Gingersnap cookies are spicy cookies that feature a crackly top. They can be chewy or crunchy, depending on bake time. The 2001 “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook” recommends that you enjoy them with ice cream, fresh fruit, sorbet or coffee.

A 1 ½-inch gingersnap cookie contains 70 calories. Thirty-six percent of the calories in a gingersnap come from fat; a total of 3 g are fat, including 1 g of saturated fat. Fifty-seven percent of the calories in a gingersnap come from sugar; the remaining 7 percent come from protein. Gingersnaps prepared with butter or lard also contain about 5 mg of cholesterol.

Gingersnap cookies obtain their distinctive, spicy flavor from ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Their dark color and some of their spicy flavor come from brown sugar and molasses. Dark brown sugar produces a darker cookie than light brown sugar, although this does not change calorie content.

Using the diet exchange system, a single gingersnap counts as a half starch and half fat serving. Comparable alternatives include chocolate crinkles, refrigerator cookies, biscotti and sugar cookies. A chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie, by comparison, contains nearly twice as much fat and calories.