Soft Gingerbread Cookies
This soft gingerbread cookies recipe is the EASIEST you’ll ever make! Lightly browned around the edges, soft, fluffy, and infused with sweet flavors and warm spices, they scream holidays in every bite. Add your favorite toppings for a festive treat the whole family will love.
Looking for more holiday treats? Try our cutout sugar cookies, hot chocolate truffles, and reindeer chow, too.
We have a confession. We don’t love gingerbread. Or, at least we didn’t until we tested this easy gingerbread cookies recipe! Unlike other versions we’ve tried, it’s never dry or overly spiced. Instead, the cookies come out well-balanced with a delicious sweetness and touch of spice, and they stay soft and moist. Yum!
Use your favorite store-bought icing to keep things easy, and have fun decorating with your little ones in the kitchen. It has become one of our favorite holiday traditions, and everyone looks forward to these cookies every year.
Ingredients and Notes
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete ingredients and instructions!
- Butter – We recommend salted butter for this recipe. Let it soften before you begin for easy mixing! For a dairy-free option, use your favorite plant-based butter.
- Sugar – Light brown sugar is crucial for adding moisture, which keeps the cookies moist. It also sweetens the dough and enhances the molasses flavor.
- Egg – We use a large egg to add richness and give the dough structure.
- Molasses – a must-have in any gingerbread recipe, this contributes to the brown color and unique taste. We prefer to use Grandma’s brand of molasses versus blackstrap in these cookies. Blackstrap molasses is more bitter and thicker than regular molasses, which is usually a touch sweeter and less concentrated.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – The acidity helps tenderize the dough, keeping it super soft.
- Vanilla Extract – Use high-quality pure vanilla extract for the best taste.
- Flour – All-purpose flour forms the base of the cookie dough. If needed, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour to make your easy gingerbread cookies gluten-free.
- Baking Soda – Make sure it’s fresh so your cookies rise as they bake!
- Spices – Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, and ground cloves infuse the dough with warm flavors for a classic taste.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies
- Prepare the dough. Beat the butter and sugar until well combined. Then, add the remaining wet ingredients, and beat to combine. Add the flour followed by the remaining dry ingredients, and mix on low speed.
2. Chill the dough. Transfer half the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, and wrap it tightly with your hands, shaping it into a disc. Repeat with the second half, and chill in the fridge.
3. Shape the dough. Roll each disc of gingerbread dough on a floured surface. Then, use cookie cutters to create fun shapes.
4. Bake. Arrange the cookies on a prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each piece. Bake until the cookies spring back when gently touched and are puffed and rounded on the edges. Be careful not to bake!
5. Cool. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Decorate. Use your favorite icing and toppings to create faces and fun designs, let it set, and enjoy!
Our Top Tips and Tricks
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stop periodically, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix the dough. This ensures all the ingredients are evenly distributed!
- Avoid overmixing. Stop mixing the cookie dough as soon as it’s combined. It will be fairly crumbly, not smooth like a chocolate chip cookie dough. Continuing to mix will overwork the gluten in the flour, creating dense, tough cookies, which we definitely don’t want!
- Let the cookies cool completely. You definitely don’t want to try to decorate warm cookies, or the icing will melt and slide right off!
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Soft Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Place the softened butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined.1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon salted butter, softened, 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- Add the egg yolk, molasses, vinegar and vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and fully combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.1 large egg yolk, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the flour over the molasses mixture. Then evenly distribute the baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves over the flour.2 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- Mix on low speed just until combined into a thick and sticky cookie dough, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Do not overmix as it can contribute to dry cookies.
- Place two sheets of 2 feet long pieces of plastic wrap on the countertop. Pour half of the dough on each piece of plastic wrap. With the help of the plastic wrap and your hands, press and form the dough into a disc shape (see notes) and wrap the plastic wrap around it tightly. Place the dough discs in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. If chilling overnight, the dough will need to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes so it's easier to roll.
- Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with Silpat liners or parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough disc to ¼ inch thick. It is also helpful to flour your rolling pin and sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough. The dough should be at least ¼ inch thick or the cookies will be too thin. If you roll the dough thicker (½ inch), the cookies will need to bake longer. (See "Prep Tips" in the Notes below.)
- Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (the cookies don’t spread much). Reroll the scraps, as needed, throughout this process until all the dough is used.
- Bake smaller cookies for 6-8 minutes and medium-sized cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should spring back when slightly touched and be puffed and rounded on the edges. Do not overbake.
- Cool the baked cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove them and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate with icing, if desired.
- Decorated or undecorated cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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These are our favorite gingerbread cookies to bake during the holidays! They are soft and full of gingerbread flavor. The recipe is simple and they are so easy to decorate with a pouch of store-bought frosting and some festive sprinkles. You’ll love them!