Here is my favorite gingerbread cookies recipe and one of the most popular Christmas cookie recipes on this website. Soft in the centers, crisp on the edges, perfectly spiced, molasses and brown sugar-sweetened holiday goodness.
Whenever I think of Christmas cookies, gingerbread cookies come to mind first. Well, after Christmas sugar cookies of course! Their spice, their molasses flavor, their SMILES, and their charm are obviously irresistible. Gingerbread cookies, you have my heart.
Key Ingredients in Gingerbread Cookies
The full written recipe is below, but let’s review a few key ingredients here first. Gingerbread cookie recipes all start the same and mine comes from my mom. To her recipe, I add a little more molasses and increase the amount of spice flavors (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice). Because of the added sticky sweetener (molasses), I add a little more flour to help soak it all up. Just like when we are making pinwheel cookies, a bit of extra flour helps the cookies can keep their shape.
- Molasses + spices for flavor
- Egg so the gingerbread cookies have structure and richness
- Brown sugar instead of white granulated sugar. I always use brown sugar when its flavor fits.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies
Let’s walk through the gingerbread cookie recipe so you feel confident when you begin baking.
Chill the dough: The dough is sticky once it’s all beaten together in your mixing bowl and therefore, it absolutely MUST be chilled for at least 3 hours. Give yourself enough time in the kitchen or make the cookie dough and chill it overnight. You want your cookie dough firm so the cookies hold their shape and you want your cookie dough manageable so you can work with it. You won’t have either unless you have chilled cookie dough!
Wrap up the dough: It’s easiest to wrap the dough in plastic wrap before chilling. Scoop out 1/2 of the prepared cookie dough, plop it onto a long sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up, and flatten it out into a disc. Repeat with the other 1/2 of dough. Then chill. See that photo above? That’s what you’re doing, but you’ll have 2 discs. Why are you doing this? It’s easier to roll out the chilled cookie dough when it is in a disc shape. Also, the cookie dough chills faster when there is less volume. And it’s just easier to work with smaller portions when rolling/shaping!
Roll it out: After chilling, roll out the chilled cookie dough discs until about 1/4-inch thick. Don’t be afraid to flour your hands, rolling pin, work surface, and everything in the world. By that, I mean: the cookie dough can become sticky as you work. So, don’t be scared to add more flour to the work surface. The flour spots on top of your shaped cookie dough will bake off.
Place the cut-out cookies onto a lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. The cookies won’t really spread, but you want to make sure they have enough room to breathe. They are gingerbread people, after all. 😉
How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies
After they’ve baked and cooled, it’s time to decorate the cookies. We’re talking smiles, eyes, bow-ties, buttons, squiggles, whatever your gingerbread cookie loving heart desires. This is when it’s really fun to have a friend or little baker in the kitchen with you. You can use the easy cookie icing or my traditional royal icing recipe, whichever you prefer. For something even easier, you can decorate the gingerbread cookies with cookie decorating buttercream, and feel free to add a little cinnamon to it for extra spice flavor.
Tint the icing with a couple drops of food coloring to spice things up, too.
Many of the tools I include in my list of favorite cookie decorating supplies will be helpful for decorating these cookies. For more inspiration, here is my full tutorial on how to decorate sugar cookies (video included!).
It’s difficult not to love this recipe which is why they’re my favorite gingerbread cookies!
- The dough comes together easily
- The flavor is spot on—lots of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, all-spice, and cloves
- The edges are slightly crisp
- The centers are soft and chewy
- They’re so easy to decorate.
Don’t forget the other Christmas classics: Peanut Butter Blossoms and Snowball Cookies. And if you can’t get enough gingerbread flavor, try these gingerbread blossoms, chocolate ginger cookies, gingerbread latte cookies, iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies, gingerbread cookie bars (no dough chilling!), gingerbread cake, gingerbread cinnamon rolls, and gingerbread waffles next!
Gingerbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 four-inch cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: German
Description
This is my favorite gingerbread cookies recipe and it’s also loved by millions. Soft in the centers, crisp on the edges, and perfectly spiced. I played around with the spices a lot and really loved the flavor of these cookies when using a full Tablespoon each of ground ginger and ground cinnamon. Make sure you chill the cookie dough discs for a minimum of 3 hours.
