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My Gingerbread Cookies are ultra thick, soft & chewy, deeply flavored, and easy to make! A simple trick makes rolling the dough a breeze, and these can easily be made vegan. Decorate with a dusting of powdered sugar or a quick royal icing, and watch them fly off the platter anywhere you take them. This truly is the WORLD’S BEST gingerbread cookie recipe – and I’ve tried them all, as a true gingerbread connoisseur.
These gingerbread cookies are easy to make – I’ve included tips and tricks for making the cutout cookie process much easier, along with lots of make-ahead tips. These festive, chewy cookies are the perfect thing to make for cookie exchanges or cookie decorating parties!
Why you’ll love these Gingerbread Cookies:
- Soft Cookies – No hard cookies here! These gingerbread are perfectly soft-baked, and are nice and thick, with a chewy texture.
- Gingerbread Flavor – These gingerbread cookies are packed with classic gingerbread flavor and warm spice flavor.
- Decorating Options – These cookies are fabulous plain, but can also be dressed up a bit with powdered sugar, royal icing, or buttercream frosting.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Molasses – Find this in the baking aisle at your grocery store. Do NOT use blackstrap molasses! It’s not the same thing and will taste unpleasant. Do use full flavor molasses (the Brer Rabbit brand has mild flavor, full flavor, and blackstrap. I’ve made these cookies with every type and full flavor Brer Rabbit far surpasses any other variety from any other brand.) If you love Molasses, be sure to try my Chewy Molasses Cookies, too!
- All-purpose flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour. Or use a scale, and weigh 130 grams of all-purpose flour per cup.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Dairy-free – Swap the butter for your favorite dairy-free buter sticks.
- Vegan – This recipe is vegan with the swap above – there are no eggs!
- Recipe Variations:
- Glaze – If you want to use a glaze, use the plain glaze from my Pumpkin Muffins (feel free to swap the maple syrup for milk), or my Buttery Maple Glaze, and lightly dunk cooled cookies into the glaze (or drizzle it on!) for a quick and easy decorating option.
- Powdered sugar: For a very simple decoration, lightly dust the cookies with powdered sugar just before serving.
- Plain – You can also serve these plain if you prefer not to add any decorations – they’re incredibly delicious on their own.
- Cookie Cake – I turned this recipe into a delicious single-layer Gingerbread Cookie Cake that can be decorated with frosting, royal icing, or a dusting of powdered sugar!
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies:
Step 1: Make the Gingerbread Cookie Dough. Cream together the butter & sugar. Then, add your molasses and mix until well combined.
Mix in the dry ingredients until a semi soft dough forms. If it seems a bit dry, add 1-2 tsp of milk. (See photos below). If you measured your flour correctly, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Step 2: Chill & Cut Shapes. Divide dough in half, and roll each ball of dough out between two sheets of parchment paper as soon as you’ve made it -no more trying to roll out rock-hard cookie dough!
Pop the rolled dough on a baking sheet to chill in the fridge or freezer, then cut out your shapes – make gingerbread people, trees, snowflakes, or stars!
Step 3: Bake the Cookies. Bake as directed in the recipe card below. Let cookies cool completely on a cooling rack before decorating. They’ll look a tad underdone on the tops when they come out of the oven, but set up as they cool.
Step 4: Decorate your Gingerbread. I’ve included directions and tips in the recipe card below for decorating your cookies. Use royal icing, a simple glaze, a dusting of powdered sugar, or leave them plain.
How to Make Royal Icing:
Royal icing is quite easy to make – it’s just powdered sugar, meringue powder (find this at craft or baking supply stores), and water. Beat these ingredients together in a large bowl until stiff – use the photos below as a guide.
When the icing is the right consistency, you should be able to drizzle some of it into the bowl, and watch it sit on the surface of the mixture for 5-10 seconds before melting back in. Adjust the thickness by adding more water to thin, or beating longer to thicken.
Pipe this onto your cookies using a very thin piping tip like a Wilton #1 or Wilton #2, and a pastry bag. The royal icing recipe can be found with the recipe below. Before the royal icing sets, I like to sprinkle on a little white sanding sugar for sparkle.
Expert Success Tips:
- Cookies that hold their shape – To ensure that the cookies turn out, and hold their shapes in the oven, the dough must be cold when it goes into the oven. Pop the cookie dough or cut out shapes back in the freezer to chill for 5-20 minutes (depending on how long they’ve been out) before baking if at any time they no longer feel nice and cold.
