These soft gingerbread Pryaniki cookies are Ukrainian gingerbread cookies that are easy to make, stay soft for days, and are cute as can be!
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Ukrainian Gingerbread Cookies
Although these have deep gingerbread flavor, these aren’t like traditional American Gingerbread Cookies at all. This is the Christmas adaptation of my Mom’s famous pryaniki cookies that everyone in our family is crazy about. They are definitely worth discovering!
I love that they don’t require any oil or butter and the glaze makes a perfect canvas for decorating these beautiful Christmas cookies with sprinkles and pretty designs. You can easily change them up for any holiday really but there’s just something about gingerbread and Christmas that feels right :).
My nieces and nephews attacked these just as soon as I finished photographing and gave them the go-ahead (ha ha!! See the photo evidence below) and of course they gave rave reviews!
Ingredients for Soft Gingerbread Cookies (Pryaniki)
1 large egg yolk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 /2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract – try our homemade recipe!
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour *measured correctly
*Watch our easy video tutorial on how to measure correctly
Ingredients for the glaze:
2 large egg whites
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Decor/Toppings:
Food coloring gels as desired.
Crystal Sprinkles or any sprinkles really
How to Make Soft Ukrainian Gingerbread Cookies
1. In a stand mixer, whisk together 1 egg yolk and 1 cup brown sugar until blended then whisk in 1 cup sour cream.
2. Put 1/2 tsp baking soda in a large spoon ramekin and stir in 1/2 tsp white vinegar. It will foam, then pour into the mixing bowl and stir into the batter.
3. Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, and whisk until well blended. Now using paddle attachment, add flour 1/2 cup at a time letting it incorporate before adding more. Dough will be very sticky.
4. Scoop 1 heaping tsp dough into well-floured hands and roll into 1” balls. Space balls evenly on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 20- 25 minutes (I baked for 22 min) or until barely beginning to golden. Remove immediately.
How to Make the Glaze (do this while cookies are baking)
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites on high speed with whisk attachment until foamy and tripled in volume (2-3 min). Reduce speed to low and add 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, mixing until well blended, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat another 2 minutes or until creamy and smooth (do not over-beat).
How to Glaze and Decorate:
1. Once cookies are out of the oven, right away, dip each one in the vanilla glaze, coating only the top of the cookie then set on a wire rack and let rest until glaze is dry and firm.
If you want to use crystal sugar or sprinkles, apply right after the cookies are glazed so the sprinkles stick to cookies.
They look like darling little snowballs and remind me of our Snowball Cookies. Imagine these on a holiday cookie platter next to your Christmas Sugar Cookies!
2. If using color, divide remaining glaze between as many ramekins and you want different colors. I used green, red and blue to keep it festive. Stir in gel food coloring and transfer colored glaze to individual ziploc bags and snip off the very tip of the bag. Once the glaze on the cookies is set, pipe on desired designs.
It’s fun to let the kids get creative with the designs as well. Their designs are always the most endearing to me.
Here’s a peek inside these Soft Gingerbread Pryaniki cookies. These make me want Christmas all year long!
More Christmas Cookies
If you are working on making a beautiful spread of Christmas cookies or looking to start a new tradition with cookies, these are our top holiday cookie recipes (and also top-reviewed, reader favorites):
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (try with Christmas m&m’s)
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (the healthier cookie)
Soft Gingerbread Pryaniki Cookies
Ingredients
- For the Gingerbread Cookies:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 /2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour **
For the Vanilla Glaze:
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Decor/Toppings:
- Food coloring gels as desired.
- Crystal Sprinkles or any sprinkles really
Instructions
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies:
- In a stand mixer, whisk 1 egg yolk and 1 cup brown sugar until blended then whisk in 1 cup sour cream.
- Put 1/2 tsp baking soda in a large spoon ramekin and stir in 1/2 tsp white vinegar. It will foam, then pour into the mixing bowl and stir into batter.
- Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, and whisk until well blended. Now using paddle attachment, add flour 1/2 cup at a time letting it incorporate before adding more. Dough will be very sticky.
- Scoop a rounded teaspoon of dough into well-floured hands and roll into 1” balls. Space balls evenly on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 20- 25 minutes (I baked for 22 min) or until barely golden. Remove immediately.
How to Make the Glaze (do this while cookies are baking):
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat egg whites on high speed with whisk attachment until foamy and tripled in volume (2-3 min). Reduce speed to low and add 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, mixing until well blended, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat another 2 minutes or until creamy and smooth (do not over-beat).
How to Glaze and Decorate:
- Once cookies are out of the oven and still warm, dip each one in the vanilla glaze, coating only the top of the cookie then set on a wire rack and let rest until glaze is dry. If you want to use crystal sugar or sprinkles, apply right after the glaze so the sprinkles stick to cookies.
- If using color, divide remaining glaze between ramekins and add desired colors. I used green, red and blue. Transfer colored glaze to individual ziploc bags and snip off the very tip of the bag. Once the glaze on the cookies is set, pipe on desired designs.
Notes
