Gingerbread Cookies
These gingerbread cookies are the taste of the holidays—soft, spiced, and full of cheer. Made with molasses, brown sugar, and warm spices like cinnamon and ginger, they bake up perfectly chewy with that classic festive flavor. Whether you’re decorating them with icing or enjoying them straight from the oven, they’re the cookies that make every kitchen smell like Christmas.
Break out the cookie cutters and cue up Wham! Last Christmas, because if Christmas had a soundtrack, these gingerbread cutout cookies would be track one.
These cookies are bringing major nostalgic holiday vibes—warm spices, molasses, cozy feels, and just the right amount of fun.
They’re easy to make, fun to decorate, and perfect for baking with the kids while your favorite 80s Christmas classics play in the background.
So put on your coziest sweater, pop in A Christmas Story, and get ready for a baking day that’s as festive as a neon-lit Christmas tree.
If you want to give your heart to gingerbread, check out my gingerbread cookie bars, gingerbread cupcakes, and gingerbread cake.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies
Step 1: Make the cookie dough. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until the cookie dough comes together.
Step 2: Chill the cookie dough. Form the cookie dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Roll and cut the cookie dough. Use a rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut out the cookies with your favorite holiday cookie cutters.
Step 4: Bake the cookies. Preheat the oven and prepare baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Place the cookies on the pan and bake for about 10 minutes.
Step 5: Make the royal icing. Whip the egg whites, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
Step 6: Decorate the cookies. Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #2 piping tip with the royal icing and decorate the cookies.
Courtney’s Expert Cookie Baking Tips
- Use a rolling pin with thickness rings to help you roll out the cookie dough evenly.
- After cutting out the cookies, form the dough scraps into a ball and re-roll the cookie dough. I recommend doing this only once because the cookies can start to get tough.
- For easy rolling and clean up, roll out the dough on a flour-dusted parchment sheet. You can easily move the dough around or re-chill it, if needed.
- If the dough becomes too warm and difficult to work with, roll out the cookie dough and then chill the rolled out dough in the refrigerator on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan for 10 minutes to firm it up.
- If you would like sharp and defined icing lines like the cookies pictured, do not thin out the royal icing with water. You want it to have a stiff consistency so it maintains shape.
- If you would like to flood the cookies with royal icing, I recommend doubling the ingredients of the royal icing recipe.
- Make sure that the royal icing is completely dry before you stack or store the cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this cookie recipe, I used 3-inch cookie cutters, but you can use larger or smaller cookie cutters. The baking time may vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter. For larger cookies, add a minute or two onto the baking time and for smaller cookies, decrease the baking time by one or two minutes. The cookies are done baking when they are puffed up and set on the edges.
Yes, it is safe to eat as long as you use a pasteurized egg. If you prefer, you can check out my easy royal icing recipe which is made with meringue powder rather than egg whites.
Yes, for this recipe, you don’t want to skip on chilling the cookie dough. Chilling the dough not only helps the rolling and cutting of the cookies, but helps to control spreading as the cookies are baking.
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Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (169 g) molasses
- 1 (1) large egg (room temperature)
- 2 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (2 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp (2 g) ground ginger
- 1 tsp (4 g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (3 g) salt
- ¼ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp (1 g) ground cloves
Royal Icing
- 1 large egg white (room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the unsalted butter and light brown sugar for a few minutes until smooth and creamy. Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until the cookie dough comes together.
- Form the cookie dough into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the cookie dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator..
- While the cookie dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters and place the cookies on the prepared pans.
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until the edges are set. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a medium mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, add the large egg white. Mix the egg white on medium speed for 1 minute until it starts to froth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip the icing until stiff peaks form.
Decorating the Cookies
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #2 round piping tip with the royal icing. Decorate the cooled gingerbread cookies with the royal icing and add colorful holiday sprinkles or candies, if desired.
Notes
- Room temperature: Store the cookies in an airtight container or in a resealable storage bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. Make sure the royal icing is fully dried before stacking the cookies.
- Refrigerator: Store the cookie dough discs in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Roll and bake as directed.
- Freezer: Store the cookie dough discs in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw for 1 to 2 hours and then roll and bake as directed. Store the baked and unfrosted cookies in an airtight container or freezer-safe storage bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
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