If you need an easy recipe for chewy and soft gingerbread cookies from scratch, you’ve come to the right place! Tastes just like the traditional recipe!
It wouldn’t surprise me if these gingerbread men turn into the real stars of your Christmas celebration! This recipe makes the perfect cookies every time, nicely spiced with warm ginger, cinnamon, molasses and more. So why not make this timeless classic for the holiday season?
I used to make my gingerbread the way my German grandmother taught me – labor-intense, with a difficult-to-handle dough and a high rate of failure.
But once I had kids of my own who really just want to stick some eyes on their gingerbread man and don’t care that much about long-winded heritage recipes yet, I’ve switched to this classic American recipe. And now I like it even more than my old one!
Note: I updated this recipe on 11/12/2019 to make it easier and better.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Butter – I use real butter here, but you can choose margarine instead. Please go for stick margarine and not a spread intended for using on bread.
- Light brown sugar – my favorite sugar for gingerbread cookies. If you don’t have this, you can also use white sugar and an extra tablespoon of molasses, though the taste will not be the same.
- Molasses – I like to use dark molasses, but NOT blackstrap for these cookies. Blackstrap molasses are too bitter and better for savory cooking.
- Apple cider vinegar – this helps give the dough a better texture. It doesn’t make the dough taste of vinegar. If you’re doubtful, just leave it out. White wine vinegar is an acceptable substitute.
- Flour – I always make this recipe with all-purpose flour. I know some readers have tried it with cup-for-cup gluten free flour and have been successful, but I have never personally tried it.
- Gingerbread spice mix – either use a store-bought mix, make your own with my gingerbread spice mix recipe, or use the individual spices given in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
How to make gingerbread cookies
You start by creaming the butter and sugar (1) together until fully combined (2) – this is a lot easier if you have very soft butter. Forgot to pull it out of the fridge? No worries, just rinse a bowl under hot water, then invert it and place it over the butter for a few minutes.
Then you add the molasses, vanilla and egg (3) and mix them in just until smooth (4). Do not mix for longer than needed to fully combine the ingredients, or your cookies may turn out tough!
Then add the dry ingredients to a separate bowl (5) and mix until well combined (6).
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the creamed sugar mixture (7). Stir to combine into a soft cookie dough (8) – do not overmix!
At this point, the dough will feel very soft – you’ll need to refrigerate it so you can roll it and cut out cookies later.
Once it’s ready, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (9) – or between two sheets of lightly floured baking parchment if your counters tend to get very messy (especially non-finished surfaces such as old wood counters or uneven stone).
Make sure you don’t roll the dough thinner than ¼ inch thickness, or your gingerbread won’t turn out as soft as it should.
Cut out cookies (10), place them spaced out on a lined cookie sheet (11).
Then, just bake the cookies one tray at a time, let them cool and go wild with the decorations ?
Baking tips
If adding the dry ingredients is too much work for your mixer, please use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour by hand!! I’ve broken a cheaper mixer with cookie dough before.
Also, I always stir by hand a little first before switching back to the mixer once I’ve added the dry ingredients, else you’ll end up with a huge cloud of flour dust all over yourself and your kitchen.
Don’t overmix the dough: Overmixing the egg can yield dough and dry cookies, so go easy – only mix until everything is incorporated.
The same goes for the flour, too: If you mix too much, the gluten will start developing, yielding tough cookies again. Only mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible.
Bake the same sizes of cookies together: If you make different sized cookies (for example some gingerbread men, some candy canes and some hearts) and they’re all different sizes, bake them in separate batches. Otherwise some cookies will be overbaked and tough while others will stay too soft.
Cookie yield: This recipe makes about 45-50 mid-sized cookies. It makes about 16 large gingerbread men.
The recipe can be cut in half if you only want a small batch of cookies, but please note that there’s one egg in the full recipe, so you’re going to have to use half of a beaten egg to make a half batch.
Decorating tips
I usually just use a thick powdered sugar icing on these. I combine 2 cups powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, water or half-and-half.
Then I use a squeeze bottle to decorate the cookies with the icing (I just make more if we run out; but I start with a smaller amount in case we get tired of decorating). Feel free to use your favorite royal icing instead!
My kids enjoy sticking little sprinkles and things into the cookies instead.
Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before adding any icing or decorations. Let the cookies stand uncovered at room temperature overnight to let the icing set before packing them up.
