soft gingerbread cookies

This Christmas, we have everything you'll need to master this classic gingerbread cookie recipe. Plus watch our video to see how you can easily decorate these gingerbread men.

Gingerbread Cookies

c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

brown sugar

molasses

pure vanilla extract

c. all-purpose flour

ginger

baking soda

cinnamon

cloves

nutmeg

kosher salt

ginger, grated (optional)

orange (optional)

tsp. black pepper (optional)

Sugar Cookie Icing, for decorating

Sprinkles,

Super delicious!! I left the dough in the fridge overnight and it really allowed the flavors to come together. Easy bake. I did about 8 minutes, flipping them around at the midpoint. Two thumbs up, we’ll bake again!

This was my first time trying this with my gf we started doing this at 4pm on Saturday then realized the directions said they had to go in fridge for 2-3 hours and she had to work at 7 so i took her to work and decided ill try to bake them myself. Welllllll it started off with me taking the dough out putting it all in a pan just to then realize i forgot to put the parchment paper or something down under the dough. Got mad ran to giant eagle since its 10 seconds from my house got back 5 minutes later to find out there was a reason it needed to be in the fridge for 2-3 hours cause now it was sticky and i couldnt form it. So i put it back in the fridge and went to my room called her and told her im done and she can do it when she comes back over. Now its monday and i said ill give it a second try since shes with her family. And i got it on the sheet made a make shift roller out of a can cut it out and now im about to throw it in the oven. This tasks takes alot of patience. P.S. also will be my first time even eating gingerbread men. Im 22

I made the dough ahead of time a couple days ago. I don’t own a hand mixer or a stand mixer so I just mixed with a whisk and a wooden spoon. These cookies turned out great! I found that 6 minutes was just enough time for baking them in my oven as it runs hotter than most. They are a hit! I love this recipe and I will be making them again! I also used vegetable oil instead of butter because the only butter I have is frozen.

I have never written a bad review before. I followed this recipe to the letter, left it to chill an extra hour (4 hours total) It was still SO sticky! I attempted to roll it out and it melted in to my counter. I had to use a metal spatula to remove it. No matter how much flour I added, it didn't help. I ended up just making rough circles and cooking those. I cooked them for 16 minutes and they kind of came out? I haven't tasted them yet, but this was super stressful! Definitely would not suggest.

The best trick to rolled cookies is to mix and put in refigerator overnite and roll the next day. These gingerbread cookies turned out great, very flavorful.

Thank you sooooo much!!! This is just what I was wanting to find.  Perfect flavor with the crisp outside, yet, chewable.

This was my first try with gingerbread cookies and this recipe was great! The tips were all spot on and the cookies turned out so yummy!

why doesn't it say when to put in the vanilla?

These cookies were really good. I was trying to find a recipe that was as good as Betty Crocker Gingerbread cookie packets that come out before Christmas, and this recipe was perfect. My kids loved the cookies!

First time making Gingerbread men and this recipe was excellent. Followed the directions exactly and they came out delicious I just finished eating one. They weren’t hard like others I have eaten I like a softer cookie and these were perfect. Thanks

https://streaming.hearstdigitalstudios.com/adcfef44-8d64-4d94-8bbb-1a0bf9e14d58/video_rover_16x9_1080p_hd_1576532546_45752.mp4

Crispy on the edges, soft and chewy on the inside—this gingerbread cookie's got the best of both worlds. Add a little extra fresh ginger, citrus zest, and black pepper for that ka-pow spicy kick!

The Gingerbread Cookie That's Not Afraid To Be Spicy

These easy Gingerbread Cookies are soft, chewy and full of holiday goodness! A classic Christmas cookie recipe that's perfect for decorating.

Best Gingerbread Cookies

(488 grams) all purpose flour

tsp baking soda

tsp baking powder

tsp salt

(168 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

tbsp (140 grams) packed dark brown sugar

tsp vanilla extract

(172 grams) unsulfured molasses

(173 grams) powdered sugar

water

tbsp corn syrup

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.

. Add the egg and vanilla extract mix until well combined.

. Add the molasses and mix until well combined.

. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough is well combined. Dough will be thick.

. Divide the cookie dough into two equal parts, then roll each out to about 1/4 an inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. It helps to shape the cookie dough into a bit of a log and then roll it out.

. Transfer the parchment lined cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and into the freezer for about 6-8 minutes.

. Remove cookie dough from freezer and immediately cut into shapes. You&#8217;ll leave the cutouts on the parchment paper to bake them, so try to space them as they should be for baking with about an inch between each cookie.

0. While cookie dough is still cold, transfer the parchment paper/cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes.

1. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, or until you can transfer them. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

2. Repeat process with remaining cookie dough.

3. When cookies are baked and you&#8217;re ready to decorate them, making the icing. Add the powdered sugar to a small-medium sized bowl, then add 1 tablespoon of water, the corn syrup and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined. It will be thick to start, just keep whisking together. Add additional water as needed, for it to come together. You want to be careful not to thin it out too much. You can always add more liquid, but you can&#8217;t remove it once you add it. You want the icing to just be drip-able (and therefore pipeable), but not so thin it won&#8217;t stay in place.

4. Add the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip (I used Wilton tip 3) and decorate your cookies. Add sprinkles or other decorations, if you&#8217;d like.

5. Allow cookies to dry, then store in an airtight container. If well sealed, cookies should be good for 5-7 days.

This is truly the best gingerbread cookie recipe! I love baking during the holiday season. I'm going to make these again for my work Christmas party =) Thank you Lindsay

This recipe made delicious soft gingerbread cookies. This will be my go to recipe every Christmas. I added some orange zest for an extra hint of freshness. Now to decorate!

Oh my goodness these are the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever made thanks you so much!!

I'm an amateur baker. This is my second time baking gingerbread cookies, but my first time using this recipe. They came out perfect! The spice isn't overwhelming, and the cookie is soft and chewy just how I wanted! Both the recipe and video were very informative. To be honest, I forgot to freeze the dough before using my cookie cutter, but I didn't have any issues handling the dough at all, and they still turned out great. Thank you Lindsay for sharing this recipe!

Can I freeze the dough after making it for next day use?

Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect! I weighed my flour and brown sugar to be exact. Other recipes I have used are never flavorful enough. These are wonderful. So happy to find this recipe. Merry Christmas!

Made these cookies for the first time and they came out great! My daughters had a great time decorating them. This is a great way to spend with family together, and they taste great. Will make them again closer to Christmas for gift giving.

I made these cookies today and they are truly 5-star.  They are a beautiful color, well balanced ginger/spice flavor, and soft and chewy just as the described.  I have never made gingerbread cookies before and was worried about choosing the right recipe.  I chose 3 different recipes from Pinterest and analyzed the ingredients and instructions from each one.  The other 2 recipes called for more flour and less ginger, one recipe said to chill the dough 3 hours before rolling out.  One recipe cited many times in the comments that the dough was crumbly and the taste had a very strong molasses and clove flavor and neither of the other 2 recipes called for both baking powder and baking soda.  I’m so glad I chose this recipe by Lindsey, I followed the recipe exactly and made a few instructional changes that I will write into the recipe as I plan to make it my go-to Gingerbread recipe, it’s that good.  The cookies held their shape beautifully and they were a little crisp on the very edge but super soft and chewy throughout.  Can’t wait to decorate them.  The dough was soft and easy to roll, I did refrigerate it for about an hour only because I had to run a quick errand, but I let it come up to room temp and after 15-minutes it was easily ready to roll out.  I rolled the dough out on a Silpat silicone mat with parchment on top and used a rolling pin with 1/4” guides, it was the perfect thickness, and the key to transferring them to a cookie sheet is definitely place the silpat on a cookie sheet with the cutout dough in the freezer for 5-6 minutes before removing the cutouts from the excess dough.  I used an offset spatula to run under the cookies and they lifted off the silicone mat very easily, I was able to place them on parchment paper and bake them.  I baked them in a convection oven at 350 for exactly 8 minutes for the gingerbread men and 7 minutes for some of the smaller cutouts, snowflake, tree, star.  My family loves these cookies.  This recipe made 36 cookies, (12 gingerbread men, 24 slightly smaller shapes).  They are safely packed in an airtight tin can, wrapped in Saran and foil in the freezer to be decorated next Sunday.  I highly recommend this perfect Gingerbread Cookie recipe.  

I just made a recipe for something like molasses but I had to make half of  what it called for it  to equal what this recipe called for. Here is the link if you still need a substitute.    https://www.thespruceeats.com/molasses-substitute-1388891

I made these cookies for Christmas this year and gave them out to family.
They were fantastic.  Followed the recipe almost exactly using the weights given.
The only change I made was instead of nutmeg, I used allspice.
Dough was easy to work with and kept its shape well when baking.
I'll be making these again next year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK_mc6k17W8

These Gingerbread Cookies are soft, chewy and full of spices and molasses! They are simple to make and perfect for decorating!

Recipe: https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/best-gingerbread-cookies/

These Soft Gingerbread Cookies are the best gingerbread cookies ever! They have crispy edges with soft and chewy centers and are perfectly spiced!  Plus they are so easy to make - no rolling or cutting-out necessary to enjoy this rich &amp; nostalgic gingerbread recipe! Roll them in sugar, add a simple gingerbread glaze or serve them plain!

