These gingerbread nutcracker cookies are spiced, soft, chewy, and shaped like cute little nutcracker soldiers. They hold their shape well and don't spread in the oven. They're decorated with a simple and easy royal icing. Or, you could use pre-made store-bought cookie icing if you prefer for a shortcut. They're the perfect festive cut out gingerbread cookies to make and decorate with friends and family during the holidays. I made these gingerbread cookies for my 2025 Nutcracker themed holiday cookie boxes.
These cookies are based on my soft gingerbread cookies recipe, but here they're decorated with royal icing instead of buttercream for sturdier decorations.
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🥜 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Adorable Nutcracker cookie shapes: Nothing says festive like the nostalgic Nutcracker made into a delicious soft and spiced gingerbread cookie.
- 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 have an easy two ingredient frosting that looks and sets just like royal icing.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- 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 my viral gingerbread brownies.
- 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.
👩🍳 How to make nutcracker cookies
Gingerbread cookies step by step
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 the nutcracker cookies 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, rerolling scraps. Outline the cookies and decorate with icing.
You don't need a lot of icing and you can opt for store-bought icing as a shortcut. Homemade royal icing is much smoother and easier to pipe with. The recipe for homemade royal icing is at the very bottom of this recipe with the ingredients!
✔️ Expert gingerbread cookie tips
- Reroll the scraps between two sheets of parchment paper and chill as needed
- These gingerbread cookies won't spread and lose their shape, but they will puff up and out so leave some space between them in the oven.
- Don't overbake the cookies: If you overbake them they're going to be hard and tough as opposed to soft and chewy.
🥄 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. Cut and bake when you want fresh, soft gingerbread cookies.
Once the cookies are baked, freeze undecorated or decorated cookies in an airtight bag or container.
The baked and decorated cookies can be stored in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months.
❔ 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 gingerbread nutcracker 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.
📖 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.
🎄 More related cookie recipes
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📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Nutcracker Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- 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
Royal Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar or icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder not egg white powder
- 10 tablespoons water room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- 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.
Royal Icing
- Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder into a large bowl or stand mixer with a whisk attachment.4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- Add water and vanilla extract to the powdered sugar. Start on low speed to prevent an icing cloud, and increase the speed until high speed for 2 minutes.10 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- When you lift up the whisk, the icing drizzle should disappear into the bowl in 6-8 seconds. If the icing is too thin, whip for another minute (the longer you whip the thicker it gets), and if that doesn't work, add more icing sugar. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time, mixing to get the correct consistency.
- Transfer the icing into a piping bag with the tip cut off. You can reserve any leftover royal icing in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to two months. Defrost and re-whip before using.
- Pipe outlines on the cookies, waistcoat button lines, and any designs that you like! Lay the cookies out in a single layer for a few hours or overnight to let the icing set before storing them in airtight containers or bags.
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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