And PS: About the decorating… It’s really not one of my biggest skillsets. I majorly lack the patience for it, too. I just whip up a powdered sugar icing (or use store-bought royal icing, there I said it) and try to draw something remotely adorable on the cookies.
If you feel the same way and usually try to skip the decorating part, I BEG you to get over yourself and sit down to decorate cookies with your kids. They will love this sweet memory so much, even if your gingerbread man looks more like a gingerbread monster.
My 3 year old’s words, not mine.
How to store the gingerbread cookies
Store the cooled gingrbread cookies in an airtight container on the coutner for 1-2 weeks (they taste best within the first few days though). Decorated cookies last a little less in my experience.
Freezer instructions
To freeze the cookie dough: Wrap the finished gingerbread cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, thaw the dough overnight in the fridge (I recommend placing it on a plate to catch any water drips). Then roll, cut and bake as directed in the recipe.
To freeze the baked cookies: Freeze baked cookies before decorating them! Cool the cookies completely, then stack them in freezer-friendly containers, separating each layer with a piece of wax paper. Cover tightly with the lid, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.
To defrost, take out as many cookies as you need and thaw them on a wire rack on the counter for a couple of hours.
More classic Christmas cookies
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup molasses NOT blackstrap
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Gingerbread Spice Mix:
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Make the cookie dough
- Place the sugar & butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined (you can also do this in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, just be careful so you don't overmix the dough). Add the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla extract and beat on medium-low speed until fully combined.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients and the gingerbread spices until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mix. Mix on low speed just until combined into a soft cookie dough.
Chill the dough
- Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. If you chill it overnight, you may need to let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes so it's easier to roll.
Cut out cookies
- Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Divide the dough in 2 and roll each half to ¼ of an inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut out cookies and place them on lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Place similarly sized cookies on the same baking sheet!
Bake the cookies
- Once you have filled a baking sheet, place it in the oven to bake. Medium-sized cookies take 8-10 minutes to bake. Large gingerbread men take 12-14 minutes to bake. Smaller cookies take 6-8 minutes to bake. They should spring back when you slightly touch their surface, but make sure to not overbake them or they'll turn out tough.
- Cool the baked cookies on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
Notes
Baking tips
- If using a pre-mixed Gingerbread spice, use 2 tablespoons and 1 ¼ teaspoons in the dough.
- Don’t overmix the dough – overmixing the egg can yield dough and dry cookies.
- Bake the same sizes of cookies together! If you make different sized cookies (for example some gingerbread men, some candy canes and some hearts) and they’re all different sizes, bake them in separate batches.
- Cookie yield: This recipe makes about 45-50 mid-sized cookies. It makes about 16 large gingerbread men.
- The recipe can be cut in half if you only want a small batch of cookies, but please note that there’s one egg in the full recipe, so you’re going to have to use half of a beaten egg to make a half batch.
Tamara Nikolajew says
Hello. Looks like a lovely recipe. I live in Saudi. Molasses is hard to come for some reason. We do have date molasses. Do you think it would be a good substitute? Any other suggestions? Thanks Tamara
Nora says
Tamara, I think it would be worth a try!
Chpywife says
These are the best gingerbread cookies I have ever tasted!! Very easy to make. This is going to be my go to recipe from now on every Xmas
Nora says
Oh, I’m so glad to hear this!
Maria says
I love gingerbread anything. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Love the texture. Thank you Will check out your others recipes sometime
syri says
this was my first time making gingerbread and it came out so good!! such a great ginger flavor.
Laura says
Hi! I just made the dough, and then realized that my molasses is blackstrap molasses. Is that going to me a problem? I am using Wholesome Organic Molasses and it’s listed in the back in fine print. I hope it’s OK.
Thanks for what looks like a great recipe! Haven’t baked yet, but will let dough refrigerate overnight.
Laura
Nora says
Laura, I have done some extensive research on molasses this holiday season (I know, the fun I have, ha!). It seems the term “Blackstrap” was once reserved for a health food store product that has an extremely bitter taste and was definitely not well-suited for sweet recipes. I just checked the label of Wholesome’s molasses, and it says it’s perfect for gingerbread. I’m assuming they’re not the overly bitter type of molasses, so I hope your cookies turned out well!
Nadia says
I already have the pre made spice mix. How much do I use if all the spices are already mixed?
