These gingerbread cookies are soft, hold their shape well, and are perfectly spiced. They don’t spread in the oven and are the perfect cookies to make for the holidays. These gingerbread cookies are decorated with a simple buttercream that’s so easy to make and pipe. They’re the perfect cut out cookies to make and decorate with friends and family, and taste so much better than store bought.
These easy gingerbread cinnamon rolls would be perfect for Christmas morning or brunch!
Jump to:
- 🍪 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- 📝 Key ingredients
- ✔️ Ingredient substitutions
- 👩🍳 How to make and cut out gingerbread cookies
- 👩🍳 How to make frosting for cookies
- ❔ What can I use to decorate gingerbread cookies?
- ❔ How do I prevent gingerbread cookies from spreading?
- 🎄 Make ahead and storage
- 💚 How to make Gingy cookies from Shrek
- 📖 Recipe FAQs
- More gingerbread and cookie recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
🍪 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Soft & no spread: Exactly the type of cookie recipe you need for cut out cookies. They will keep their shape and stay soft.
- Gingerbread: The mixture of molasses and spices keeps these cookies so nostalgic and perfect for the holidays. So much better than storebought!
- Easy: The cookie dough is easy to whip up and I used buttercream for the details on top. You can also use royal icing.
📝 Key ingredients
This recipe consist of two components: The soft gingerbread cookie and the buttercream piped details.
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
Gingerbread cookie ingredients
- Molasses: You're looking for an unsulphured, baking molasses. Medium or dark will both work great. You do not want to use blackstrap molasses because it's too bitter and not sweet enough. Use leftover molasses to make these gooey gingerbread cinnamon rolls.
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
- Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom: These spices give the gingerbread lots of flavor and a bit of spice. The cardamom is optional but it really adds to the flavor.
- Butter: Good quality real butter gives the best texture and flavor.
- Brown sugar: Dark or golden brown sugar both work great.
Buttercream piping ingredients
- Butter: Good quality real butter will give the best flavor and texture.
- Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar. This sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract gives the frosting flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream: This is used to fluff up and thin out the buttercream if needed. Cream works the best for this but if you don't have any, you can use milk (add a teaspoon at a time as needed).
✔️ Ingredient substitutions
- Cloves: substitute with allspice which has a very similar flavor profile
- Royal icing: Substitute buttercream with royal icing if you plan on stacking or shipping the cookies. Otherwise buttercream is easier to make and tastes better.
👩🍳 How to make and cut out gingerbread cookies
Step 1: Beat softened butter, brown sugar, and salt until light and creamy.
Step 2: Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides.
Add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom (optional) into the same bowl. Beat until combined.
Step 3: Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Fold the flour into the wet ingredients just until it forms a dough and no more dry bits of flour remain.
Step 4: Do not overmix. It may be a bit sticky but it will firm up when the cookie dough cools.
Step 5: Divide the dough in half. Place one half of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out until ¼” thick.
Repeat with the other half. Place both sheets of dough in parchment paper on top of each other on a baking sheet to keep them flat. Freeze for 30-60 minutes (or overnight) to firm up.
Step 6: Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel off the parchment paper (see tip below). Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookie shapes, keeping them as close to each other as possible. Remove the excess cookie dough around the cookie shapes, set them aside.
Tip: Take out one sheet of cookie dough. Peel the top layer of parchment paper off. Put it back on without pressing it down, flip the cookie sheet over, and peel the back layer of parchment paper off. This helps make it easier to cut out cookies. The cookie dough should be laying on top of a sheet of parchment paper with nothing on top.
Step 7: Transfer the cut out cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch of space in between. If they're not cold anymore, pop the cut cookies back in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Step 8: Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the tops of the cookies stop being shiny and puff up a bit.
Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough and reroll the cookie scraps between parchment paper, reusing the parchment paper sheets.
Decorate with buttercream or royal icing to make the cookies come to life! Or use a simple glaze to dip the cookies. I added sparkly sugar on the buttons.
Tip: Use royal icing to decorate the cookies if you plan on stacking them. Royal icing will harden and not get ruined. I used buttercream because it's easier and more delicious.
👩🍳 How to make frosting for cookies
A simple buttercream frosting is the way to go for an easy way to decorate cookies! It piped beautifully and tastes great. I love to use it to top these soft sugar cookies.
Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and salt, and beat until very creamy and light in color. Use an electric or stand mixer. Add vanilla extract and heavy cream (or milk) to make it light and fluffy if needed.
This buttercream is easy to pipe and crusts over so that it's easy to handle on the cookies as well.
❔ What can I use to decorate gingerbread cookies?
Any type of frosting will work great! I used an American buttercream that crusts over so that once it crusts it won't smudge as much.
I like using American buttercream because it's so easy to make and pipe onto cookies! It also tastes great and is creamy.
For sturdier decorations, use royal icing. Once it dries, it can withstand packaging and stacking.
❔ How do I prevent gingerbread cookies from spreading?
These soft gingerbread cookies shouldn't spread and will hold their shape well during baking. They may puff up a bit because they're a soft cookie.
- Measure flour with a scale: This will give the most accurate flour measurements to get a dough that isn't too soft and isn't too dry.
