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These chewy and soft Gingerbread Cookies are my favorite gingerbread cut out cookies recipe! They’re perfectly spiced and frosted with an easy royal icing. I’ve been making these cookies my entire life – and everyone loves them.
My dad and I both love gingerbread. I cannot get enough of the flavor and texture of these cookies – they’re soft and chewy and perfectly spiced! When I was young, we’d make this recipe every Christmas. I remember going to the cookbook cabinet and sorting through to find the Christmas one that held this recipe. Back then we only had a hand mixer so I remember how, by the 4th cup of flour, mixing would get hard. Usually my dad was called in to help finish up the dough.
I make these gingerbread cookies every year. We normally make sugar cookie cutouts and these because I cannot decide which to make. If you’re wondering how to make chewy gingerbread cookies that are also soft AND keep their shape, this is the recipe for you.
Gingerbread Recipe Ingredients
- Butter: make sure it’s softened to room temperature, I use unsalted butter but you can swap salted.
- Molasses: I use the regular kind you find at the grocery store – unsulphured or blackstrap molasses.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar. I wouldn’t substitute brown sugar; they’re soft enough by design and brown sugar might make them too soft.
- Baking Soda works with the Vinegar to be the SECRET to soft and chewy gingerbread cookies! The acid activates the baking soda to keep them nice and soft. Substitute lemon juice if you don’t have white vinegar.
- Flour: All-purpose flour, be sure to spoon and level it into the measuring cup.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, Ground ginger and ground cloves.
- Meringue Powder: This is basically dried egg whites and we use it to make royal icing. It’s easier and safer than using actual eggs. You can find it at craft stores, Walmart, and on Amazon.
How to make Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Beat butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or very large bowl with a hand mixer) on medium speed until smooth. Then add wet ingredients: Mix in the egg, then add the vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mixture may look a bit curdled, that’s normal.
- Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms. Divide dough into two or three sections (depending on how much space you have for rolling out). Separate the dough into halves or thirds and place between wax paper sheets to roll out. The dough needs to chill at least one hour.
- Cut out your cookies and chill again before baking on silicone baking mats or parchment paper – this ensures they’ll hold their shape.
Royal Icing Recipe
Once cooled, I make a simple royal icing to decorate with. You can definitely use regular sugar cookie frosting or buttercream frosting for cookies, but I love making a simple royal icing. Royal icing comes together fast and dries hard, so you can stack the cookies for giving.
- Whisk the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- Start with 5 tablespoons water and mix on high speed until it’s no longer glossy, then add more water as needed for consistency (whether you plan to pipe, flood, or frost).
- Mixing will take 7-10 minutes. It’s done when it’s no longer glossy.
- Pipe or frost as desired!
Storing Gingerbread
- You can bake the cookies up to 2 days ahead of frosting. Stack like cookies with like in an airtight container. You can freeze them for a few months in the container as well; place paper towels between cookie layers.
- Gingerbread cookies frosted with royal icing can be stacked and stored in an airtight container for up to a week (sometimes more; hardened royal icing keeps them fresh). You can also freeze them once the icing is dry.
- You can freeze the dough as well; just separate the cookie dough into halves or thirds and wrap well with plastic wrap. Place dough into a ziploc bag and freeze for up to a few months. Thaw, then roll as directed.
Expert Tips
- Sometimes this dough is softer when you’re rolling it than other times – I feel this is due to the outside temperature/humidity and also how soft your butter is when you start. Chill it until it’s firm to the touch before cutting your shapes. Rolled out dough chills faster!
- You can pop it into the freezer to chill it faster, this is especially great if you cut the shapes and it’s too soft to move them to a cookie sheet.
- Feel free to color your royal icing and do all sorts of fun decorations…or be like me and just use sprinkles.
FAQs
The dough is a sticky dough, so make sure to chill the rolled out sheets until they are hard (they shouldn’t move if you pick them up). I use a spatula sometimes to help me release them up from the parchment paper. If you’re still having trouble, cut your cookies then chill again, then try moving them.
Yes you can use any vinegar (or lemon juice) instead of white distilled. But don’t use red wine or balsamic – you don’t want to taste it.
As long as you follow the recipe you shouldn’t have this problem: be sure to chill the cookies before baking and to measure the ingredients correctly.
Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (237ml) molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 5 Cups (620g) All purpose flour Sifted
For the frosting:
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups (452g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons water
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- Beat butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer (or very large bowl with a hand mixer) until smooth. Mix in the egg, then add the vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until combined (mixture may look a bit curdled, that’s normal.)
- Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms. Divide dough into two or three sections.
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper on your work surface. Add half the cookie dough and add a second sheet of paper on the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ¼-inch thick, in between the pieces of parchment. Periodically, gently lift the parchment off the layer to make sure it's not sticking. Repeat with second half of dough.
- Chill the rolled out dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Cut shapes from chilled dough, placing on the prepared pans. Chill another 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on cookie size. Re-roll any scraps of dough and re-chill and repeat.
- Cool cookies completely before frosting.
Make the frosting:
- While cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Add meringue powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, and water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until peaks form and it’s lost it’s glossy sheen, about 7-10 minutes. Add a bit more water as needed for piping consistency.
- At this point you can color the frosting if you want, using food coloring. Frost cookies and top with sprinkles. (I used a small piping tip in a disposable pastry bag.) Let set for at least an hour before stacking.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar may be substituted for the white vinegar.
- It’s important to chill the cookies before baking so they hold their shape. If the dough is too soft as you’re cutting shapes, pop back in the fridge or freezer to harden.
- You can bake the cookies up to 2 days ahead of frosting. Stack like cookies with like in an airtight container. You can freeze them for a few months in the container as well; place paper towels between cookie layers.
- Gingerbread cookies frosted with royal icing can be stacked and stored in an airtight container for up to a week (sometimes more; hardened royal icing keeps them fresh). You can also freeze them once the icing is dry.
- You can freeze the dough as well; just separate the cookie dough into halves or thirds and wrap well with plastic wrap. Place dough into a ziploc bag and freeze for up to a few months.
Recipe Nutrition
Other Holiday Favorites
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Russian Tea Cakes
- I also use this rolling method for my cutout sugar cookies.
- Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
Is it ok refrigerate the dough overnight?
Yes you can even freeze it!
Clever use of parchment, but I didn’t care for the flavor and they were not at all soft and chewy.
If they weren’t soft and chewy – chances are they were baked too long. I know there is a fine line between underdone, perfect, and over baked – I cross it all the time.
Shoot, I’m so sorry yours didn’t turn out. Mine are still very soft & chewy nearly 1 month later. This has now become my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe!
I followed this direction and it came out just as you described. I love cinnamon and ginger taste, I would add just little more of these flavor to a get a little more kick though for me next time. For kids I think this ingredients and flavor works well. I didn’t have clove so I didn’t use it but will next time when I can get a hold of it at the store wondering if that was the kick I was missing. I baked mine 12-15 mins and I loved the chewy in the middle /crunch on the edge. Definitely! will be using this recipe again.
These came out great. First time making gingerbread cookies. Love the idea of putting it in the refrigerator. I used the freezer for 15 mins. That sure saved me from making a mess with flour.
Thanks for the recipe.
I haven’t made these yet but I need to know, is there something I can replace the molasses with? I can’t find it anywhere.
That I’m not sure – I found this but it will change the flavor of the final product. https://www.thespruceeats.com/molasses-substitute-1388891
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