20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2024)

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (1)

Whether it's decorated like a house or transformed into cute (but tasty) people, here is something about gingerbread that makes it only appropriate for Christmas time. Now that we think about it, have we ever really seen gingerbread cookies outside of the holidays? Nevertheless, gingerbread cookies are a must when it comes to Christmas cookie baking. Even if you aren't a fan of them yourself, you can't ignore how good they smell baking in the oven, or how cute they look decorated with some royal icing, sprinkles, edible glitter, and occasionally, some frosting filling.

You can never go wrong with the classic gingerbread man cookie shape, but we compiled 21 different gingerbread cookie recipes in case you were looking to get a little more creative this year. From gingerbread stockings to sandwiches and even stencils, there is sure to be a cute gingerbread cookie recipe that will become your best kept secret for years to come.

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1

Gingerbread Men Smores

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2)

These chocolate and cream cheese marshmallow s'more sandwiches are the ultimate sweet treat.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Men S'mores.

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2

Gingerbread Trains

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (3)

Choo! Choo! This is the perfect recipe for those creative bakers out there who want more of a challenge.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Trains.

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3

Gingerbread Girls

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (4)

Customize these gingerbread girls with candy, sprinkles, and icing.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Girls.

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4

Hang the Stockings Gingerbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (5)

Hang one of these cookies on your tree for an edible decoration.

Get the recipe for Hang the Stockings Gingerbread Cookies.

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5

Chocolate-Gingerbread Hugs

These cookies blend chocolate with ginger spices to create a delicious combination of flavors. A hug tops the cookie off to give it a hint of vanilla.

Get the recipe for Chocolate-Gingerbread Hugs.

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6

Reindeer Gingbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (7)

Looking to change it up? Use a gingerbread cookie cutter to make cutouts that can be made into reindeer when turned upside down.

Get the recipe for Reindeer Gingerbread Cookie.

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7

Gingerbread Snow Angels

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (8)

This gingerbread man will look so cute making icing and sugar snow angels.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Snow Angels.

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8

Gingerbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (9)

You can't go wrong with a classic gingerbread cookie recipe.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Cookies.

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9

Gingerbread Animals

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (10)

These cute gingerbread animals put the regular gingerbread men to shame.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Animals.

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10

Gingerbread Village

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (11)

Why stop at a gingerbread house when you can design this gorgeous gingerbread village?

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Village.

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11

Gingerbread Polar Bears and Frosted Stars

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (12)

Instead of gingerbread men, make polar bears complete with a fluffy white shredded coconut fur this Christmas.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Polar Bears and Frosted Stars.

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12

Gingerbread Cookie Trees

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (14)

These spiced cookies taste so good that you won't be too sad to see your display disappear within seconds. Consider it compliments to the chef.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Cookie Trees.

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13

Chocolate Gingerbread Snow Angels

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (16)

This one's for the chocolate lovers! Add some cocoa to your favorite Christmas gingerbread cookie for a rich, chocolaty flavor.

Get the recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Snow Angels.

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14

Gingerbread Cookie Wands

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (18)

Crispy cookie wands covered in edible glitter and sprinkles that have a hint of pumpkin spice.

Get the recipe from Good Housekeeping.

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15

Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (19)

Lemon icing gives these gingerbread trees with crystallized sugar on top a citrus zing to these cookies.

Get the recipe from Delish.

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16

Stenciled Gingerbread

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (20)

These gorgeous cookies use cocoa powder and sugar to create snowflake and holly stencils on these thin gingerbread cookies.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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17

Gingerbread Snowflakse

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (21)

These elegantly iced snowflakes will look gorgeous as a centerpiece for any table.

Get the recipe from Delish.

