Easy Gingerbread Cookies
on Dec 05, 2022, Updated Nov 09, 2023
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Gingerbread Cookies are my love language, especially if they are soft and chewy! Not only is my take on this classic recipe so simple, but it’s also foolproof. I know gingerbread men🎄 look extremely difficult to make, so I want to show you how simple and fun these can be.
Why You’ll Love Easy Gingerbread Cookies
This fun holiday 🎄 cookie recipe is such a wonderful way for you to continue to celebrate or start the Christmas season with your family. Letting little ones help decorate and even mix ingredients will help you create sweet memories like the ones I have with my family from an early age.
You may notice these have less sugar than in similar recipes. I like to reduce the sugar in almost all my baking recipes, so these cookies are not overly sweet. This means they’re healthier too! Don’t forget to let me know in the comments what you think.
How to Prepare Easy Gingerbread Cookies
🥣 Use a stand mixer (or a handheld mixer with a large bowl) to beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, molasses, and vanilla, mixing until combined. Then, on low speed, gradually add spices and flour until a tacky dough forms.
🧊 Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or up to 3 days).
🎅 Once chilled, roll the dough out on a floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a gingerbread cookie cutter and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Re-roll any leftover dough scraps to make more cookies.
🔥 Bake the cookies at 350°F for 9-10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely before decorating with white icing or any preferred decorations.
Nonna’s Tip 🤶
If you don’t have all of the spices listed, make sure to at least add ginger and cinnamon. You can also use a tablespoon of “pumpkin pie spice” instead if you’re in a rush.
Variations and Substitutions For Gingerbread Cookies
These cookies are so much easier than they look. Feel free to mix it up with some of these changes and let me know in the comments! ❄️
- You can certainly change the cookie-cutter shapes or sizes, and you could even make mini gingerbread cookies to have some bite-sized treats.
- Feel free to experiment with different icing flavors and colors to decorate the cookies. You can also use colored sugars, sprinkles, or even chocolate to add a different look to your easy gingerbread cookies.
- If you need to make a dairy-free cookie, consider using margarine or a dairy-free butter substitute.
- If you prefer a milder flavor, you can use light molasses instead of dark molasses.
Other Holiday Recipes
Garlic Bread Christmas Tree
30 mins
Antipasti Christmas Wreath
10 mins
Holiday Butter Board
20 mins
Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
35 mins
Popular Easy Cookies
Looking for even more holiday cookie joy? Check out one of these or even my Festive Holiday Cookies to share with Santa 🎅 or your friends and family during this season.
Common Questions
If you don’t have all of these spices make sure to add ginger and cinnamon at least.
You can also use a tablespoon of “pumpkin pie spiceu0022 instead as it will be a delicious alternative too.
Yes, you can try using 1-1 baking gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free.
You can get creative and use different colored icing, you can use candy bows or any shapes you think are fun.
The cookie dough is perfect in the fridge for a few days or even frozen for months.
I use Redmond Real Salt, please note that depending on the salt you use, your dish may be less or more salty. Salt is always to taste. Always taste and adjust as you cook.
While 1 cup of flour weighs 160g in my kitchen, it might weigh anywhere from 120 to 180g in your kitchen and there’s a few reasons for that. The weight of ingredients may vary due to the brand of ingredients, the brand and style (wet vs dry) of measuring cups and spoons, and the technique for measuring into cups: scooping and leveling versus spooning the ingredients into the cup measure. For best results, go by the weight you see in the recipe.
Easy Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter , unsalted and softened, (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup molasses, for baking
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- white icing , for decorating
- any candy or shape, for the buttons
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a handheld mixer and a separate large mixing bowl) beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, molasses and vanilla, beat on medium speed until combined. Reduce the speed to low, and gradually add the spices plus the flour until you have a tacky dough. Pour the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it up into a square disc.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of three hours. I left mine overnight as the dough can stay in the fridge up to three days.
- Once the dough is refrigerated, flour the counter, take out the dough, add flour on top and some on the rolling pin too. Begin to roll it out. The dough should be rolled out to 1/4-inch thickness. Rolling it out the first time will be harder as the dough will be very stiff but as you continue to roll out the scraps it’s going to get easy so don't panic.
- Cut out the shapes — I used a 4" gingerbread cookie cutter and placed each cut out cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Any scraps that are left over can be shaped into a disk, flour the top of the disk, roll it out again and then cut out more cookies until the dough is completely finished. Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes. Let them cool completely and decorate with white icing any way you like.
Nonna’s Notes
- Shapes and sizes: You can certainly change the cookie-cutter shapes or sizes, and you could even make mini gingerbread cookies to have some bite-sized treats.
- Icings and sprinkles: Feel free to experiment with different icing flavors and colors to decorate the cookies. You can also use colored sugars, sprinkles, or even chocolate to add a different look to your easy gingerbread cookies.
- Dairy-free: If you need to make a dairy-free cookie, consider using margarine or a dairy-free butter substitute.
- Molasses flavors: If you prefer a milder flavor, you can use light molasses instead of dark molasses.
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So soft and delicious! These are perfect for Christmas! Can’t wait to make these with my little!
Hi!
Can you tell me how much butter you used in grams. Cup sizes vary across the world.
85 grams 🙂