Nora says
Nadia, I would use 2 – 2.5 tablespoons. Really depends on your spice mix and how strong it is – if it is very ginger-y and 2.5 tablespoons would seem to overwhelm the dough, I would do 2 tablespoons of your spice mix an 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon. Hope this helps!
Nadia says
Thank you!
My mix consists of
2tbs of ginger,cinnamon, and all spice
1tbs of nutmeg,and cloves
And a pinch of pepper.
We made it for a different recipe but want to try yours.
Nora says
I think you would be fine with the 2.5 tablespoons, it sounds similar to my homemade gingerbread spice I frequently use for this recipe. Happy baking!
Nadia says
Thank you!
Jessie says
Just made them! Delicious. I put the dough in the garage to cool for 20 minutes and rolled. It was perfect! Thank you for the receipe!
Nora says
Your garage must be cold! OK, so is mine 😉 Glad the recipe came out so well for you, Jessie!
Julie N says
Perfect recipe! They’re soft as I wanted. Made 62 cookies in total.
Tiffany P says
Do you have to chill the dough before baking? I really want to make these, but won’t have time to let it chill for that long if I do them tonight (kids are begging). Was planning on making and going straight to baking. Have you ever tried that?
Nora says
Tiffany, sorry, I’m probably a little late with my reply. The cookies work best with a 3 hour chilling time. However, you can get away with 1 hour if you’re OK with slightly spread out cookies. Unfortunately, the dough is too sticky and soft to roll out without any chilling whatsoever.
Shakirian says
First time making gingerbread cookies and these turned out sooo good !! I even ended up sharing with the neighbors. Thank you !
Pamela says
I made these cookies last year for my boys and grandkids!!! They loved them and were so glad I was making them again. This will be 3 batch this month!!! Making them tomorrow with my granddaughter and grandson will be decorating them
Kayleigh says
Salted or unsalted butter?
Nora says
Unsalted is what I use! Hope this helps, Kayleigh.
Irene says
I’d I cut the recipe in half, should I cut the cooking time (in the fridge) in half too? Or is 3 hours minimum still ok?
Nora says
Less dough will definitely chill faster, but you don’t HAVE to cut down the time in the fridge. You can still leave it for 3 hours and up to overnight without any issues. Hope this helps!
Kat S says
The video says to chill the dough for one hour but the actual recipe says three hours. Can you clarify how long the dough should chill? So excited to try this recipe!
Nora says
Kat, this is 100% a typo on my part! I recommend chilling the dough for 3 hours. I will change the video as soon as I get to it, thank you so much for bringing it to my attention!
MJ Rio says
These cookies came out wonderful. The dough was so easy to work with. Soo good!!
Katherine says
First time making gingerbread and they came out perfect! Thank you for this recipe!!
Brenda says
If using your gingerbread spice mix, how much do you use in this cookie recipe?
Nora says
Brenda, about 2 1/4 tablespoons. Hope this helps!
Candace says
I added this recipe to my Christmas cookie line up last year and I’ve received SOOOO many calls asking if I was making them again and wondering if they could get a few extras! This will make the list of family recipes we use for generations.
Clariece says
This is the best gingerbread cookie recipe that I have ever made. The dough is easy to work with, and taste delicious!
Macie says
Is this calling for salted or unsalted butter? Thank you ?
Nora says
I use unsalted butter! Hope this helps 🙂
Deanna says
Super easy to make and delicious!!
Jera says
Good flavor. I ate more than my kids!
Nora says
Haha, same!
Jackie says
I have not made these yet but from someone who has not tried their hand at gingerbread before I would just like to say how helpful I find your entire post to be. From the recipe itself to all of the extra tips. It’s extremely appreciated! I have a little 4 year old who is going to love decorating some gingerbread men this year. Can not wait to try this recipe!
Nora says
Your comment made my day, Jackie! I hope the gingerbread cookies will be a success for you and your 4 year old!
Angela Clifford says
These are A-mazing!!! I originally made these for my husband but also wanted to bake with my tiny children. The thing is I have never liked gingerbread cookies before and these are CRAZY good!
Nora says
I’m SO glad to hear this, Angela!
Christie says
Great recipe. Made gingerbread for the first time ever and they turned out great! Even used the easy icing. Thanks for sharing this.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Christie!