Gingerbread Cookies - Cook Good Recipes

I don’t know if anything can get me in the holiday mood more than baking (and decorating) a batch of Gingerbread Cookies. Their warm, spicy aroma just smells like Christmas, and decorating them is SO. MUCH. FUN. This recipe for gingerbread cookies will make plenty of soft, chewy, spiced cookies for you and your friends and family to decorate, so bookmark this Gingerbread Cookie recipe and make them this weekend. And don’t forget to take a photo and show us your creations on social media!

What Are Gingerbread Cookies?

Gingerbread cookies are a cookie made with rich molasses and plenty of warm spices, like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The gingerbread cookies are often cut into the shape of a man (aka gingerbread men), but can also be cut into a variety of holiday-themed shapes. Decorating gingerbread cookies is a popular holiday activity and my personal favorite!

How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies

While you don’t have to decorate gingerbread cookies, I think that’s half the fun. I like to keep things simple with a basic powdered sugar icing. To make the icing, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 Tbsp water, or just enough for it to form a thick icing. You can make multiple batches of the icing and color each one separately with a couple drops of food coloring, for even more decorating fun. Then just spoon the icing into a plastic bag, cut off just a sliver of the corner of the bag to create a piping tip, and then decorate away!

You can also add tons of other fun items to the gingerbread cookies, like sprinkles, red hot candies, peppermints, or any other type of small candy. These extras will take your gingerbread cookies to the next level!

Storing Gingerbread Cookies

Once cooled and decorated (and once the icing has dried), the gingerbread cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for about one week. …But I’m sure they’ll all get eaten before then!

Recipe by Cook Good Recipes

This recipe for Gingerbread Cookies makes plenty of soft, chewy, ginger-spiced molasses Christmas cookies that are perfect for decorating!

Servings: 24 cookies

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 16 minutes

Chill Time 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 46 minutes

Ingredients

Icing (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar($0.32)
1-2 Tbsp water($0.00)

Instructions

Add the butter and brown sugar to a bowl and use a mixer to beat them together until light and creamy. Add the molasses, vanilla, and egg, and beat until creamy again.
In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, then beat on low speed until incorporated. Repeat until all of the flour has been added to the batter. It should form a very soft cookie dough.
Transfer the cookie dough to a large piece of plastic, shape it into a ball, and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate for at least two hours, or up to one day.
When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Divide the cookie dough in half to make it easier to work with (keep the other half in the refrigerator until ready to use). Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about ⅛-inch thick. Cut the dough into your desired shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at least one inch apart.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, or until slightly puffed in the center and they are just beginning to brown on the outer edges. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

Icing (optional)

While the cookies are cooling, place the powdered sugar in a bowl and add 1 Tbsp water. Stir to combine, then continue to add water, a very small amount at a time, until it forms a thick icing (about 1-2 Tbsp total).
Place the icing in a plastic bag and cut a very small piece off the corner to create a piping tip. Pipe the icing onto the cooled cookies in your favorite design!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie Calories: 178kcal Carbohydrates: 29g Protein: 2g Fat: 6g Sodium: 147mg Fiber: 1g

Read our full nutrition disclaimer .

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies – Step by Step Photos

Using a mixer, beat together 12 Tbsp (¾ cup) room-temperature salted butter and ¾ cup brown sugar until light and creamy. Add ½ cup molasses, one tsp vanilla extract, and one large egg, then beat until smooth again.

In a separate bowl, stir together 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tsp cinnamon 1 Tbsp ginger, ½ tsp cloves, ½ tsp nutmeg, and ½ tsp salt.

Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, then beat on low speed until combined. Repeat until all of the flour and spices have been added to the cookie batter.

When all of the flour and spices have been added, you’ll have a very soft cookie batter.

Place the cookie batter on a large sheet of plastic wrap, shape it into a ball, and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate the dough for at least two hours (it can stay refrigerated for up to a day).

When you’re ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Divide the dough in half to make it easier to work with and place the other half in the refrigerator until ready to roll. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 1/8-inch thick, then cut into your desired shapes.

Place the cut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet with at least 1 inch between each cookie (they will expand a little). Gather up the dough scraps, roll again, and cut more until t is little or no dough left. Keep any unused dough in the refrigerator so it stays chilled.

Bake the cookies in the preheated 350ºF oven for 8 minutes, or until slightly puffed in the center and the outer edges are just beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the simple powdered sugar glaze. Add 1 cup powdered sugar to a bowl and add 1 Tbsp water. Stir to combine. Continue to add water, a little at a time, until it forms a thick glaze (1-2 Tbsp total water).