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

all-purpose flour

¾ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

sea salt

butter (softened)

brown sugar (packed)

TBS molasses

egg (room temperature)

tsp pure vanilla extract

sugar

TBS milk

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and sea salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add molasses, egg and vanilla and beat for 60-90 seconds or until mixture is smooth.

Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined.

Transfer dough to an airtight container, place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

Use a small cookie scoop to measure 1 ½ to 2 TBS portions of dough and roll them into balls.

Place on prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9-11 minutes in preheated oven until tops look just set. (See notes for baking tips)

Let the cookie sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool!

Enjoy!

Whisk together powdered sugar and 1 TBS milk.

Slowly add more milk if need (up to ½ TBS) until you reach a thick but pourable consistency.

Drizzle over cooled cookies. Let harden (either at room temperature or in the refrigerator).

Simple Glaze (Optional)

https://embed.mediavine.com/videos/advb3dwqqcnptvtfkb2u

These Soft Gingerbread Cookies are the BEST gingerbread cookies ever! They have crispy edges with soft and chewy centers and are perfectly spiced!  Plus they are so easy to make - no rolling or cutting-out necessary to enjoy this rich & nostalgic gingerbread recipe! Add a drizzle of white chocolate or some cinnamon chips for an extra special twist!

Classic soft gingerbread cookies are an old-fashioned holiday staple baked from scratch.

butter

eggs

vanilla

salt

meringue powder

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar.

Add molasses, vanilla, and eggs; mix on medium-low until well combined, the mixture will appear a little separated.

Stir in baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Gradually add flour; mix until just combined.

Use a cookie scoop to spoon large balls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Press down on the dough to flatten.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes at 375°F.

Cool completely before frosting.

In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add meringue powder and powdered sugar.

Slowly add the water ¼ cup at a time until you’ve reached a spreadable consistency. Turn mixer on high for 10 to 20 seconds.

With a piping bag and Wilton #3 tip, you can decorate with your icing! 

For the Icing

The perfect chewy gingerbread crinkle cookie! Easy to make and is perfect for the holidays!

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

yellow cake mix

vegetable oil (or melted butter)

tsp ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

preheat

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

dry ingredients

In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, eggs, oil, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and molasses.

roll

Drop spoonfuls of batter into the powdered sugar and roll them around so they are completely coated. The batter is really sticky so this part gets a little messy.

bake

Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0cAxH8w-RI

Perfect soft and chewy gingerbread cookies! Easy to make and perfect for the holidays!

Recipe here: https://www.atablefullofjoy.com/soft-gingerbread-cookies/

#gingerbread #cookies #christmas

Easy Gingerbread Cookies

These soft German Lebkuchen cookies are loaded with festive gingerbread spices, dried apricot, a little cocoa powder, &amp; dipped in chocolate. Perfect for the holiday season &amp; now 100% gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free, too!

German Lebkuchen (Soft Gingerbread Cookies)

g buckwheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

g almonds (or hazelnuts)

cocoa powder

tsp gingerbread spice ((check the FAQs to make your own Lebkuchen spice))

tsp orange zest

150 g date syrup (or maple syrup)

almond butter (or nut/seed butter of your choice)

180-200 ml dairy-free milk ((see notes))

apricots

150 g dairy-free dark chocolate

coconut oil

Check the video in the post for visual instructions.First, preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F) and lightly grease a silicone cookie mold (e.g., donuts, hearts, gingerbread men, etc.).

Then, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cocoa powder, gingerbread spice) and orange zest in a large bowl and mix with a spoon.

Add the wet ingredients (syrup, dairy-free milk, and nut/seed butter) and stir to combine, then fold in the finely chopped apricots.

Transfer the thick cookie batter to the silicone mold, gently tapping it against the counter to release bigger air bubbles.Using the same mold I did, this should yield 12 large, soft gingerbread cookies, each weighing about 60 grams.

Transfer the mold to the oven and bake the German gingerbread cookies for 16-18 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Once cooled, melt the chocolate and coconut oil using a double boiler method or microwave (in 10-15 second increments, stirring between). Dip each cookie into the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip off, then transfer them to a parchment-paper-lined plate.

Finally, transfer them to the fridge to set the chocolate, and enjoy!

Great recipe as usual. Flavours are absolutely spot on and I’m really happy that they work so well with buckwheat flour. I’m not very familiar with traditional lebkuchen but mine came out more light and fluffy than I was expecting. Exactly how I wish all my muffins would be 😅 any suggestions how I could get that denser gingerbread texture?