Ingredients
- 3 and 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger (yes, 1 full Tablespoon!)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (160ml; about 200g) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: easy cookie icing, royal icing, or cookie buttercream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined. 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. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Roll out disc until 1/4-inch thick. Tips for rolling—the dough may crack and be crumbly as you roll. What’s helpful is picking it up and rotating it as you go. Additionally, you can use your fingers to help meld the cracking edges back together. The first few rolls are always the hardest since the dough is so stiff, but re-rolling the scraps is much easier. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. Repeat with remaining disc of dough.
- Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes. If your cookie cutters are smaller than 4 inches, bake for about 8 minutes. If your cookie cutters are larger than 4 inches, bake for about 11 minutes. My oven has hot spots and yours may too—so be sure to rotate the pan once during bake time. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times.
- Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked and decorated (or not decorated) cookies freeze well – up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough discs (just the dough prepared through step 3) freeze well up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then continue with step 4.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Gingerbread Cookie Cutter | Cooling Rack
- Gingerbread House: This cookie dough is not sturdy enough for gingerbread houses. Here is my gingerbread house recipe.
WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Reader Comments and Reviews
sally has NEVER steered me wrong. love her.
Your recipe sounds yummy, but I wanted to know if you can form balls and flatten the dough using a cookie stamp to make these cookies? Thanks
Hi Nancy, some readers have had success doing so, but the patterns may not hold well. These cinnamon brown sugar cookies may be a better option!
Thanks! I’ll have to try it!
Best gingerbread I have ever tasted
Delicious cookies! I make them every year. Do you think replacing some of the molasses with honey or maple or date syrup would work? Just to change things up a bit. Thank you.
Hi Lidia, molasses is a key ingredient here. You may enjoy these brown sugar cut-out cookies if you’re looking for something a little different without molasses.
Thank you. I plan to replace just SOME of the molasses, as I stated above. I will figure it out. Thank you.
I made this recipe at Christmas as an addition for my grandchildren. My granddaughter loved them so I was planning to make her a smaller batch for a special treat. Is that something that this recipe can do and if so how? Is is just as simple as dividing it in two.
Hi Margaret, You can halve the ingredients. Our general rule for halving an egg is to crack it open, beat the yolk and white together with a fork, measure the volume (should be a few Tbsp), then use half. Enjoy!
How long do these last after baking? Do you think they’d be able to go in the freezer? I’ve got lots of leftovers this year
Hi L. S, these cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. See the recipe notes for freezing instructions – baked cookies freeze well for up to three months.
I also have been cooking these cookies for maybe 10 years. I am on the crunchier side. I like to cook them a few minutes more…We always love these cookies. Thank you!
I’ve made these gingerbread cookies a couple weeks ago, but I couldn’t stop thinking about them since. Every bite I took, it brought me back to a place I never knew I’ve been to. A glacial, mellow, convivial world. As soon as I opened the bag of flour, I knew something was off. The fragrance of gingerbread cookies was already overpowering the house. It’s like, they were calling me. My family were drawn to the kitchen as the aroma of warm, gingery baked goods filled the house. Neighbors were bashing on my door, fervid to scarf down these cookies. As I sniffed, I felt the presence of something magical that I can’t put into words. It was incredible. I’ve tried other gingerbread recipes in the past but NOTHING compares to the sweet, warm, soft, chewy, and festive taste that these delicacies possessed. I don’t have the will power to wait until next Christmas to make these again. Sally, your generosity for publishing such a recipe has touched be profoundly and I truly appreciate what you have done for me. Thank you.
That was the most eloquent review I have ever read. It felt like it was a story. Brilliant writing.
My son loves ginger bread cookies!! They are amazing!! I had left overs and freeze dried a couple of trays, delicious freeze dried too!!! This is by far and away my “go to” recipe site!!
My daughter left a disc of the cookie dough in our frig when she went home after Christmas. How long is the dough okay in the frig?
Hi Ann, You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
These were delicious and so cute! The royal icing was simple to make too, we had a lot of fun decorating (and eating!) these.
How long does this dough last in the fridge??
Hi Kim, You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
This is the best ginger bread Cookie EVER !!!
