Easy Gingerbread Cookies
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These Easy Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly spiced and soft with crisp edges! They’re delicious plain or with vanilla icing.
These Easy Gingerbread Cookies have successfully converted three of my gingerbread hating family members into gingerbread lovers. The reason? These cookies don’t taste like cardboard flavored concrete 😉 . They’re super soft, sweetened with dark brown sugar and molasses and perfectly spiced!
More Holiday Cookies
- Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Almond Butter Blossoms
- Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Blossom Cookies
Ingredient Breakdown
All-purpose flour – this gives the cookies structure.
Baking soda – helps the cookies spread.
Ginger and cinnamon – provides flavor. Feel free to alter the spices to your taste.
Butter – provides flavor and structure. I always recommend using unsalted butter but salted butter works if that’s all you have on hand, just be sure to omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt later on. Do not use cold or melted butter.
Brown sugar – sweetens and softens cookies. I used dark brown sugar for extra molasses flavor but light brown sugar will work too!
Unsulphered molasses – adds flavor, sweetness and makes the cookies soft. Do not use blackstrap molasses because it’s too bitter.
Egg – helps bind the ingredients.
Vanilla extract and salt – enhances flavor. Always use pure vanilla extract instead of imitation for best flavor.
Can You Make Gingerbread Dough In Advance?
Yes! Once you make this gingerbread cookie dough you can either refrigerate it for up to 3 days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or freeze it for up to 3 months wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in a zip-top bag.
How To Make Easy Gingerbread Cookies
1. Make the Gingerbread Cookie Dough: in a small bowl whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to cream softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients all at once then mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
5. Divide dough in half then shape into flat discs. Wrap each tightly with plastic wrap then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
6. On a floured surface, use a normal rolling pin to roll out one disc of dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies and place on a baking sheet then freeze for at least 5 minutes.
7. Bake cookies at 350°F for 8 minutes then allow to cool completely (my cookies were 3 inches but you may have to adjust the baking time if your cookies are smaller/larger). Repeat with the second disc of dough. You can reroll the dough scraps up to 2 more times.
8. Make the Vanilla Icing: In a small bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, water and vanilla extract. The icing is thick but you can add a little bit of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Decorate gingerbread cookies as desired. Store Easy Gingerbread Cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
Pro Tips For Easy Gingerbread cookies
- Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume is not accurate.
- Don’t over mix the dough! Only mix until the dry ingredients are just combined. Over mixing = more gluten development which means tough cookies. We don’t want any tough cookies here!
- Bake one tray at a time on the middle oven rack. This ensures that there is even heat circulation.
- Keep the gingerbread cookie dough cold! If you put warm cookies in the oven they will spread so I recommend freezing the cookies for a few minutes before baking them.
My Favorite Cookie Tools
- Kitchen scale I love this scale, I’ve been using it for years!
- Stand Mixer
- Baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
- French rolling pin gives you more control than rolling pins with handles.
- Dough measuring strips for these Easy Gingerbread Cookies I used the blue strips which are 1/4 inch thick.
If you try this recipe then please leave a rating/comment below to let me know how you liked it and feel free to ask any recipe questions you may have! 🙂
Easy Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Baking sheets
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutters
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 420 g (3 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 g (1 cup) brown sugar
- 120 g (1/2 cups) unsulphered molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla Icing
- 120 g (1 cup) confectioners' sugar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp water
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- In a small bowl whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to cream softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once then mix on low speed until just combined. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
- Divide dough in half then shape into flat discs. Wrap each tightly with plastic wrap then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- On a floured surface, use a normal rolling pin to roll out one disc of dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies and place on a baking sheet then freeze for at least 5 minutes.
- Bake cookies for 8 minutes then allow to cool completely (my cookies were 3 inches but you may have to adjust the baking time if your cookies are smaller/larger). Repeat with the second disc of dough. You can reroll the dough scraps up to 2 more times.
Vanilla Icing
- In a small bowl mix the confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla extract. The icing is thick but you can add a little bit of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Decorate gingerbread cookies as desired.
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume is not accurate.
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter. You can use salted butter, just be sure to omit the 1/2 tsp salt.
- Store Easy Gingerbread Cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
- Gingerbread cookie dough wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in a zip-top bag can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling and baking.
