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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.
Used this recipe for my 1st time ever attempt at gingerbread cookies and knew I was never going to use another recipe! Made them again last night and they were exactly how I remembered from last year. Added plus is my 4 year old adores it just as much as he did last year too! Made it following exact measurements. No subs. Dough does get soft very quickly so divvying into smaller batches and putting it in the fridge/freezer or working super quick is necessary.
Made these for Christmas and received SO MANY compliments. Delicious!!
This is the BEST gingerbread recipe I’ve ever used. It got the dream of approval from my son-in-law for a nice soft gingerbread cookie, and he does not give his approval easily.
Soft and the perfect amount of Christmasy flavour!!
These are so soft and delicious. This recipe is a keeper for me. I even used GF flour due to an allergy and they were still amazing. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us.
It did not turn out the way it’s supposed to be . I followed the instructions perfectly and it came out too sticky and it would not harden . I feel like you lied about something and planned people on wasting their time using your recipe when it doesn’t even work .
Was there supposed to be baking powder in there? what did I do wrong? if I made the cookies themselves too small would that cause them to be rock hard or did I miss something essential in the recipe?
Yes, If you made the cookies thinner than the recipe suggests you would need to adjust the cooking time to ensure they are not overbaked. The recipe has baking soda. You’ll want to be sure your baking soda and ingredients are fresh.
Too dry and bitter without frosting.
Cookies were alright but the big amount of mollases ruined the taste was expecting them to be better
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 such an easy recipe. I am not a fan of the hard or very spicy gingerbread cookies. These had the right amount of spice and nice chewiness. I didn’t have a pastry cutter and so I used a fork at first to break up the larger chunks, but then rubbed the butter into the mix to get the consistency I needed. Will make this again!