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18

S'mores Gingerbread Cookie Cups

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (22)

Combine gooey marshmallow cream, chocolate chips, and spicy gingerbread cookie dough to make these mouthwatering treats.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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19

Caramel-Gingerbread Cookie Bars

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (24)

We're drooling over these beauties. Decorate them with mini gingerbread men sprinkles for a clever touch.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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20

Caramel Gingerbread Cookie Cups

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (26)

Taking a bite into these cookie cups will fill your mouth with flavors of sugary caramel, spicy cinnamon, and creamy vanilla.

Get the recipe at Delish.

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

What do gingerbread cookies have to do with Christmas? ›

In the late 17th century, gingerbread became associated with Christmas. Russian bakers prepared gingerbread men and women, usually as replicas of those people attending parties. Gingerbread houses were introduced about 200 years later, when the Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel. A new holiday tradition was born.

Why are my gingerbread cookies bland? ›

Mistake #1: Underseasoning your dough

Something has definitely gone wrong if your gingerbread is bland and doesn't have a distinct ginger flavor. To prevent this from happening, Lomas recommends using several different types of ginger: dried ground ginger, fresh ginger and candied ginger.

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

What is America's favorite holiday cookie? ›

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What is the best gingerbread in the world? ›

Victorian cook Sarah Nelson invented Grasmere Gingerbread® in 1854 in the English Lake District village from where it gets its name. A unique, spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and cake, its reputation quickly spread and it is now enjoyed by food lovers all over the world.

What are gingerbread men called now? ›

Some bakeries are now calling gingerbread men by the gender neutral term “gingerbread people.” Do you agree with the change? - Quora. How can people be worried about this nonsense when millions of gingerbread babies are aborted each and every single day?

What country is gingerbread from? ›

Historians trace the holiday custom of baking and decorating of gingerbread houses to 16th century Germany. There, elaborately decorated gingerbread cookie-walled houses began showing up in bakery shop windows.

How to decorate Christmas gingerbread? ›

Classic Gingerbread Men

Just stir up a batch of easy royal icing (it's our Test Kitchen's favorite frosting for decorating cutout cookies), add it to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and pipe away! You can use small candies and sprinkles to add more detail. It's Christmastime, so go crazy with the extras!

What are some fun facts about gingerbread? ›

5 Things You Might Not Know About Gingerbread
  • Originally gingerbread was made with honey and breadcrumbs. ...
  • Queen Elizabeth once served her guests miniature gingerbread versions of themselves. ...
  • Children could learn the alphabet using gingerbread letters. ...
  • Queen Victoria enjoyed sharing gingerbread with her dog.

Why do Christmases eat gingerbread? ›

According to Epicure & Culture, gingerbread was sacred, and the only time it was allowed to be made by the general public was during Christmas and Easter. So, that's probably why it's seen as a Christmas delicacy. It's all in the timing. And once an association builds, it's just hard to shake.

Why is my gingerbread spicy? ›

Two secret ingredients take this gingerbread to the next level: black pepper and cayenne. They add a deep, complex heat you just can't get from the other spices on their own. My favorite part of making this recipe is pouring the boiling water over the molasses and baking soda.

Why is my gingerbread falling apart? ›

From doubling up on molasses to using too much flour, there is a lot that can go wrong. Forgetting the molasses resulted in a crumbly cookie that was light in color. Combining all ingredients at once created lumps in the finished product.

What brings out the flavor in cookies? ›

Caramelizing the sugar beforehand brings bright notes to your cookies, but you can further expand your dessert's flavor profile by playing with proteins.

What is the #1 cookie in the US? ›

Nearly 93% of all American households serve and enjoy cookies as treats or after meals. However, it's the chocolate chip cookie that's the most popular in the U.S. and around the world. How much do youknow about chocolate chip cookies?

What is the original Christmas cookie? ›

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

What is the least favorite Christmas cookie? ›

On the naughty list of cookies, Americans gave the lowest win records to anise cookies, which only won 29% of its matchups.

What is America's favorite cookie? ›

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Timeless Classic. It's no surprise that chocolate chip cookies consistently rank as one of the most beloved treats in the United States.

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