dark chocolate over the top with a fork. Looks fancy. Took literally ninety extra seconds
• Crushed Oreos – Put Oreos in a ziplock bag. Hit them with a can. Sprinkle the crumbs on top. Weird but good

Make-Ahead Options

Roll all your balls and freeze them naked. No chocolate yet. Just freeze the dough balls on the sheet until they’re hard. Dump them in a freezer bag. They’ll keep forever. Okay not forever but I’ve used them two months later and they were fine. When you need them take out however many you want. Let them thaw in the fridge thirty minutes. Dip them fresh. Done.

Can also freeze the finished ones. Stack them with parchment between layers or they’ll stick together and you’ll cry trying to separate them. Ask me how I know. They thaw fast. Like scary fast. Twenty minutes on the counter and they’re ready.

Make them Wednesday for a Saturday party. They taste way better after sitting in the fridge a few days. The spice flavor gets stronger or something. Science.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• Dough is safe to eat raw because no eggs. I ate probably a quarter cup while making them yesterday. Still alive. No regrets
• Buy the regular Grandma’s molasses in the glass bottle. Not fancy molasses. Not that super dark blackstrap stuff that tastes like you’re drinking vitamins. Regular
• Dough too sticky to roll? Refrigerate the bowl for fifteen minutes then try again. Or flour your hands a tiny bit
• Candy melts are basically impossible to screw up. I’ve overcooked them, undercooked them, added milk by accident once. Still worked fine
• Balls don’t need to be pretty before dipping. Mine look like weird potatoes. Once they’re chocolate-covered you can’t tell at all
• Made these while kind of drunk once after a girls night. Still turned out good. Very forgiving recipe
• If chocolate starts hardening on your fork between truffles run it under hot water for two seconds. Melts it right off

Serving Suggestions

Put them on a plate with other cookies. That’s what I do every time. They look good next to sugar cookies and brownies and whatever else. Or just put them on a plate by themselves. People will eat them.

For gifts get those clear cellophane bags from Michael’s. They’re like four dollars for fifty bags. Put truffles in bag. Tie ribbon. Write “from [your name]” on a tag so they remember who gave them. Done. Given these to everyone. Mail carrier. Hair person. Dentist. Kids’ teachers. Nobody’s ever complained.

Good for eating at 2 AM when you can’t sleep. Also good with coffee. Also good just standing at the counter after everyone’s asleep. Versatile like that.

How to Store Your Gingerbread Truffles

Refrigerator: Any container that closes. Lasts two weeks. I’ve never had them last that long because we eat them but that’s what the internet says. Take them out ten minutes before eating if you don’t like cold hard chocolate. I eat them straight from the fridge. Hurts my teeth a little. Don’t care.

Freezer: Same container situation. Month minimum. Probably longer. Ate some that were frozen for eight weeks once. Tasted fine. Thaw them in the fridge overnight or leave them out for twenty-ish minutes.

Room Temperature: They’ll survive maybe a day before they start looking sad and melty. Just refrigerate them. Easier.

Allergy Information

Contains: Wheat, butter, milk, probably soy in the candy melts

Egg-free: Yeah no eggs anywhere

Dairy-free: Grab some Earth Balance or Country Crock plant butter. Use oat milk or almond milk. Find dairy-free candy melts or chocolate chips. They exist. Saw them at Sprouts

Gluten-free: That Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour should work. Haven’t personally tried it. My friend Sarah has celiac and she made them with gluten-free flour and said they were fine. Maybe a little drier but still good

Nut-free: No nuts in this. Check your chocolate bag label though if you’re dealing with serious allergies. Some brands process stuff on shared equipment

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My coating is too thick and won’t drip off smoothly. Help!

Add Crisco. Like half a teaspoon. Stir it in. Still too thick? Add more. Or microwave it longer. Different candy melt brands are different thicknesses for some reason. Just thin it out until it works.

How far in advance can I make these for a party?

Week and a half if they’re refrigerated. Month if frozen. I usually do them five days ahead because that’s when they taste best to me. Your mileage may vary.

The sprinkles fell off my truffles. What did I do wrong?

Chocolate was already setting when you tried to add them. Happens to me sometimes when I’m moving too slow. Next time either work faster or only dip two balls at a time so you’re not rushing around trying to sprinkle everything at once.

Can I use salted butter?

Sure just don’t add the extra salt to the dough. I’ve done it when I ran out of unsalted butter. Couldn’t taste a difference honestly.

Mine came out too crumbly and won’t stay in balls what happened?

Not enough butter or you didn’t mix it long enough. Or your flour measurement was off. I don’t know. Try adding a tablespoon more butter and mixing it more. Should help.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me what happened when you made these. Were they good? Did you screw something up? Did your cat knock them off the counter? I wanna hear about it.