Soft Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

by Sarah Recipes

This recipe for soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookies is a classic that everyone loves. It’s made with a simple gingerbread recipe and decorated however you like. They taste delicious!

Jump to Recipe

The holiday season is here, and what better way to spread some festive cheer than by baking up a batch of homemade gingerbread cookies? Whether you’re making them for a holiday party, as a gift, or simply to enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa, these gingerbread cookies are sure to bring joy to your kitchen.

Made with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, these cookies capture the essence of the season. This easy-to-follow recipe results in soft, flavorful cookies that are perfect for decorating or simply savoring as-is.

Tips for Perfect Gingerbread Cookies:

  • Chill the Dough: Don’t skip the chilling step! It makes the dough easier to roll out and helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
  • Use Room Temperature Butter: Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature so it creams well with the sugars, creating a light and fluffy dough.
  • Customize the Spices: If you’re a fan of a particular spice, like extra cinnamon or cardamom, feel free to adjust the spice ratios to suit your taste.
  • Decorating: If you’re planning on decorating your cookies, royal icing is a great choice—it hardens well and can be colored to fit any theme.

Spice Breakdown: What Makes Gingerbread So Irresistible?

Gingerbread cookies are known for their warm, aromatic flavor, and the secret to that deliciousness is in the blend of spices. Each spice brings its own unique touch to the dough, creating a perfect balance of sweetness, warmth, and depth.

1. Ground Ginger

  • Flavor Profile: Spicy, zesty, and slightly peppery with a citrusy undertone.
  • Why It’s Essential: Ginger is the star of gingerbread! It gives the cookies their signature warmth and distinct “bite.” The sharpness of ginger pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the molasses, making it the backbone of gingerbread flavor.

2. Ground Cinnamon

  • Flavor Profile: Sweet, warm, and comforting with a hint of woodiness.
  • Why It’s Essential: Cinnamon adds a sweet and aromatic layer to the gingerbread. It enhances the spiciness of the ginger while contributing a subtle richness that makes these cookies irresistible. Cinnamon is also often associated with the cozy, comforting feel of the holiday season.

3. Ground Clove

  • Flavor Profile: Pungent, slightly sweet, and earthy with a touch of bitterness.
  • Why It’s Essential: A little clove goes a long way! This spice brings a rich depth and complexity to the flavor profile of the cookies. Its warm, almost peppery taste is a great complement to the sweetness of the molasses and sugar, giving gingerbread its characteristic “spicy” flavor.

4. Ground Nutmeg

  • Flavor Profile: Warm, slightly sweet, and a bit nutty.
  • Why It’s Essential: Nutmeg adds a subtle, earthy warmth to the gingerbread, balancing out the sharper spices like ginger and clove. It rounds out the flavor and adds a comforting depth.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Soft and chewy gingerbread cookies made with molasses, ginger, and other spices are a holiday favorite. 
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 23 minutes
Servings 22 Cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 6 tbsp butter room temp
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp ground ginger
  • 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground clove
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Royal icing

  • 4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted 480g
  • 3 Tablespoons meringue powder
  • 9-10 Tablespoons water
  • 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed, about 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
  • Add the egg, molasses, vanilla and milk. Beat until combined.
  • Add the flour, and spices, mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick.
  • Form dough into a ball, flatten, and wrap with plastic. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature before beginning to roll out the dough.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s ⅓ inch thick.
  • Cut the dough using any cookie cutters you like and transfer the cookie cut outs to a baking sheet.
  • Bake the cookies 8 to 10 minutes. They should be still soft. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Royal icing

  • Pour confectioners sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 – 2 minutes.
  • When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time.
  • Keeping in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more confectioners’ sugar.
  • Icing applied to cookies in a thin layer will dry completely in about two hours at room temperature. If the icing is too runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thickly, it will also take longer to dry.

Notes

How to Store Gingerbread Cookies

Store the (completely cooled) gingerbread cookies in a airtight container for up to five days. 

Can You Freeze Gingerbread Cookies?

Yes! You can freeze the baked and unbaked gingerbread cookies.
  • To freeze the baked cookies: Arrange the cooled ginger cookies on a baking sheet. Freeze for three hours or up to overnight. Transfer the now-frozen cookies to a freezer ziplock bag or freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to two months.
  • To freeze the cookie dough: Place cookie dough wrapped in plastic or parchment paper into a freezer ziplock bag for extra protection. When you’re ready to enjoy the cookies, thaw the dough in the fridge overnight. Roll dough out and cut into desired shap, bake according to the recipe.