Northern European ginger nuts, also called ginger bread or brunkage in Danish (literally, 'brown cookie'), pepparkakor in Swedish, piparkakut in Finnish, piparkūkas in Latvian,[6] piparkoogid in Estonian and pepperkaker in Norwegian (literally, 'pepper cakes'), are rolled quite thin (often under 3 mm (0.12 in) thick), and cut into shapes; they are smooth and are usually much thinner and hence crisper (and in some cases, more strongly flavoured) than most global varieties.

[8] In Australia, produced since the 1900s,[9] Arnott's Biscuits manufactures four different regional varieties of ginger nut to suit the tastes of people in different states.

[10] The darker and more bitter Queensland biscuit is 8.5 grams (0.30 oz) in weight, and average about 6.5 millimetres (0.26 in) in thickness, compared to the lighter South Australia biscuit is heavier at 11.7 grams (0.41 oz) in weight, and average about 8.6 millimetres (0.34 in) in thickness.

Ginger nuts are the most sold biscuit in New Zealand, normally attributed to its tough texture which can withstand dunking into liquid.

Further, they are generally round drop cookies, usually between 1⁄8 and 1⁄4 inch (3–6 mm) thick, with noticeable cracks in the top surface.