- Chill the cookie dough: This gingerbread cookie dough should be sticky once mixed together. Roll it out between sheets of parchment paper and freeze - it will firm up. Don't use flour to roll them out because they won't turn out as soft.
- Bake chilled cookies: Pop the cut out cookies into the freezer right before baking if they get too warm while you work with them. This will prevent oven spread.
- Don't overbake: The cookies will continue to bake out of the oven. For soft, perfect cookies, you want them to be slightly underdone. The cookies are baked when the tops aren't shiny anymore and they are puffed up.
🎄 Make ahead and storage
These make ahead and storage tips will make your holiday prep a breeze!
The gingerbread cookie dough can be made, rolled out, and frozen for up to a few weeks. Bake and cut when you want fresh soft gingerbread cookies! Another great Christmas cookie dough that you can freeze and slice into round cookies right before baking are these peppermint shortbread cookies.
Once the cookies are baked, freeze undecorated in an airtight bag or container. Layer the cookies flat and place wax or parchment paper between the layers to be extra careful and prevent sticking. Freeze in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months.
I don't recommend freezing decorated cookies because the frosting or royal icing will get ruined.
The baked and decorated cookies can be stored in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. I recommend adding wax or parchment paper between the layers of cookies.
💚 How to make Gingy cookies from Shrek
Use a gingerbread man to cut out the cookie dough. Gingy has straight arms and legs so use a similar one.
You're going to need three colors of frosting or royal icing: baby blue, red, and white.
- Using white: pipe eyes, arm squiggles, leg squiggles, and a waist squiggle. Pipe stitches on the legs that Lord Farquaad broke in the classic Gingy interrogation scene.
- Using blue: pipe raised eyebrows
- Using red: Pipe open mouth expressions.
Use white frosting or royal icing to help attach two purple gumdrop buttons. Not the gumdrop buttons! I used purple round sprinkles, moistened them with water, and coated in granulated sugar. You can use real gumdrop buttons if you can find them.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Yes! Freeze undecorated, baked gingerbread cookies in an airtight bag or container. Layer the cookies flat and place wax or parchment paper between the layers to be extra careful and prevent sticking.
Freeze in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months.
Yes you can. I recommend dropping the temperature by 15 degrees and baking for longer so that it dries out more. This will give you a sturdier gingerbread cookie that will hold up well as a gingerbread house.
You can use American buttercream or
More gingerbread and cookie recipes
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📖 Recipe
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup molasses unsulphured, and not blackstrap
- 1 tablespoon ginger ground
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon ground
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon cloves ground
- ½ teaspoon cardamom ground (optional)
- 3 ¾ cup all purpose flour 450g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Buttercream
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream more as needed to get pipeable consistency
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, and salt. Beat until light and creamy, scraping down the sides.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides.1 large egg, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, ½ cup molasses
- Add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom (optional) into the same bowl. Beat until combined.1 tablespoon ginger, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon cardamom
- Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Fold the flour into the wet ingredients just until it forms a dough and no more dry bits of flour remain. Do not overmix.3 ¾ cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Divide the dough in half. Place one half of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out until ¼” thick. Do the same with the other half. Place both sheets of dough in parchment paper on top of each other on a baking sheet to keep them flat. Freeze for 30-60 minutes (or overnight) to firm up.
- Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take out one sheet of cookie dough. Peel the top layer of parchment paper off. Put it back on without pressing it down, flip the cookie sheet over, and peel the back layer of parchment paper off. This helps make it easier to cut out cookies. The cookie dough should be laying on top of a sheet of parchment paper with nothing on top.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookie shapes, keeping them as close to each other as possible. Remove the excess cookie dough around the cookie shapes, set them aside.
- Transfer the cut out cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch of space in between. If they're not cold anymore, pop the cut cookies back in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the tops of the cookies stop being shiny and puff up a bit. Remove from the oven and transfer to cooling racks with a spatula to cool completely.
- Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough and reroll the cookie scraps between parchment paper, reusing the parchment paper sheets.
Buttercream
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, add butter. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy and lightened in color.½ cup butter
- Add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, beating well in between each addition. Continue beating well for about 5 minutes, until super1 cup powdered sugar
- Add salt and vanilla extract. Beat well to combine. Add heavy whipping cream and beat well to lighten the texture of the buttercream.⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- Transfer buttercream to a piping bag or zippered sandwich bag with the end cut off and pipe designs on top of the gingerbread cookies. I decorated mine with smiles, buttons, and squiggles. I added sparkly sugar on the buttons
Video
Notes
- Measure flour with a scale: This will give the most accurate flour measurements to get a dough that isn't too soft and isn't too dry.
- Chill the cookie dough: This gingerbread cookie dough should be sticky once mixed together. Roll it out between sheets of parchment paper and freeze - it will firm up. Don't use flour to roll them out because they won't turn out as soft.
- Bake chilled cookies: Pop the cut out cookies into the freezer right before baking if they get too warm while you work with them. This will prevent oven spread.
- Don't overbake: The cookies will continue to bake out of the oven. For soft, perfect cookies, you want them to be slightly underdone. The cookies are baked when the tops aren't shiny anymore and they are puffed up.
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