Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies make the whole kitchen smell like Christmas. This version is soft and slightly chewy in the middle rather than hard and crunchy, with a deep molasses flavor and plenty of warm spice.

The dough is sticky at first, so it needs a couple of hours in the fridge. Once chilled it rolls out easily and holds its shape for gingerbread men, trees, stars and snowflakes.

Decorate them with simple white icing, royal icing or a few sprinkles, or leave them plain for a cookie that is still full of flavor.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Soft and chewy, not hard
• Warm ginger, cinnamon and molasses
• Holds its shape for cut-outs
• Fun to decorate with kids

Ingredient Notes

Molasses: Use regular unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses is much stronger and more bitter and will overpower the cookies.

Spices: Fresh ground spices make a big difference. If your ginger has been open for over a year, it may have lost much of its flavor.

Baking time: For soft cookies, bake just until the edges are set and the centers look slightly puffy. Longer baking makes crisp gingerbread.

See the recipe card below for full measurements.

How to Make Soft Gingerbread Cookies

1. Mix the dry ingredients

   Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

2. Make the dough

   Beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. The dough will be soft and sticky.

3. Chill

   Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disk, wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

4. Roll and cut

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment. Roll one disk on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes and place them 1 inch apart on the sheets. Re-roll the scraps once.

5. Bake

   Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look slightly puffy. Bake smaller shapes closer to 8 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the pan, then move to a wire rack.

6. Decorate

   Stir the powdered sugar with the milk until thick but pipeable. Spoon into a piping bag or zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped and decorate the completely cooled cookies. Let the icing set for 1 to 2 hours.

Tips for the Best Results

• Lightly flour the rolling pin too; this dough is softer than sugar cookie dough.
• If the dough gets warm and sticky while you work, put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• For crisp gingerbread for ornaments or houses, roll it 1/8 inch thick and bake 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Raisins or small candies pressed into gingerbread men before baking make easy eyes and buttons.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Substitutions

• Dark brown sugar: Light brown sugar for a slightly milder flavor.
• Simple icing: Royal icing from our Christmas sugar cookies recipe for icing that dries hard.
• Ground cloves: Ground allspice.

What to Serve With It

• Rich homemade hot chocolate
• Christmas sugar cookies with royal icing
• Cold milk
• Hot tea

Storage and Reheating

Fridge: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. A slice of bread in the container helps them stay soft.

Freezer: Freeze baked, undecorated cookies for up to 3 months, or the wrapped dough disks for up to 3 months.

Reheat: No reheating needed. Thaw frozen cookies at room temperature in their container.

Tools That Make This Easier