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Soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookies recipe made with a simple gingerbread recipe and decorated however you like! Everyone loves this classic recipe and they taste delicious!
Looking for more holiday treats? Don't miss our Ginger Molasses Cookies, Caramel Popcorn, or Chocolate Fudge! And don't miss my Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas!
When I was young, we often decorated the “kids” Christmas tree with gingerbread cookies and it made the house smell amazing. This is the BEST recipe for soft, chewy gingerbread cookies.
What I LOVE about them:
- Soft and Chewy: Gingerbread cookies have a reputation for being hard and crispy, but not this recipe! Follow my baking tips and they will turn out perfectly soft and chewy.
- Make Ahead or Freeze: You can prepare the chewy gingerbread cookies or dough in advance. See tips below in the post.
- Fun to Decorate: Kids of all ages love decorating Christmas gingerbread man cookies so plan it for your next Christmas party! You can make the soft gingerbread cookies and frosting ahead of time so that the kids can just enjoy decorating.
How to make Gingerbread Cookies:
Gingerbread is made with the following simple ingredients: brown sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, butter, milk, and molasses!
Make the Gingerbread: Mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add chunks of butter and incorporate them with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the molasses and milk until combined.
Refrigerate: Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 hours or overnight.
Roll the Dough: When ready to bake, roll out the dough to ½ inch thickness, use cookie cutters to cut gingerbread men, and place them on your cookie sheet. Bake them for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Once cool, frost and decorate, if desired! You can use any kind of frosting or icing, and candy. It really is the best gingerbread cookies recipe!
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Make the gingerbread and store it, well covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Roll out and cut into cookies when ready to bake. You can also bake the cookies and freeze them.
To Freeze: wrap the dough really well in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Freeze for 2-3 months. Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before attempting to roll. Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
For more holiday magic, try roasting chestnuts!
Gingerbread Man Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, , packed
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 Tablespoons butter, , room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
- 3/4 cup molasses, (dark molasses)
- 2 Tablespoons milk
For the frosting:
- 2 Tablespoons butter, , room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Add flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt to a mixing bowl and mix.3 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup dark brown sugar, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the butter pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter in until the mixture resembles fine meal.12 Tablespoons butter
- With a mixer running on low speed gradually add the molasses and milk and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.¾ cup molasses, 2 Tablespoons milk
- Divide the dough in half, forming each into a ball. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, or place in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until firm, if you’re in a hurry. (Refrigeration is mandatory or the dough will be too sticky to handle).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one dough sheet from the fridge/freezer and place on a well floured counter. Lightly flour the top of the dough and the rolling pin and roll out the dough (dust with a little more flour if needed), until it’s about ½ inch thick. Cut gingerbread men and place them on prepared baking sheets.
- Refrigerate the gingerbread men for 5 minutes (meanwhile you can roll out the other dough ball).
- Bake the cookies until set in the centers and the dough barely retains and imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes (depending on the size of your cookie cutter). Do not overbake!!
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack. Allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.
- Store gingerbread cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
For the frosting:
- Add butter, milk, and 1 cup of powdered sugar to a bowl. Mix until smooth. Add additional cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add frosting to piping bag if desired.2 Tablespoons butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons milk
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe December 2018. Updated December 2020 and November 2022.
Process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
This is my second year making this recipe and it is a winner. The softest and best tasting gingerbread cookies.
This was not soft and chewy.
This recipe was so terrible! Luckily, it tasted decent enough, but it didn’t turn out brown it was more dark and a little more on the bitter side. I followed exactly what it showed. Wasted my resources trying to make perfect gingerbread cookies for my wife who has never had them before. Don’t use this recipe if you are reading. Don’t use it!!!
Big amount of molasses? My dear, what kind of cookies did you think you were making? Personally I’d use more if it were possible.
Idea: I made these using honey instead of the molasses because I’m in the minority in our house. They came out great. It wouldn’t hurt this recipe if you left out the ginger altogether either.
This was a great recipe, and the gingerbread turned out super soft, chewy, and amazing!
However, I ended up making a few adjustments to the original recipe.
I used maple syrup instead of molasse because I didn’t have any on hand and it worked fine. I also ended up using only 1/2 a cup of it, based on other reviews saying the molasses flavor was a bit too strong. I had to add around 3 more tablespoons of milk since the dough was too dry. I rolled the dough to be about 1/4 inch instead of the 1/2 inch that the recipe recommended since it was suggested by other reviews. I baked for about 8 minutes and the dough puffed up anyways, so you really don’t have to have them super thick. I wish I decreased some of the spices since you can REALLY taste them in this recipe. It’s not too overpowering, but just a bit too strong for my liking.
I gave 4 stars because I feel like you shouldn’t have to modify a recipe too much for it to work . A quick tip, the cookies are really soft and they break extremely easily, so make sure to be careful 🙂
Hi,
Is it 1 tbsp of cinnamon or 4tbsp? Recipe says 1 but video says 4. Thank you
Nice catch!! It is 1 Tbsp. of cinnamon. Hope you love the cookies!
Sorry, I hated this recipe. The cookies taste so strong of molasses and not nearly enough sugar. I followed the recipe exactly …
Just made these last night. I’ve never made gingerbread cookies to cut out before. I think next time I’ll separate the dough into smaller balls because they warm up quickly when working with them. Dough turned out great and cookies have a nice warm flavor to them.
Great recipe! I replaced some of the flour with oat flour for more texture and reduced the cook time to keep them from getting too crunchy.
Excellent taste, texture, and instructions! I made both the cookie and frosting with excellent results!
A waste of ingredients; these cookies don’t keep their shape like a good gingerbread cookie should. They puff up 😬
The ginger taste was way too overpowering, even after making another batch with less. The amount of frosting was enough to decorate double the amount of cookies, and they didn’t turn out soft in the end. I added a few minutes to the baking time because the cookie sank when touched. The tray on the bottom turned out burnt so I recommend switching trays midway.
Good morning. I want to make these today but I only have light brown sugar. The icy roads are not my friends today so can’t go to the store..any suggestions?
Light brown sugar will work!