The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (2024)

If you need an easy recipe for chewy and soft gingerbread cookies from scratch, you’ve come to the right place! Tastes just like the traditional recipe!

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (1)

It wouldn’t surprise me if these gingerbread men turn into the real stars of your Christmas celebration! This recipe makes the perfect cookies every time, nicely spiced with warm ginger, cinnamon, molasses and more. So why not make this timeless classic for the holiday season?

Iusedto make my gingerbread the way my German grandmother taught me – labor-intense, with a difficult-to-handle dough and a high rate of failure.

But once I had kids of my own who really just want to stick some eyes on their gingerbread man and don’t care that much about long-winded heritage recipes yet, I’ve switched tothis classic American recipe. And now I like it even more than my old one!

Note: I updated this recipe on 11/12/2019 to make it easier and better.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (2)

Ingredient notes

  • Butter – I use real butter here, but you can choose margarine instead. Please go for stick margarine and not a spread intended for using on bread.
  • Light brown sugar – my favorite sugar for gingerbread cookies. If you don’t have this, you can also use white sugar and an extra tablespoon of molasses, though the taste will not be the same.
  • Molasses – I like to use dark molasses, but NOT blackstrap for these cookies. Blackstrap molasses are too bitter and better for savory cooking.
  • Apple cider vinegar – this helps give the dough a better texture. It doesn’t make the dough taste of vinegar. If you’re doubtful, just leave it out. White wine vinegar is an acceptable substitute.
  • Flour – I always make this recipe with all-purpose flour. I know some readers have tried it with cup-for-cup gluten free flour and have been successful, but I have never personally tried it.
  • Gingerbread spice mix – either use a store-bought mix, make your own with my gingerbread spice mix recipe, or use the individual spices given in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!

How to make gingerbread cookies

You start by creaming the butter and sugar (1) together until fully combined (2) – this is a lot easier if you have very soft butter. Forgot to pull it out of the fridge? No worries, just rinse a bowl under hot water, then invert it and place it over the butter for a few minutes.

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (3)

Then you add the molasses, vanilla and egg (3) and mix them in just until smooth (4). Do not mix for longer than needed to fully combine the ingredients, or your cookies may turn out tough!

Then add the dry ingredients to a separate bowl (5) and mix until well combined (6).

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (4)

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the creamed sugar mixture (7). Stir to combine into a soft cookie dough (8) – do not overmix!

At this point, the dough will feel very soft – you’ll need to refrigerate it so you can roll it and cut out cookies later.

Once it’s ready, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (9) – or between two sheets of lightly floured baking parchment if your counters tend to get very messy (especially non-finished surfaces such as old wood counters or uneven stone).

Make sure you don’t roll the dough thinner than ¼ inch thickness, or your gingerbread won’t turn out as soft as it should.

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (5)

Cut out cookies (10), place them spaced out on a lined cookie sheet (11).

Then, just bake the cookies one tray at a time, let them cool and go wild with the decorations ?

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (6)

Baking tips

If adding the dry ingredients is too much work for your mixer, please use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour by hand!! I’ve broken a cheaper mixer with cookie dough before.

Also, I always stir by hand a little first before switching back to the mixer once I’ve added the dry ingredients, else you’ll end up with a huge cloud of flour dust all over yourself and your kitchen.

Don’t overmix the dough: Overmixing the egg can yield dough and dry cookies, so go easy – only mix until everything is incorporated.

The same goes for the flour, too: If you mix too much, the gluten will start developing, yielding tough cookies again. Only mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible.

Bake the same sizes of cookies together: If you make different sized cookies (for example some gingerbread men, some candy canes and some hearts) and they’re all different sizes, bake them in separate batches. Otherwise some cookies will be overbaked and tough while others will stay too soft.

Cookie yield: This recipe makes about 45-50 mid-sized cookies. It makes about 16 large gingerbread men.

The recipe can be cut in half if you only want a small batch of cookies, but please note that there’s one egg in the full recipe, so you’re going to have to use half of a beaten egg to make a half batch.

