Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies flavored with dark molasses and spices creates the perfect chewy cookie

The best gingerbread cookies I have ever eaten. Soft and chewy yet they hold their shape very well while baking. I love baking up a big batch of these for the holidays and letting the kiddos decorate them with royal icing and bowls full of candies.

Hello two hours of curling up on the couch with some cocoa and that magazine you've been meaning to read while the kids keep themselves busy!

These gingerbread cookies also make excellent gifts. I don't know about you but I always cringe trying to think up creative gift ideas that are heart-felt but also easy to make. No one says no to a giant gingerbread  cookie! So fun to make, decorate and give.

Avalon decorated these gingerbread cookies with daddy using the royal icing recipe for piping and flooding. I used to be so intimidated by royal icing consistencies but no more! It's actually way easier than I ever knew.

How to make the best gingerbread cookies

The most important thing to remember when making gingerbread cookies is to make sure you melt down your butter and combine it with your brown sugar, molasses, salt, and spices. You can do this in the microwave or you can do it on the stovetop if you prefer. This insures that the sugar is completely dissolved and is what get's you those soft and delicious chewy gingerbread cookies.

Melting your butter in your gingerbread cookie dough will insure that your cookies are very flat and do not puff up. Sometimes you want your cookies to be very airy and in that case, you should cream your softened butter with the sugar but in this case, we want our cookies to be very very flat with no bubbles.

Cool your mixture to room temperature and add in your egg until it's combined. I usually do this in my stand mixer with the paddle attachment but you could also do it by hand in a bowl with a spoon.

Combine together your flour with baking powder and soda and give it a whisk to make sure it's combined. I prefer to do this instead of sifting because I'm lazy haha.

Add your flour into the molasses mixture and mix until a dough forms then stop mixing. The dough is going to be a little sticky and that is normal. Press your dough into a rectangular shape so it's easier to roll out later. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least one hour but overnight is best.

Did you know that the longer you rest your dough (up to 24 hours), the better your cookies will be? They will spread less, more tender to eat and have a more flavorful taste.

After your dough has been chilled, flour both sides of your dough roll your gingerbread cookie dough out to ¼" thick. I like to do this on a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper so that you can easily cut out the cookies on the mat and move them without messing up the shape.

Dust your cutters with some flour and cut out your shapes. Try to use as much of your dough as possible with the first cutting but you can re-roll out the leftover dough for more cookies.

Place cookies into the freezer for 15 minutes to chill. Arrange the cookies onto your cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment and bake for 8-12 minutes.

Let your cookies cool completely before moving them or you could crack them.

Now your cookies are ready to decorate or wrap up and give as gifts!

How To Decorate Gingerbread Men Cookies

After my cookies are cooled, it's time to decorate! I thinned down my royal icing to top coating (15 second icing) so that I could use it for outlining and for flooding (Because I'm lazy). Then I colored some black, green and red for my decorations.

I placed my white royal icing into a small piping bag with a #2 round piping tip but you could use a #1 if you want a finer line. I did a simple outline all the way around the cookie to start.

Next I give the arms and legs that classic squiggle. I think it's pants and cuffs to a shirt? I don't know but it's cute haha.

Next I pipe on a small smile and two little dots for eyes.

*pro tip * place your piping bags you aren't using in between a damp paper towel so that the tips don't dry out while you're piping. No one likes crusty tips *giggle*

Next I give my little gingerbread man a scarf with the red royal icing. I do an outline first and then I fill it in with the same tip.

The last thing I did was added some dots to the front of his body for this "buttons". He turned out so cute! Trust me, I am not very good with cookies but even I could do this.

Mix up the way you make the scarves for a fun cookie platter! Makes a great treat to bring to a holiday party.

Gingerbread cookies without molasses

Did you run out of molasses or can't find any? Don't worry, you can make these gingerbread cookies without molasses pretty easily. Just replace the molasses with dark corn syrup but keep in mind your gingerbread cookies will come out a little bit lighter in color.

If you loved this gingerbread cookie recipe, you should check out the gingerbread house recipe! So fun to make! The secret to a gingerbread house is a nice strong royal icing and making sure you let the walls dry before you add the roof.

Recipe

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies that are soft and chewy and taste amazing thanks to molasses, butter, and spices. Great for decorating with royal icing and bringing to your next holiday party, or to give as gifts.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 22 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 36 cookies

Calories: 132kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

• ▢
  1 Stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric mixer
• ▢
  Piping Bags
• ▢
  1 #2 Round piping tip

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 20 ounces all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• ▢ ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 7 ounces unsalted butter
• ▢ 5 ounces brown sugar
• ▢ 8 ounces molasses
• ▢ 1 large egg

Instructions

• Before you begin: Preheat your oven to 350º F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
• Melt the butter and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer. On low speed, mix in the brown sugar, molasses, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves until combined. Let cool for a few minutes.
• Once the mixture has cooled to about room temperature, add the egg and whisk until combined.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and add the flour mixture. Mix until the dough just starts to come together, it will still be slightly sticky.
• Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a rectangle, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
• Once chilled, roll the dough out on a floured surface to ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Flour both sides of the dough as needed if it starts to stick. The thinner you roll your dough, the crisper the cookies will be. If your dough gets sticky, you may need to reflour your dough (both sides) as you go.
• Flour your cookie cutters and cut out your shapes, rerolling the scraps as needed.
• Place the cut cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 8 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden.
• Let the cookies cool completely for several minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet and placing them on a cooling rack to completely set. This will prevent them from cracking.
• Once the cookies are completely cool, thin down a batch of royal icing to outlining consistency, or all the way to a 15-second flooding consistency if you'd rather skip switching between two batches.
• Load white icing into a piping bag fitted with a #2 tip (a #1 works too if you want a finer line) and pipe a simple outline all the way around the cookie.
• Give the arms and legs a classic squiggle, then pipe on a small smile and two dots for the eyes.
• Switch to a colored icing and outline a scarf around the neck, then fill it in with the same tip. Pipe a few dots down the front for buttons, then let the icing set completely before stacking or wrapping.

Video

Notes

Ingredient notes: This dough is easiest to work with when you weigh your ingredients, especially the flour, molasses, and butter.

Pan options: No special pan needed here, just a standard cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Make-ahead and storage: Dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 24 hours, or frozen tightly wrapped for up to 3 months, thaw in the fridge before rolling. Baked, undecorated cookies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for about a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Substitutions: No molasses on hand? Dark corn syrup works as a swap in the same amount, though your cookies will come out a little lighter in color. Honey, maple syrup, and light corn syrup all work too, in equal amounts, but expect a lighter color and possibly a slightly softer dough, you may need to add a bit more flour if it feels too sticky to roll.

Critical do-nots: Don't skip the chill time, the dough needs it to hold its shape in the oven. Don't move or decorate the cookies until they're completely cool, or they can crack. Don't add the egg while the butter mixture is still hot, let it cool first or it will scramble.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cookies | Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 88mg | Potassium: 131mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1.1mg

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