- Thick Cookies – Don’t skimp on cookie thickness! This recipe is at it’s absolute best when the dough is 3/8″ thick (or even 1/2″ thick – my preference!). This means the cookies are not only thick and chewy, but helps the cookies hold their shape, too.
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes! The dough can be made, rolled out, and wrapped in plastic wrap and placed on a baking sheet. Store in the fridge for 1-2 days before baking. The cut out shapes can be frozen on a lined baking sheet in a single layer, then transferred to a freezer container, with parchment between layers, and frozen for 1-2 months. Bake the dough from frozen or thaw in the fridge overnight. The gingerbread cookies can be baked, cooled, and stored in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days before decorating.
Royal icing can be made and stored in the fridge in an airtight container, with plastic wrap over the surface, for 1-2 days before using, or leftovers can be stored in this same way and used for other decorating within 1-2 days. Simply re-mix for about 10-20 seconds with a mixer to loosen things back up after being in the fridge. The same guidelines from the recipe can be used to adjust the consistency.
Serving + Storing:
Store baked & cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. If they start to get a bit dry at the end, you can extend their life for a few more days by adding a piece of bread to the container. It helps keep them soft!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
- Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
- Key Lime Slice & Bake Cookies
- Blueberry Lemon Cookies
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
- Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies
- Cherry Pie Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
Click the little stars in the header of the recipe card below to leave a comment & star rating, letting me know how you liked the recipe. I take all feedback seriously, & leaving a rating helps my small business immensely!
Best Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature, 226 grams
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 220 grams (light brown sugar works too!)
- 1/2 cup molasses, 170 grams – do NOT use blackstrap, see notes below
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 390 grams
- 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Royal Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar, 230 grams
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp meringue powder, See note below
- 4-6 tbsp water, 56 to 85 grams
Instructions
- Make the Cookie Dough: Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until creamed. Add the brown sugar and mix until well creamed together, about 1 minute. Add the molasses and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until a dough forms. Add 1-2 tsp of milk if your dough is a bit crumbly (see photos above).1 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature, 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed, 1/2 cup molasses, 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Roll and Chill: Divide the dough into two halves, and roll each one out to 3/8" thickness between sheets of parchment paper. (Use a ruler to check this, or just eyeball halfway between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. This is the perfect thickness for these cookies – trust! Even 1/2" is perfect – but don't go lower than 3/8") Place the rolled dough, still sandwiched in parchment paper, on a baking sheet and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Chill for 1-2 hours in the fridge or shorter in the freezer, until completely chilled and firm.
- Cut out Cookies: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Cut shapes out of the chilled dough and place cookies a couple of inches apart on your prepared baking sheet. If the cookies are no longer firm and cold to the touch from working with the dough, pop the pan back in the fridge or freezer for 5 to 15 minutes to re-chill so that the cookies hold their shape when baked (it's fine to bake them from frozen).While the cookies are baking, combine your dough scraps, roll back out, and cut out more cookies. Repeat this until all remaining dough is gone! You will need to chill the dough for a bit again once you roll the scraps back out so that it's firm enough to cut the shapes easily. (Roll it back out between the parchment each time to keep things easy.)
- Bake: Bake cookies for 8-9 minutes. The cookies should appear just set, and will look a tad puffy. The centers may look a tad underdone. Don't be tempted to over bake them! They will set up to the perfect soft baked cookies. Let them cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Tip: Bake a single test cookie first if you’re worried you’ll underbake them – you’ll see that 8 minutes yields the perfect cookie! HOWEVER – the cookies may take a few additional minutes if your oven is running cold (check with an oven thermometer), or if you use a light-colored cookie sheet vs. a dark colored one. If you have other pans of cookies in the oven at the same time, this will also result in the cookies taking a little longer to bake.
- Decorate: Decorate by dipping the cooled cookies in this glaze (swap the maple syrup for milk, if desired), dusting them with powdered sugar, or piping them with royal icing.
- Make Royal Icing: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, starting with 4 tablespoons of water, and mix on high speed with an electric mixer for about 1 and 1/2 minutes. When the icing is the right consistency, you should be able to drizzle some of it into the bowl, and watch it sit on the surface of the mixture for 5-10 seconds before melting back in. If it's too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time. If it's too thin, beat it for another 30 seconds to a minute, or add a bit more powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating between each addition. Add the royal icing to a piping bag fitted with a wilton #1 tip (this is what I use to create the details on the cookies pictured). Pipe desired designs. Snowflakes are easy – you basically draw lines to connect the points, then make little Vs on each line. You can even use gel food coloring to tint the royal icing. While the icing is still wet, sprinkle on a little white sanding sugar for a pretty sparkle (optional, but that is what I use).2 cups powdered sugar, 1 and 1/2 tbsp meringue powder, 4-6 tbsp water
- Serve + Store: Enjoy cookies once decorated! Be sure to let the icing set completely before storing. Store cooled, set cookies in an airtight container at room temp for 4-6 days, or in the fridge for 6-8 (let cookies come to room temperature for a bit if they've been chilled before serving).
