Perfectly spiced, these Gingerbread Cookies come together so easily and are great for decorating. Soft, chewy, but still crisp, these are going to be your new favorite holiday cookie!
In a large bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, and brown sugar on medium. Mix until fluffy.
Add in the molasses, then the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more.
Add in flour gradually while mixing on low until a nice dough form until combined.
Divide dough into two portions and roll into disks. Cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. This step is important because the dough gets soft quickly and really needs to be thoroughly chilled.
Preheat to 350 degrees F. Roll out chilled dough to about ¼-inch in thickness.
Cut out gingerbread people/ shapes with a cookie cutter. Carefully transfer to a baking sheet.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Let cool.
For the Icing and Decoration:
Sift the powdered sugar and cream or tartar into a bowl then whisk together.
Add the egg white in an mix together.
Once combined, mix in a teaspoon of vanilla and then add water until desired consistency is reached. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or with the tip snipped off.
Pipe decorations onto the cooled cookies with the royal icing.
Attach sprinkles and or candies for added visual interest.
If you made any cookies with bend arms swap out the foil for peppermint balls.
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Notes
Adding too much flour will lead to the cookies being dense and dry. The best and easiest way to measure the flour is by using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it.
If you don’t have piping bags to decorate the gingerbread men, you can use a zip-top bag and cut off the corner of the bag once the icing is inside.
If you are concerned about using raw egg whites for the royal icing, use egg whites from pasteurized eggs.
You can make the gingerbread men spicier with more ginger or reduce the spices for a milder taste.
If you're not a royal icing fan then try whipping up a small batch of buttercream and decorating with that instead. They will need longer to set but your gingerbread men will be delicious and look great.
Don't rush the chill time! It's very important as this is a soft dough. If you want a quick cookie then add the same spices to my no spread sugar cookie recipe!