These soft & chewy gingerbread cookies are a holiday classic filled with warm spices, rich molasses, and just the right amount of sweetness.
They are perfect for cutting into festive shapes, decorating with icing, or simply enjoying straight from the oven with a cup of dutch oven apple cider or homemade hot chocolate with from-scratch marshmallows!
Whether you’re baking them as a family tradition, gifting them to neighbors, or filling your cookie tins for Christmas, this recipe brings that old-fashioned charm back into the kitchen.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Recipe Tips
Spoon and level your flour: Instead of scooping straight from the bag, spoon flour into your measuring cup and level it with a knife. This keeps the cookies from turning out too dry or dense.
Use room-temperature ingredients: Butter, eggs, and yolk should be at room temperature for smoother mixing and a fluffier dough. Cold ingredients don’t cream well and can lead to tough cookies.
Dark vs. light molasses: Fancy molasses is mild, but if you prefer a bolder flavor, you can use dark molasses. Avoid blackstrap molasses, it’s too bitter for cookies.
Chill for best results: The dough is sticky right after mixing. Chilling it for at least 2 hours (or overnight) makes it firm, easier to roll, and helps the cookies keep their shape.
Flour your surface lightly: Too much flour while rolling can toughen the dough. Lightly dust the rolling pin and surface to keep things from sticking.
Check thickness: Roll the dough to about ¼ inch. If too thin, cookies will be crispy; if too thick, they may underbake.
Don’t overbake: Gingerbread should be just set on the edges and slightly soft in the middle when pulled from the oven. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool.
Cool completely before decorating: Warm cookies will melt icing and decorations, so let them cool fully on a wire rack.
Freezer-friendly dough: Wrap discs of dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out.
Decorating hack: Use royal icing for crisp designs, or try a simple powdered sugar glaze for a rustic farmhouse look.
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Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In another large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add the wet ingredients: Mix in molasses, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine the dough: Gradually add the dry mixture into the wet mixture, stirring until just combined. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
- Chill the dough: Divide into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. This helps the dough firm up and the flavors deepen.
- Preheat oven: Set oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.
- Bake: Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 8–10 minutes, or until edges are set but centers are still slightly soft.
- Cool and decorate: Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Decorate with icing once completely cooled.
FAQ
Recipe Variations
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Similar Recipes
Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Large mixing bowls
- Electric or hand mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutters
- Baking sheets with parchment
- Cooling racks
Ingredients
Cookies
- 4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup fancy molasses
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2-3 tbsp milk (or water for a firmer set)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp light corn syrup for a glossy finish)
Instructions
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In another large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add the wet ingredients: Mix in molasses, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine the dough: Gradually add the dry mixture into the wet mixture, stirring until just combined. Dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
- Chill the dough: Divide into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.
- Bake: Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake 8–10 minutes, until edges are set but centers are slightly soft.
- Cool and decorate: Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Decorate once fully cooled.
Icing
- Mix icing: In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time if too thick, or more powdered sugar if too thin.
- Adjust consistency: For piping details, keep the icing thicker. For flooding (filling in shapes), thin with a bit more milk.
- Decorate: Spoon icing into a piping bag or a plastic bag with the tip snipped off. Decorate cooled cookies and let icing set before storing.
- Optional gloss: Stir in light corn syrup for a shinier, smoother finish.
Notes
- Chilling is key: Cold dough keeps cookies from spreading.
- Soft vs. crisp: Bake 8 minutes for softer cookies, 10 for crisper.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container up to 1 week, or freeze undecorated cookies for up to 3 months.
- Make-ahead: Dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen for 2 months. Thaw in fridge overnight before rolling.
- Decorating: Royal icing is best for detailed designs, but a simple glaze works for a rustic farmhouse look.
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