- Cookie Dough and Cookie Make-Ahead Tips: The dough can be made, rolled out, and covered well and stored in the fridge for 1-2 days before baking. The cookies can be baked, cooled, and stored in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days before decorating. Royal Icing Make-Ahead Tips: The royal icing can be made and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days before using, or leftovers can be stored in this same way and used for other decorating within 1-2 days. Simply re-mix for about 10-20 seconds with a mixer to loosen things back up after being in the fridge. The same guidelines from above can be used to adjust the icing's consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe turned out good! I wasn’t sure because the dough seemed soft, even after chilling. Next time I will chill longer. Then I realized there is no eggs and I wasn’t sure. But now I see that it works. And this recipe can easily be made vegan, by using a vegan friendly butter. The shapes cut out well, just had to be carefull, since it is a soft dough. Baked nicely, but did take the full 15 minutes in my oven in CA. Although my oven doesn’t bake too evenly. And after they were baked and decorated with frosting, they were actually better the next day. And stayed soft with the frosting decorations! Definitely keeping this recipe on hand. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed these! The lack of egg can definitely throw people, haha. ☺️ Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 🎄❄️💚
These turned out AMAZING! I brought them to work and had multiple people ask me for the recipe.
Aw I’m so glad to hear that, Megan! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 🎄❄️💚
First time making gingerbread cookies and these were great! We’ve avoided gingerbread cookies for a long time because they’re all hard. We’re a soft and chewy cookie kinda family and these were a hit! Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed these, Kathy!
Amazing recipe! I was so skeptical of the bake time, but they were perfect. I’ve never been too crazy about gingerbread but now I know it’s because I prefer them chewy! Delicious. New holiday favorite!
So glad you enjoyed these, Elise! ☺️
These were perfect!!!
Thanks so much, Tammy!
I made these with a friend the other day and we are all so obsessed! We added vanilla and a few more spices to the dough. I also made an apple cider powdered sugar glaze on top, so delicious! I am about to make a gluten free batch today!!
So glad you enjoyed these cookies! Let me know how the gluten-free batch goes and what gluten-free flour you use. 🙂
I made my dough yesterday and it looks good! I measures the flour by gram to make sure it was accurate. I chilled dough all day and did a test bake on 2 cookies because I am using very small cookie cutters and need them to hold their shape well, unfortunately they were indiscernible once I took them out; they had puffed and flattened into blobs. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is having this issue – Do you have any pointers on how to bake them so they keep their shape, or why this might be happening? could I have measured the sugar slightly incorrectly? They taste SO good and I want to try to get shapes for my holiday party. Thank you in advance for any tips you might have!
Hi Sam! That is so odd, I’m sorry to hear that happened. The most likely causes would be either you measured another ingredient incorrectly, or perhaps left an ingredient out (like the baking soda), your baking soda could be expired and not be leavening the cookies properly, or your oven could be running too hot or too cold. This is a common issue with ovens and the only time I’ve ever experienced a similar issue with these cookies in the 10 years I’ve been making them was one year when our oven was running too hot by about 25-50 degrees. I recommend putting an oven thermometer in it to check that the preheated temperature is the actual temperature, since the calibration can get off over time. Did you also make sure to keep the dough nice and thick at the 3/8″ to 1/2″ thickness? This thickness also helps them hold their shapes. Please let me know if you have any more questions, I’m always happy to try and troubleshoot!
Absolutely delicious gingerbread cookies!
Thanks, Samantha! Happy baking!
Hi! Would I be able to sub light brown sugar for dark? And perhaps adjust the amount of molasses or would I keep the molasses measurement the same? Thanks!
Hi Kaylee! You can use either light or dark brown sugar, but I prefer the added depth of flavor that dar brown sugar gives. Don’t adjust the molasses to compensate, it will throw off the ratios of ingredients in the dough and they will likely not hold their shapes when baked. They will taste fabulous with either light or dark brown sugar! Please let me know how you like these cookies. Happy baking!
I made these yesterday with my kids. They are delicious, and they look so pretty, too. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks so much, Justine! Glad to hear that. ☺️