Excellent recipe once again Ela. Lebkuchen, vegan, gluten free and so delicious…. what a treasure. The spices are perfect, the slight orange taste…  everything is just like what I’ve been looking for for quite a long time now. Even my daughter, who is half German, said that they taste like the original ones, even better. .I strongly recommend.
I WOULD PUT MORE THAN 5 STARS BUT IT’S NOT POSSIBLE.…

I made this and it taste just like the original one!! I used 3tsp of orange zest in total and opted on the apricot.. yummm will be making this again and again :)

I haven't made them but I am so excited to try this beautiful recipe! Where do I purchase those molds?
Thank you

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/Z00Jyq5p.mp4

These soft German Lebkuchen cookies are loaded with festive gingerbread spices, dried apricot, a little cocoa powder, & dipped in chocolate. Perfect for the holiday season & now 100% oil-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free, too!

Best Lebkuchen (Soft German Gingerbread Cookies)

These Soft Gingerbread Cookies are dipped in royal icing and sprinkled with red and green sugar sprinkles, just like the Little Debbie version we all grew up with!

all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)

baking powder

(12 tablespoons) unsalted butter (softened)

dark brown sugar

vanilla extract

milk

Red and green sugar sprinkles

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, vanilla and molasses and continue mixing until well incorporated.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing well between additions, until fully incorporated.

Divide the dough into 2 large balls. Wrap each in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and refrigerate for 2 hours. It’s very important to allow the dough to chill completely before rolling it out and baking your gingerbread men, or the dough will be sticky and difficult to work with.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

On a heavily floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4” inch thick. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Re-roll the dough as needed and cut out as many gingerbread men as you can.

Place cookies 1” apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are puffy. It’s better to underbake a little than overbake these cookies, as they will become very dry and extra crisp.

Then remove the cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting - if you frost your cookies while still warm, the icing will melt!

To make frosting, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, until smooth. It should be thick, but still thin enough to easily dip the cookies into.

Dip each cookie, face down, into the bowl of icing and let the excess drip off. Set cookies back down on baking sheet or cookie rack and quickly sprinkle tops with red and green sugar sprinkles. Allow the icing to set before enjoying.

Say goodbye to dry, flavorless gingerbread men. These cut-out soft gingerbread cookies are tender, chewy, packed full of spiced flavor and perfect for celebrating the holidays.

egg,

Place the shortening, granulated sugar, and molasses in a medium saucepan and set over medium low heat. Cook, occasionally stirring with a whisk, until the crisco has melted completely. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Set aside to cool slightly (the shortening should still be liquid just not hot!).

Once the mixture has cooled slightly add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl, whisking until smooth and glossy.

Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt to the mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold together until combined and no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be soft and a little sticky—don’t worry it will firm up in the fridge! Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap or tin foil, shaping into a disc, seal and chill for at least 2 hours but up to 2 days!

When you’re ready to roll out the cookies preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters (we used a 3-inch gingerbread man!) and cut out cookies. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared pan and bake for 8 to 9 minutes for full size cookies (if you do smaller cookies you’ll want to bake them for less time!) The edges should be lightly brown but still slightly underbaked in the middle—this will keep them super soft and moist! Do not overbake unless you like crisp, harder cookies! Place the cookies on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are completely cool, make the royal icing. Combine the egg white, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. If the frosting feels too thick add 1/4 teaspoon of water at a time. If the frosting feels too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and decorate the cooled cookies! Enjoy!

These are out of this world good! Soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced.  
I shared them with friends and family, and everyone agreed they’re the best they’ve ever had! Thank you for this amazing recipe, I’ll be making for years to come &lt;3

This recipe is super forgiving- I only had half a cup of molasses and I used butter instead of shortening. I ended up using less flour to account for not having enough molasses. The cookies still turned out great and the dough was easy to handle, even with my toddler. Another great broma recipe ❤️

I love this recipe! Delicious soft and chewy gingerbread cookies I always look for during the holidays. I have made these twice and everyone loves them.

Incredibly soft and flavourful cookies. I’ve never had so many friends rave about gingerbread. It was also  super easy recipe to make and the dough wasn’t rock hard out of the fridge making it a breeze to roll and cut. 

Will be using this recipe forever! THANKS!

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Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Top 10 soft gingerbread cookies recipes from across the web

The most viewed soft gingerbread cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Gingerbread Cookies

Best Gingerbread Cookies

Best Gingerbread Cookies

Best Gingerbread Cookies

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

German Lebkuchen (Soft Gingerbread ...

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

The most viewed soft gingerbread cookies recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine