Gingerbread Cookies
These soft gingerbread cookies are not only perfect for decorating, but taste amazing! They’re sweetened with molasses and have just the right mixture of holiday spices. These cookies are so easy to roll out and decorate! Have the kids join along in this Holiday fun and bake some memories!
Watch my video to see how easy it is to decorate these sweet cookies!
My childhood is filled with memories in the kitchen with my mom. She was always so patient with me whenever I asked to stir, pour, frost or sprinkle. She could have easily done things faster and prettier (and a lot cleaner), but she allowed me to “help” and it created feelings of accomplishment in me.
I love making holiday treats with my children. I want them to develop those same special feelings I have from working alongside my mom in the kitchen. These gingerbread cookies are the perfect way to get the kids or grandkids involved. With a little supervision, this could end up being one of your favorite Holiday traditions!
Gingerbread is one of those amazingly fragrant treats…The smell coming from your oven will fill the house and get you in the Holiday spirit! This recipe has just the right amount of spice without being too overwhelming. The sweetness from the molasses and brown sugar balance it out to make it one delicious cookie!
The Cookie Process
- MIX UP THE DOUGH. You will be using room temperature ingredients. About an hour before mixing, set out your egg and butter and let them naturally come to room temperature. Using room temperature butter and eggs, when creamed with the sugar, will help create air pockets in the dough, creating a puffy and soft cookie.
- LET THE DOUGH CHILL. Press it into a disc shape and wrap it with plastic wrap. Be sure to give this dough time to chill. It will make it so much easier to roll out. It needs a minimum of 1 hour to chill, but I like to make it the night before and have it chill all night. It rolls out so much better, and I can get the kitchen all cleaned up and get prepped for rolling out and decorating the cookies the next day.
- ROLL OUT THE DOUGH. Since you pressed it into a disc shape, it will roll out nicely. Use as much flour as you need to keep it from sticking to the counter and the rolling pin. If the dough is sticking to the cookie cutters, dip those in flour too. That will help you get a nice clean cut. Roll it out about 1/4 inch in thickness for soft cookies.
Once your dough has chilled, get all your tools together for a quick and easy roll out. Rolling up the gingerbread cookie dough while it’s still cold will make it easier to handle. Gather together a bowl of flour, rolling pin, cookie cutters and a pan lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Use as much flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and the rolling pin. The excess flour on the gingerbread will bake off in the oven.
Get the kids involved
- Here’s where you can let the kids help. For smaller children, I usually roll the dough out myself and let them cut the shapes out. Older children might be able to roll out without it being too difficult. Honestly, I let the kids cut out whatever shapes they want. Sometimes we have gingerbread men, sometimes it’s Halloween bats. The magic of this tradition is letting them be creative!
- The decorating is definitely where all the magic happens. Let them help pick out the sprinkles and toppings for the cookies. We love to use Red Hots candy’s and white sprinkles, but there are lots of ways to get creative here!
My baking tip
- Use a silicone mat or parchment paper on your baking sheet. This will make your cookies bake much more evenly.
Bake in a preheated oven. These cookies bake up soft on the inside and a bit crispy on the outside. They’re the perfect gingerbread for decorating AND eating!
You can decorate with my Royal Icing recipe. It will hold it’s shape well and set up nicely so that you can stack these cookies if needed. I use a piping bag with a small round tip for decorating. The smaller tip will make it easier to make those pretty detailed designs we love to do on our gingerbread cookies!
- See my video below to see how I pipe my frosting on these adorable cookies.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Spiced Gingerbread Cake Loaf
- Eggnog Snickerdoodles
- Nutella Star Bread
- Printable Gift Tags and my Favorite Holiday Treat Recipes
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ cup unsalted butter 12 Tablespoons, room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup unsulphered molasses
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- About 1 hour before mixing, remove butter and egg from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature on the counter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add the molasses, egg and vanilla. Mix together for 2 minutes until fully incorporated. You may see some separating with the molasses, but if you mix for 2 full minutes, everything should have time to come together as much as needed.
- Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Divide dough into two equal pieces. Form into disc shapes and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.
- When you are ready to roll out cookies, preheat oven to 350°F. Gather all the materials you need for rolling out: a small bowl of flour, rolling pin, 2-3 baking sheets lined with silicone mats or parchment, cookie cutters.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Roll out on a flour work surface, using as much flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and rolling pin. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Edges will be slightly crisp, but the middle should be soft.
- Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Frost using my Royal Icing and top with your favorite sprinkles and candies.
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