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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.

gingerbread snowman and men with outlined royal icing and sprinkles


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.

Image showing labeled baking ingredients on a white surface. Ingredients include flour, baking soda, meringue powder, vinegar, spices, butter, egg, molasses, sugar, salt, and water. Each is contained in a separate bowl or container.

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.
A glass mixing bowl filled with a crumbly brown mixture, set on a white marble countertop.
A wooden rolling pin flattening gingerbread cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper on a white marble surface.

How to make Soft Gingerbread Cookies

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Cut out your cookies and chill again before baking on silicone baking mats or parchment paper – this ensures they’ll hold their shape.
A baking sheet with rolled-out gingerbread dough on parchment paper. Three cookie cutter shapes—a maple leaf, an evergreen tree, and a cloud—are pressed into the dough, with one tree shape cut out.

I roll out my cookie dough before I chill it – between sheets of parchment paper or wax paper – making it easier to roll and removing the mess of using a lightly floured surface.

  • Chill the dough: Once you’ve rolled out your cookie dough between the sheets of parchment, cover with plastic wrap and chill it until it’s firm before using cookie cutters to cut cookies.
  • If your dough is too soft to remove cut cookies to the cookie sheet, chill the dough again.
  • Before baking: Once you cut your shapes, I like to chill it again because the chances of spread are reduced if you bake these COLD. Plus, baking a cold cookie ensures softness and lessens the likelihood of an overdone cookie.
A hand holding a metal whisk attachment with smooth, whipped cream on its wires. The person has dark blue nail polish. The background is a plain, light surface.

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.

  1. Whisk the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
  2. 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).
  3. Mixing will take 7-10 minutes. It’s done when it’s no longer glossy.
  4. Pipe or frost as desired!
A baking tray with gingerbread cookies shaped like snowmen and trees. Theres a piping bag with white icing and bowls of colorful sprinkles. One cookie is partially decorated with icing and sprinkles.

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.
A cooling rack with gingerbread cookies shaped like Christmas trees and snowmen. Some cookies are plain, while others are decorated with white icing and colorful sprinkles. Scattered sprinkles and crumbs surround the rack.

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

My dough is too sticky and I can’t get my cookies off the parchment.

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.

Can I use apple cider vinegar?

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.

How do you make gingerbread cookies keep their shape during baking?

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.

Snowman-shaped gingerbread cookie with white icing and red, yellow, and green sprinkles on a cooling rack. More cookies are visible in the background.

Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

4.87 from 103 votes
These easy soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are the perfect holiday cutout cookie recipe!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 36 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie
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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
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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 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 from Christmas Gifts From the Kitchen, a complimentary Bell Savings cookbook.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 166IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.87 from 103 votes (64 ratings without comment)

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92 Comments

  1. Love, love, love this gingerbread cookie recipe. It’s quick, shapes don’t spread, and of course they are delicious!! My 92 year old father says they taste as good as the one his gramma made so many years ago.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

    1. I haven’t halved it – but you can either weigh the egg and use half, or probably just use the yolk. Let me know how it works!

      Reply

  3. This has been my go-to recipe for a few years now and I never even want to try another one! The cookies are so soft and delicious every time! Thank you!

    Reply

  4. I was wondering if , I can pre make the gingerbread dough and then freeze it for a couple of weeks. This is because we have to buy a new wall oven because ours went caboom ish.
    I’m trying to make some of my doughs ahead of time while we wait for the oven . I look forward to hear from you .
    Joy

    Reply

  5. I always thought my mom’s recipe for gingerbread men was the best. I now stand corrected! This past Christmas of 2020, I just needed to be swept away in the joys of cookie baking to soothe away the crumminess of everything that had transpired last year–namely Covid and the ugliness of the elections! My favorite Christmas cookie of all time has always been the traditional gingerbread men but I could not for the life of me find my mom’s recipe! To make matters worse, my own mother could not find her original recipe! So what’s a gal to do but search Google for the “best gingerbread recipe?” Lo & behold, your recipe was the first one to pop up! And I have to say, YOURS will now be my go-to recipe! (Shhhhh, don’t tell my mother)

    And do you want to know why this is now my favorite recipe for gingerbread men?! They really ARE soft & chewy, which is how I prefer my cookies! My mother’s always turned out rock hard and crispy until you frosted them and placed them in Tupperware to bring out that amazingly soft, chewy texture. BUT yours have remained soft & chewy without even having to frost them! I know, it’s a kind of cookie decorating blasphemy not to frost a gingerbread man & give him a little bit of life. But I have to say, I kind of prefer them without the frosting. And my mother-in-law had gifted me with the cutest cookie cutters which actually gave my gingerbread men eyes and a mouth, plus the words “Happy Holidays” across his tummy, so that gave him a little bit of life right there. Today is Jan. 19th and I am STILL enjoying these cookies since I’m the only one in my family who likes gingerbread (I know, they’re crazy, right?!) Oh well–more for me and I can make them last longer! There is absolutely NOTHING better than a gingerbread cookie & coffee in the morning!

    Anyway, I know I wrote a short little novella here, but KUDOS to you & your YUM-A-LICIOUS gingerbread recipe. I will be using nothing else for the rest of my Christmases to come! Happy 2021!

    Reply

      1. You’re quite welcome! I’m now on your e-mail list for more recipes. You hooked me with this gingerbread cookie recipe. I look forward to more recipes 😋

    2. This dough was a dream to work with. I made it exactly as said-tastes delicious, nice and soft. A definite keeper-thank you!

      Reply