Gingerbread Cookies
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Ready, set, decorate! These festive gingerbread cookies are as fun to create as they are delicious to eat—with warm spices, a crisp edge, and a soft center, they’re a holiday classic.
Decorating holiday and Christmas cookies is one of my favorite things to do. I can spend hours happily piping colorful icing and adding sparkly candies to everything from dapper gingerbread men to cut-out sugar cookies. The trouble with iced holiday cookies, though, is that they’re often more about looks than taste—and gingerbread cookies especially can fall short. But not these!
Flavored with molasses, ginger, and warm spices, these cookies have a crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside texture—they’re as delicious as they are adorable. When you want the same cozy flavor but don’t have time to decorate, my old-fashioned molasses cookies are a great choice.
What You’ll Need To Make Gingerbread Cookies
- Flour: Forms the base of the dough, providing structure and stability to the cookies.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise.
- Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves, Black Pepper: Infuse the cookies with warm, aromatic spices, giving them that classic gingerbread flavor.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor to the cookies, ensuring they are tender yet crispy.
- Granulated and Dark Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough and contribute to its moisture.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together, adding structure and helping the cookies hold their shape.
- Molasses: Imparts hints of caramel and toffee flavors and adds moisture to the cookies.
- Royal Icing or Store-bought Icing: Used for decorating.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg and molasses.
Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
The dough will be quite sticky.
Divide the dough into two discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to a few days. (At this point, the cookie dough can be also frozen for up to 3 months.)
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Dust more flour over the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick.
Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, then let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until set before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Use royal icing or store-bought icing to decorate the cookies.
Gingerbread cookies will keep nicely stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days; freeze for longer storage.
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Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 6 tablespoons unsulphured molasses, such as Grandma's Original
- Royal icing or store-bought icing. for decorating
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Divide the dough in half and shape into two discs. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour or up to three days.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C); set two racks in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If the dough has been in the fridge for longer than an hour, you'll need to let it sit out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes and knead it briefly until it is supple enough to roll.) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Dust more flour over the dough. Roll, turning and adding more flour under and over the dough as necessary, to about ⅛-in (3-mm) thick (or for softer cookies, roll to ¼-in/6-mm thick). Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, using a spatula if necessary. Gather the dough scraps and knead into a ball, then roll out and cut again, adding more flour as necessary. Repeat until scraps are used up.
- Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, for 8 to 10 minutes or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes until set, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- When the cookies are completely cool, decorate with icing. Let the icing set completely, a few hours, then store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include the icing.
- Freezing Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Shape it into 2 discs, wrap each in plastic wrap, and place them in a sealable bag. When ready to bake, thaw the dough until pliable and proceed with the recipe. The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Once cooled, store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper or foil. Before serving, let the cookies thaw to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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My new go-to! I made this recipe during Christmas this year, and it was a huge hit. My family kept talking about how great these cookies turned out. Soft and spicy and held their basic shape during baking. Will definitely be making again!
Muy buena receta !!! Las galletas quedaron exquisitas, lo único que hice distinto fue estirar la masa entre dos trozos de plástico para que no se pegaran y no tener que agregar harina. También la estiré entre dos piezas de madera (sticks)para que tuviesen el mismo grosor. Muy ricas las galletas, RECOMENDADA!
Made these gingerbread cookies tonight with my child… They turned out PERFECTLY – slightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside (not rock hard like some gingerbread cookie recipes). Make sure you roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness for perfect texture cookies. We had fun decorating them too. 🙂
Thanks Jen! Once again, you provided a delicious, easy to follow recipe! I followed your advice to knead the dough after taking it out of the refrigerator and had no issues with cracking or dryness. These rolled out beautifully and kept their crisp cutout shape when baked. Perfect flavor and texture (crisp on edge, soft in the middle).
Hi Jenn,
I have never found a good way to decorate gingerbread cookies. Will you give any tips? Especially the scarves on the gingerbread men! Merry Christmas and thank you for such great recipes all year long!
Dot🎄
Hi Dot, That’s a great suggestion. I’ll try to do a tutorial in time for the holidays next year. 🙂
Is there any substitute for molasses? I can’t find it where I live in Europe. By the way, if you are interested I have a recipe from a Swedish girl friend also for this type of cookie (also with molasses) that I’d be glad to email you if you want. Thank you, Susie
Hi Susie, unfortunately, there’s no perfect substitute for molasses. You could use maple syrup or honey instead but the cookies won’t have that traditional gingerbread taste. And sure, I’d love to take a look at the recipe! Feel free to email me with it – thanks! 🙂
Hello Dot, I always use Sorghum. Don’t know if that’s available where you’re located but it works great & I prefer it. Available for purchase on Amazon as well. Can also make wonderful popcorn balls with Sorghum.
I made these with my daughter last night and they were fabulous! Ours were soft with a little bit of crunch and very tasty. This is a keeper!
My first crack at gingerbread peeps; they are delicious! (As are all the recipes here.) They were a little more spread-y than I expected when baked though… maybe a smidge too much molasses or baking soda? Either way, yum!
Maybe you didn’t chill it long enough? I think chilling the dough prevents it from spreading too much
Try adding a lemon or orange zest to half the recipe before baking, then compare the results.
I think you’ll find it interesting.
I have yet to try this recipe, but I like the ingredients and will use it on my next ginger bake.
Don
Hello!
I’m very excited to try out these cookies! I was just wondering, instead of using molasses, could I use honey?
You can, but they won’t have that traditional gingerbread taste.