These are so good. Great cookie and not too sweet
I have been making this recipe for 3 years. It is my indispensable cookie. Yes, this is really my favorite. And it is very difficult to find such a cookie recipe in Turkey. My family gets excited when I make this cookie. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
I’ve made this many times I love this recipe!! I know it says mandatory 3 hour chill time for the dough but do you think I can get away with 30 min chill time if I’m short on time?
Hi Klare, the cookies will spread if not chilled adequately.
I’m in the UK. Over here we often use what is called ‘black treacle’ in gingerbread dough. I believe this is actually molasses. It’s very thick, black, sweet but also slightly savoury (kind of like liquid liquorice!). Is this ‘backstrap’ molasses which this recipe says not to use. Or will it be okay?
Hi Elly, Molasses is key to that signature gingerbread taste, but some readers have swapped treacle or golden syrup in its place. The flavor profile will be a bit different. Let us know if you try it!
I have a baking pan with gingerbread men and snowman shapes in it. Will recipe work if I press the mix into the shapes on pan?
We haven’t tested that, Marlene, but it should work. Let us know!
A note on molasses/treacle for UK readers! I used normal Lyles treacle as I haven’t found any molasses/treacle other than Lyles here and nothing says “black strap” or otherwise on it. I think Lyles must be what the author refers to as black strap Molasses in the US. The flavour is certainly strong but with a bit of vanilla icing on top I actually really like it! If making for kids I would probably substitute with golden syrup, next time for me I think I’ll do 50/50 treacle/golden syrup. The spices are lovely and the dough was easy to roll out and cut out. Thanks Sallys Baking!
This is the best gingerbread cookie recipe ever. The right amount of molasses and lots of spices. I’ve tried at least 10 different recipes over the years and was never 100% happy with them, even after adding extra spices. I’ve found that Sally’s Baking Addiction is now my go to site for baking recipes.
My new favorite cookie! This was my first time making gingerbread and the recipe is amazing and I just couldn’t get enough of them. Everyone who tried them said they were amazing too. They stayed soft for a week, but that’s as long as they lasted. The royal icing works perfect and I’ll be making these every year from now on – 100% recommend.
Hi Sally, I want to try this recipe, however, I live in a high altitude area. Should I adjust this recipe somehow? Please let me know as soon as possible.
Hi Liz, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I have been making this recipe for four years, and, because I can’t read directions well, I have been using black strap molasses. I can’t imagine these to be any better. They are super dark and super flavorful. I’m going to try them using regular molasses and see what the flavor difference is. This is my favorite Christmas cookie! Updates with comparison notes soon.
Made these this year. My first time making gingerbread and they were a huge hit with my family. Will be making these again.
Easy recipe
I made six batches of this over Advent for gifts. Everyone, from little kids to my 99-year-old mom, loved it. It is the best gingerbread I’ve ever had and so easy to make. Thank you for your detailed instructions on every recipe. I especially like the make-ahead and storage options info.
These are very addictive! I love the flavor and they are soft (I baked according to directions). These are my christmas cookies, and the kids loved them too. A warning, they tasted a lot better the next day. The flavours set and are just so yummy. These rolled and baked easily.
This has become the recipe I use every Christmas. They cook up so perfect!
This recipe is spectacular! The spice ratio is perfect. I was skeptical of the 1TBSP of ginger, but it was not overpowering at all. Huge hit with my family. Dough was easy to work with.
Hi team, I’m cooking in Australia and the molasses i bought is not called blackstrap, but on tasting the dough in thinking it must be. I made the recipe last year but I think I used golden syrup because I had it to hand. Do you think I can salvage the batch with icing or should I just abandon? It’s currently chilling in the fridge.
Hi Flic, we recommend rolling out some of the dough, baking a few of the cookies, then tasting. It may be that the flavor changes a bit after baking and cooling–for better or worse! But since you’ve already made the dough, it’s worth baking a couple to see. Let us know how it goes!
I don’t bake often, but wanted to try this. The texture is really neat – they do snap, but they’re also soft! For me, the dough was very dry and hard to roll out, but I think that could be because of my ingredients – My brown sugar had dried out, and even though I tried to reconstitute it, I think it may have sucked the moisture out of everything. They still came out great after baking, though; I just couldn’t get the scraps to reform and re-roll quite right, so the little guys that were made from scraps look a bit… rough. I’ll definitely try this one again in the future, maybe with better sugar next time.
Trying for the first time. Looks very promising. Thank you!