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (7)

Decorating tips

I usually just use a thick powdered sugar icing on these. I combine 2 cups powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, water or half-and-half.

Then I use a squeeze bottle to decorate the cookies with the icing (I just make more if we run out; but I start with a smaller amount in case we get tired of decorating). Feel free to use your favorite royal icing instead!

My kids enjoy sticking little sprinkles and things into the cookies instead.

Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before adding any icing or decorations. Let the cookies stand uncovered at room temperature overnight to let the icing set before packing them up.

And PS: About the decorating… It’s really not one of my biggest skillsets. I majorly lack the patience for it, too. I just whip up a powdered sugar icing (or use store-bought royal icing, there I said it) and try to draw something remotely adorable on the cookies.

If you feel the same way and usually try to skip the decorating part, I BEG you to get over yourself and sit down to decorate cookies with your kids. They will love this sweet memory so much, even if your gingerbread man looks more like a gingerbread monster.

My 3 year old’s words, not mine.

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (8)

How to store the gingerbread cookies

Store the cooled gingrbread cookies in an airtight container on the coutner for 1-2 weeks (they taste best within the first few days though). Decorated cookies last a little less in my experience.

Freezer instructions

To freeze the cookie dough: Wrap the finished gingerbread cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to bake, thaw the dough overnight in the fridge (I recommend placing it on a plate to catch any water drips). Then roll, cut and bake as directed in the recipe.

To freeze the baked cookies: Freeze baked cookies before decorating them! Cool the cookies completely, then stack them in freezer-friendly containers, separating each layer with a piece of wax paper. Cover tightly with the lid, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.

To defrost, take out as many cookies as you need and thaw them on a wire rack on the counter for a couple of hours.

More classic Christmas cookies

  • Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  • The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies
  • Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
  • Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies

PSIf you try this recipe, please leavea review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along onPinterest,FacebookorInstagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (13)

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Soft Gingerbread Cookies

This is an easy recipe for chewy and soft spiced cookies from scratch – a classic American gingerbread for Christmas!

Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings

made it? tap the stars to add your rating!

4.80 from 357 votes

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Recipe details

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 45 minutes mins

Chilling 3 hours hrs

Total 4 hours hrs

Servings 50 Cookies (see notes)

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup molasses NOT blackstrap
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Gingerbread Spice Mix:

  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Make the cookie dough

  • Place the sugar & butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until combined (you can also do this in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, just be careful so you don't overmix the dough). Add the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla extract and beat on medium-low speed until fully combined.

  • In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients and the gingerbread spices until well combined.

  • Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mix. Mix on low speed just until combined into a soft cookie dough.

Chill the dough

  • Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. If you chill it overnight, you may need to let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes so it's easier to roll.

Cut out cookies

  • Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.

  • Divide the dough in 2 and roll each half to ¼ of an inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.

  • Cut out cookies and place them on lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Place similarly sized cookies on the same baking sheet!

Bake the cookies

  • Once you have filled a baking sheet, place it in the oven to bake. Medium-sized cookies take 8-10 minutes to bake. Large gingerbread men take 12-14 minutes to bake. Smaller cookies take 6-8 minutes to bake. They should spring back when you slightly touch their surface, but make sure to not overbake them or they'll turn out tough.

  • Cool the baked cookies on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

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Notes

Baking tips

  • If using a pre-mixed Gingerbread spice, use 2 tablespoons and 1 ¼ teaspoons in the dough.
  • Don’t overmix the dough – overmixing the egg can yield dough and dry cookies.
  • Bake the same sizes of cookies together!If you make different sized cookies (for example some gingerbread men, some candy canes and some hearts) and they’re all different sizes, bake them in separate batches.
  • Cookie yield: This recipe makes about 45-50 mid-sized cookies. It makes about 16 large gingerbread men.
  • The recipe can be cut in half if you only want a small batch of cookies, but please note that there’s one egg in the full recipe, so you’re going to have to use half of a beaten egg to make a half batch.

Decorating tips

I usually just use a thick powdered sugar icing on these. I combine 2 cups powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, water or half-and-half.

