Seriously Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Learn how to bake the best soft gingerbread cookies without any fuss or complicated ingredients. A definite holiday favorite- these soft gingerbread cookies are made with molasses and a variety of spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, making them perfect for Christmas baking!
Sing it with me…. it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas cookie season, woohoo!
Definitely in my top 5 favorite Christmas cookie recipes, these soft gingerbread cookies make an appearance every year at my house! Soft, chewy, and then rolled in sugar to create a crackly exterior, they really cannot be beat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
This is a quick overview of ingredients needed for this recipe. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list!
Tips & Tricks
- Chilling the Dough: I HIGHLY recommend chilling the dough for at least an hour for best results. I typically chill mine overnight and bake the next day.
- If chilling overnight, I like to set out the bowl of cookie dough to thaw on the counter before trying to scoop, shape, and roll the cookies. Letting the dough come to room temperature makes this process much easier.
- Baking: I always like to slightly underbake my cookies in order to obtain a chewier texture. They will continue to cook briefly on the cookie sheet once they are pulled out of the oven.
- Stand Mixer: If you don’t own a stand mixer, you can still easily make this recipe using a large bowl and an electric handheld mixer.
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a medium bowl, cream together softened butter and brown sugar until combined.
- Beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract until light (about 1 minute).
- Begin adding in the dry ingredients, mixing until combined.
- Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Once ready to bake the cookies, remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough has chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out and roll cookie dough into balls of equal size. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until they are just barely starting to turn golden brown and the edges appear set.
- For best results, let them sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
- Baked cookies will store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
As an alternative, you can chill and then roll out this gingerbread cookie dough and use cookie cutters to make fun and festive shapes. Top the shaped cookies with a simple royal icing, like the one featured in this sourdough sugar cookie recipe.
Recipe FAQs & Storage
Yes! My method for this is to scoop out balls of cookie dough and add them to a gallon sized freezer safe bag, making sure I store the bag laying flat in the freezer. Once you are ready to bake, you can pop the cookies straight from the freezer into the oven, or set out on the counter to thaw beforehand. If you are putting them straight in the oven from the freezer, you may need to adjust your baking time to allow the frozen dough extra time to bake.
These cookies store well at room temperature on the counter for up to 3 days, or an airtight container for up to 5 days. If you haven’t heard of the bread trick, definitely try it! Simply add a small slice of bread to your container to keep your cookies extra soft!
Yes. This dough can be made up to three days in advance. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to bake.
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Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
Description
A definite holiday favorite- these soft gingerbread cookies are made with molasses and a variety of spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, making them perfect for Christmas baking!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup 12 TB butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
Rolling the Cookies
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a medium bowl, cream together softened butter and brown sugar until combined.
- Beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract until light (about 1 minute).
- Begin adding in the dry ingredients, mixing until combined.
- Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Once ready to bake the cookies, remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough has chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two
by lining them with parchment paper or a
. Set aside.
baking sheetssilpat baking mat - Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out and roll cookie dough into balls of equal size. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until they are just barely starting to turn golden brown and the edges appear set.
- For best results, let them sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
- Baked cookies will store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- I HIGHLY recommend chilling the dough for at least an hour for best results. I typically chill mine overnight and bake the next day.
- If chilling overnight, I like to set out the bowl of cookie dough to thaw on the counter before trying to scoop, shape, and roll the cookies. Letting the dough come to room temperature makes this process much easier.
- I always like to slightly underbake my cookies in order to obtain a chewier texture. They will continue to cook briefly on the cookie sheet once they are pulled out of the oven.
- Storage: These cookies will store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 15
- Sodium: 240
- Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 29
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 12
If you loved this recipe for soft gingerbread cookies, make sure to come back and leave a comment and a 5 star rating! I would love to hear how these cookies turned out for you. Tag me on Instagram with your creations @ourhandcraftedhomeblog.
