These are my favorite Gingerbread Cookies! They are so easy to make and such a fun Christmas and holiday tradition, especially when everyone gets to decorate their cookies. They are soft in the center, crisp at the edges, and flavored with warm winter spices and molasses. P.S. You’ll love the 3-ingredient icing.
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These classic gingerbread cookies look so joyful alongside our Cranberry Cookies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Christmas Coconut Balls on the holiday dessert table. Can’t you just picture it?
Gingerbread Cookies Video
See Natasha make this chewy, buttery, delicious gingerbread cookie recipe using simple ingredients. You’ll love to make this your family’s holiday tradition!
Helpful Reader Reviews
“In the 50 yrs I’ve made gingerbread boy cookies this is by far the best recipe I’ve used. Thanks Natasha!” – Mary ★★★★★
“I’ve always been intimidated to make gingerbread cookies from scratch but these turned out perfect! The clear, step-by-step instructions really helped me make them successfully. Thanks for a new holiday tradition!” – Samantha ★★★★★
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Every year at Christmastime, we have a tradition of decorating gingerbread houses, but last year, I decided to change things up and bring Gingerbread cookies to decorate. Honestly, some of the decorations were hilarious, and the kids and adults had so much fun with them. By the end of the night, the table was covered with sprinkles, but sweet memories were made.
Similar to our Christmas Sugar Cookies, these gingerbread cookies are easy to make and decorate, while still chewy and delicious to eat. You will love decorating with our easy gingerbread cookie icing recipe (included below) using only three pantry staples, but you can easily use store-bought icing to save time.
Ingredients for Gingerbread Cookies
The best gingerbread cookies are made with ingredients you probably already have in the pantry.
- Flour – we recommend unbleached all-purpose flour for a deeper color and stronger texture
- Spices – Ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves are the perfect blend of warm spices.
- Baking soda – helps the cookie rise slightly for a chewy texture
- Butter – room temperature and unsalted so it mixes in easily
- Brown sugar – sweetens the cookies and adds more color
- Molasses – Use unsulphured molasses (You can read more on the types of molasses). Molasses gives a caramel-like depth of flavor and a chewy texture.
- Egg – at room temperature
Ingredients for Cookie Icing
- Powdered Sugar – Sweetens and thickens the icing
- Milk – makes the icing creamy. You can use any milk, even a dairy-free alternative, and add it to your desired consistency.
- Vanilla extract – flavors the icing perfectly
- Sprinkles in a variety of holiday colors and shapes to decorate
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies
Make these classic gingerbread cookies with these easy-to-follow steps:
- Sift dry ingredients (flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt) into a medium bowl. Using a fine mesh sieve to sift helps eliminate clumps.
- Beat wet ingredients (butter, sugar, and molasses) in the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer on medium/high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg to the wet ingredients and beat for 1 minute until incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Then, beat on medium speed until combined and the dough is soft.
Pro Tip:
If the dough or gathered scraps gets too soft to handle, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate, because chilling the dough will harden it slightly and make it easier to roll out.
- Transfer the dough from the bowl to a well-floured surface. If it’s too sticky, dust the top with flour, and then divide it into three pieces. Pat each piece into a disk shape, and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator until the dough is firm for about an hour, or up to 24 hours before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees when ready to cut the cookies and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface until it is 1/4” thick, working one disk at a time (keep the rest refrigerated). Be sure to rotate the dough as you roll to prevent sticking, and then cut out shapes using 4-5-inch cookie cutters. Gather the scraps to re-roll.
- Place cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1” apart, and bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown, then move cookies to cooling racks. Repeat rolling and baking the remaining dough. I usually bake one sheet of cookies while I roll out the dough for the second batch. If you want to bake 2 sheets at once, put the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
How do I know gingerbread cookies are done?
For a chewy cookie, be sure not to overcook. They should be slightly puffy and barely browned at the edges, and matte (not wet-looking). Bigger cookie dough cutters will need more time than smaller cutters.
How to make Cookie Icing:
It’s so easy and inexpensive to make your own cookie icing and just 3 ingredients. I made this for the kid’s cookie decorating party and divided the glaze among several sealed small zip-top bags. It kept well for hours without drying out.
How To: In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2-3 Tbsp milk, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. Thicken by adding more powdered sugar, or thin by adding more milk. Pour it into a piping bag. If you prefer, you can buy pre-made cookie icing.