Then I use a squeeze bottle to decorate the cookies with the icing (I just make more if we run out; but I start with a smaller amount in case we get tired of decorating). Feel free to use your favorite royal icing instead!

Storage tips

Store the cooled gingrbread cookies in an airtight container on the coutner for 1-2 weeks (they taste best within the first few days though). Decorated cookies last a little less in my experience.

Freezer instructions

To freeze the cookie dough: Wrap the finished gingerbread cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to bake, thaw the dough overnight in the fridge (I recommend placing it on a plate to catch any water drips). Then roll, cut and bake as directed in the recipe.

To freeze the baked cookies: Freeze baked cookies before decorating them! Cool the cookies completely, then stack them in freezer-friendly containers, separating each layer with a piece of wax paper. Cover tightly with the lid, then label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.

To defrost, take out as many cookies as you need and thaw them on a wire rack on the counter for a couple of hours.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 81mgSugar: 9g

Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies [Easy Recipe!] - Savory Nothings (2024)

FAQs

What makes gingerbread hard or soft? ›

Some gingerbread recipes require some time to soften after baking because they are initially firm. Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

How to make cookies softer? ›

Brown Sugar

Adding moisture to your cookie dough can help make it softer and chewier, and stay soft for longer. That's why I use much more brown sugar than granulated sugar in this recipe.

Why are my gingerbread cookies soft? ›

Baking at too high of a heat.

To ensure even cooking, with crisp edges and soft centers, bake at a lower heat. Follow this tip: Bake gingerbread cookies at a reasonable 325°F in order to prevent them from burning before they are cooked through.

Why is my gingerbread so hard? ›

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

What is the secret to keeping cookies soft? ›

“To keep cookies soft, store them in an airtight container and not in a cookie jar,” Amanda recommends.

What makes a cookie more soft? ›

What Makes Cookies Soft?
  1. Brown sugar, as it has a high moisture content and retains moisture better than white sugar. ...
  2. Shortening instead of butter or in addition to butter. ...
  3. Baking powder instead of baking soda. ...
  4. Eggs, particularly egg yolks. ...
  5. Cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Oct 5, 2020

What makes cookie dough softer? ›

There are a few things you can do to add liquid to your cookie dough if it is too dry and crumbly. One option is to add milk, water, or another liquid until the dough is the right consistency. You can also try adding melted butter or shortening. If your dough is still too dry, you may need to add more flour.

How do you know when soft gingerbread cookies are done? ›

It's harder to tell when gingerbread dough is golden brown as it's darker. If you touch the top of the cookie and it's nice and dry, the cookies are done.

What is a good substitute for molasses in gingerbread? ›

The Best Molasses Substitutes

Honey, dark corn syrup, and maple syrup can also be used to replace molasses in recipes.

How sticky should gingerbread cookie dough be? ›

The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

How do you make cookies soft and chewy vs hard and crisp? ›

Different types of sugars affect the texture because they absorb different amounts of water. Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies.

How do you make cookies chewy and not hard? ›

The science is simple: According to the flour authorities over at Bob's Red Mill, cornstarch can help “soften the rigid proteins of the flour, resulting in a light and chewy dessert.” “The cornstarch complements the flour in absorbing the liquids, but won't develop gluten structure like the flour will,” stresses ...

Does gingerbread soften? ›

Allow icing to set completely before storing biscuits in an airtight container. The gingerbread will soften over time.

How to make gingerbread harder? ›

Comments for How to harden gingerbread when it becomes too soft? Putting it back in the oven does not work you have to find a recipe that is harder as putting it back in the oven only over bakes it. My suggestion is to put it back into the oven for up to 10 minutes. The temp of the oven should be around 325 degrees.

How do you fix hard gingerbread? ›

Wrap it/cover it/enclose it somehow with a slice or two of fresh white bread overnight or a couple of hours. Should help!

Are gingerbread hard? ›

Gingerbread cookies should be soft. They should be supple. They should bend to your teeth before the cookie skin breaks and the crumbs fall all over you. They should retain a bit of elasticity, and maybe you can even leave your fingerprints on the cookie if you hold them too hard because you're just that excited.

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