Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Multiple decorated gingerbread cookies on a marble surface.

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

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!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

chilling time 4

Total Time 4 40

Servings servings

Calories 316kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Baking Sheets
Wire cooling rack
Piping bag and tip

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature, (170g)
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar (165g)
½ cup unsulphured molasses (120mL)
1 large egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5mL)
Royal icing for decorating

Instructions

For the Cookies:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes Add in the molasses, then the egg and vanilla, and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more.
With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture gradually until a nice dough forms.
Divide the dough in half and shape into disks. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. (This step is important because the dough gets soft quickly and is very sticky when soft, so it really needs to be thoroughly chilled.)
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of chilled dough at a time to about ¼-inch in thickness. Dip the cookie cutter shapes of your choice in flour and cut out as many as you can. Carefully transfer each cutout to a baking sheet, leaving an inch between them. Reroll the scraps once.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Decoration:

Place your icing of choice in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or with the tip snipped off.
Pipe decorations onto the cooled cookies with the icing.
Attach sprinkles and or candies for added visual interest while the icing is still wet. Let the cookies sit until the icing is dry, 1 to 2 hours.

Video

Notes

Measure ingredients using a kitchen scale. Adding too much flour will lead to the cookies being dense and dry. The best and easiest way to measure the flour is to weigh it. 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.
No piping bags? You can use a zip-top bag and cut off the corner of the bag once the icing is inside.
Adjust the spices to your taste. You can make the gingerbread cookie recipe spicier with more ginger or reduce the spices for a milder taste. You can even give them more kick with a bit of finely ground black pepper!
Try a different frosting. Whip up a small batch of buttercream and decorate 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!

Nutrition