How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies
It’s easy to decorate this gingerbread cookie recipe using the icing recipe for the holidays. You could even host a gingerbread cookie decorating party. Here are a few ideas:
- Rimmed paper plates – place a cookie on each plate to catch all the mess
- Icing – After mixing the icing, fill small zip-top bags or piping bags with icing. You can even add a few drops of food coloring.
- Powdered Sugar – As a quick alternative, dust the top of the cookie with confectioner sugar
- Decorations – sprinkle and place red hot candies, sprinkles, colored sugar, or nonpareils to the icing. Don’t forget the gumdrop buttons!
- Let them Set – Allow the decorated cookies to dry completely before stacking.
Make-Ahead & Storage
Make-ahead gingerbread cookie dough:
- Refrigerate: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap for up to 24 hours
- Freezing: Place wrapped dough in freezer zip-top bag for up to 3 months
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight
To store baked gingerbread cookies:
- To Store: Transfer cooked cookies to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to a week. Glazed cookies should be enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Freezing: Place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months
- To Defrost: thaw on the counter
Our classic gingerbread cookie recipe is the perfect way to celebrate the holidays. In fact, we’re positive these buttery, spiced cookies will quickly become your favorite family tradition.
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Cookies:
- 2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1 /2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses, or dark molasses
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Instructions
- Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, soda, cloves, and salt into a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and molasses until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on medium/high speed. Add egg and beat until well incorporated, 1 minute.
- Add flour mixture and beat on medium/low speed to combine. The dough will be soft and moist.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. If the dough is too sticky to handle, dust the top of it with flour so you can pat it into a disk. Divide into 3 pieces, flatten each one into a disk, and wrap the dough pieces individually in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 ̊F with a rack in the center. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone liner.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Turn the dough while rolling out to ensure it isn’t sticking to your surface. Using a 4 to 5-inch cookie cutter, cut out as many gingerbread people as you can get. Gather scraps and chill to re-roll.
- Set the cookies on a baking sheet at least 1 inch apart and bake until they are barely turning brown at the edges, about 9-10 minutes then transfer to cooling racks. Avoid over-baking if you prefer softer cookies. Repeat with rolling, cutting, and baking the remaining cookie dough. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- In a medium bowl, stir together the icing ingredients until smooth. To thicken the icing more add powdered sugar, to thin it out, add more milk. Transfer to a piping bag with a small hole, zip bag, or squeeze bottle to decorate the cooled cookies with icing. Let the icing set and harden before storing.
- Piping Bags – for the icing
- Sprinkles – get a variety of festive colors and shapes
- Rimmed plates – to contain the glaze and sprinkles mess
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Holiday Cookies and Treats
If you love this gingerbread cookie recipe, check out these other delicious holiday treats.
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Almond Snowball Cookies
- Pecan Bars
- Candied Pecans
- Cranberry Bread
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Baklava
can you provide a vegan version of it?
ginger cookies
Hi Marina! I’m sorry, I haven’t tested a vegan version.
Very good! Only 4 stars because the icing ratios seem way off. I had to double everything to go with two cups of powdered sugar.
My husband’s new favorite! So easy to make. I’ve already made it twice and will definitely be adding this to our Christmas traditions. ❤️🎄
This recipe deserves credit! The instructions where clear, easy to follow and if unsure, could watch the video too. My mum said it tasted different because we usually have honey or golden syrup with ours which is what I ended up using in the end with a different recipe. She did prefer the other recipe but did enjoy them so this recipe could 100% be great for molasses lovers! Thank you Natasha!
You’re very welcome, Cindy! I hope you get to try the original recipe with molasses sometime.
Hello 👋 Is there a way to make these all soft (no crispy edges)? I don’t like crispy at all. So, a complete soft gingerbread would be great for me, I mean us. lol
Hi Mark, Avoid over-baking if you prefer softer cookies. You can bake for slightly less time, just besure they are not under done.
Something is very wrong in this recipe, so sticky, even adding flour to make the disk, impossible, sorry I tried it
Hi there! Did you make any changes or substitute anything? It shouldn’t be too wet to handle if everything was measured correctly. Watch my video tutorial so you can see what my dough looked like. You can add a few more tablespoons of flour as needed. If you live in a warm/humid climate, this can make your dough more sticky.
I had the same problem with dough being to sticky even after being refrigerated for 3 hours ,any advise is appreciated.
Hi Patricia! Did you make any changes or substitutions? If you’re using an alternative to molasses and it’s thinner/more runny, you could add more flour to make up for the extra moisture. But if you find your dough is very wet and sticky, just use a little more flour to help.
Thanks for the great Gingerbread Cookies recipe. It was easy! I followed your instructions and they turned out really well, and taste amazing.
My grandchildren will be decorating them tomorrow, if any are left to decorate.
I bet they will have the best time decorating these, Dee! They’ll remember this for years to come! Merry Christimas!
Hi Natasha! Can I use regular all purpose flour instead of unbleached all purpose flour? Would there be any difference with the cookie?
Hi Maria, while I haven’t tried it, that substituion should work. The difference between bleached and unbleached flour for recipes like this cookies is minimal since one has slightly higher protein content over the other. But this recipe has spices, molasses and butter that really shine, so you won’t notice the difference in flavor. I hope you love this recipe.
Thank you for the help Natasha! 😊 I hope this will work, I’ll let you know.😊
Looks like a great recipe.
Can this recipe be used for drop cookies instead of rolling and cutting?
Hi Kim! I think it could work, but drop cookies bake better when the dough is a bit softer. You may need to add a Tablespoon or two of milk if it’s too stiff.
I just made these cookies and I’m having some issues. I followed your recipe and put them in the fridge overnight. I’m rolling them out now and they are the stickiest cookies ever. How can I fix them?
Thank you
Hi Jana, it sounds like maybe the dough needed a bit more flour. Did you use the same flour or make any substitutions? At this point, I would dust the work surface, dough and rolling pin until it’s not sticking. I hope you love the gingerbread cookies!
Most recioes say unsalted butter. Can I use salted butter?
Hi Donna! Yes that will be fine but you can omit the salt in the recipe since you’ll be using salted butter.
Your gingerbread cookies are delicious Natasha! I really love your recipes. Well explained in such a friendly manner.
Can I please know is this the same recipe to use for gingerbread house?
I haven’t tested that. I think it could work. You may try baking them a little longer so they are harder and more crisp. Let us know how it turns out if you experiment.
Hi Natasha! I have tried looking for gingerbread men recipes and your looks very promising and delicious. I recently moved from the United Kingdom so I am used to gingerbread men with golden syrup. Will this still work? If no, what other ingredients can I add to it?
Hi Cindy! I haven’t tested that so I can’t say for sure. I think it will work, but the flavor will be different and the dough may be stickier if it’s thinner than molasses. You may need to use a little more flour if that’s the case. Let us know how it turns out.
Sorry I am not sure if this comment sent but you said to add more flour. The original recipe says 2 1/3 so should I add 2 2/3 of a cup? Thanks for responding by the way!
Hi Cindy! Since I haven’t tried golden syrup, I’m not sure how it will change the texture, but based on what I read online- it’s thinner and because of this it would leave your dough sticky. If that’s the case, add a tablespoon or two to see how the texture is. What my video to see what the dough should look like. You can add more flour as needed.
Hi Natasha can I freeze these cookies after icing them?
Hi Paulette, yes, that will work. Let them dry completely first, then place the cookies on a baking sheet in the freezer until solid (flash freeze). Afterwards you can transfer them to an airtight container with parchment between layers.
Hi Natasha! Love your recipes! Thank you! The gingerbread cookies are delicious! I live at 5,000 feet and the dough is super soft and hard to work with… the baked cookies are also very soft and often hard to decorate because of the softness. Should I altitude adjust (which usually is more liquid and less flour, seems counter productive), add more flour during the dough stage, or bake the cookies longer? Thanks so much for you help!
Hi Christine! I’m glad you loved the cookies. You could try adding a little more flour to strengthen the dough, chill the dough a little longer, or bake longer. All of these steps could help.
Another winner! My husband talks about his mom’s Ginger Snaps and how much he loved them. I think it’s really just a core memory of her. I have tried other recipes in the past but since none of your recipes have EVER failed me, I thought I would give them a try and we have a winner! I did NOT attempt to make them cute. I rolled them into balls and popped them in the oven like god intended 😉 Thanks again!
Ha ha ‘like God intended’ – that made me laugh. I’m so happy you loved the recipe and that it brought back a core memory. That is a beautiful thing!
Can i double the ingredients to make twice as much
Hi Hilda, yes, you can double it. I recommend clicking “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post, it will take you to our printable recipe where you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
oops! The comment was intended for the Sugar Cookies recipe. …. 😯
Easy dough to put together and work with. End result was a delicious tender cookie. 🙂 …. had to double check I was on the right site when I just now saw the bio-pic right above wasn’t Natasha. None the less. Delicious result. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe before and it’s spectacular but was wondering if it’s possible to freeze the dough and use/bake on a later day or do they have to be made day of?
Hi Atticus! I’m so glad you love the recipe. Please see my make ahead and storage instructions above for details on freezing the dough.