Gingerbread Cookies (2024)

Perfect for a cookie exchange during the holiday season or to decorate to leave out with a glass of milk by the fireplace, these old fashioned gingerbread cookies are a holiday favorite. Packed with warming spices and sweet brown sugar, these cookies are fun to make, decorate, and eat! The dough is so easy to work with, making this the best gingerbread cookie recipe you’ll ever make. Easily decorated with some homemade royal icing, these cookies are going to be your new holiday favorite. For another holiday treat, try my yule log recipe, rugelach, or linzer cookies.

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Spices — I use a combination of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. When combined, these spices give the cookies a traditional richly spiced flavor. For another spiced cookie, try my ginger snap recipe.

Butter — be sure to buy unsalted butter and not salted butter. Various brands of salted butter do not have a standardized amount of salt. Make sure the butter is soft enough so when you press into it, your finger leaves a dent. If it’s cold, it’ll be challenging to beat it into a smooth consistency.

Brown sugar — brown sugar gives the cookies a chewy texture. If you do not have brown sugar, see my guide on how to make brown sugar.

Molasses — I recommend using unsulphured molasses when possible as it yields soft cookies and a better-tasting gingerbread man cookie. I prefer this over blackstrap molasses.

Powdered sugar — the sugar sweetens and thickens the icing. If you do not have any on hand, see my post on how to make powdered sugar at home.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed and mix until it’s fluffy.

3. Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla and then mix until combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix once more.

4. Gradually add in the flour mixture until a nice dough is formed. Roll into disks, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. This dough really needs time to chill so don’t rush it!

5. Preheat the oven to 350F. On a well-floured surface roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Flour the top and your rolling pin as well and make sure to move the gingerbread cookie dough around so it doesn’t stick.

6. Cut out the gingerbread people with a cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking sheet. Bake your gingerbread cookies for 10 minutes and let them cool on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

7. To make the royal icing, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, add cream of tartar and mix together. Add an egg white and mix until combined. Add a teaspoon of vanilla if desired then whisk in water until the desired consistency is reached. Transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or with the tip snipped off.

8. Once your chewy gingerbread cookies are cool, pipe a shirt, pants, and facial details. Attach sprinkles for buttons and eyes. You can also add candy cane nuggets for gingerbread people with bent arms.

Pro Tips for this recipe

• Adding too much flour will lead to the cookies being dense and dry. The best and easiest way to measure the flour is by using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it.
• If you don’t have piping bags to decorate the gingerbread men, you can use a zip-top bag and cut off the corner of the bag once the icing is inside.
• If you are concerned about using raw egg whites for the royal icing, use egg whites from pasteurized eggs.
• You can make the gingerbread recipe spicier with more ginger or reduce the spices for a milder taste.
• If you’re not a royal icing fan then try whipping up a small batch of buttercream and decorating with that instead. They will need longer to set but your gingerbread men will be delicious and look great.
• For the best gingerbread cookies, don’t rush the chill time! It’s very important as this is a soft dough. If you want a quick cookie then add the same spices to my no spread sugar cookie recipe!

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance can you make the dough?

You can make this dough up to three months in advance! Wrap well in plastic and freeze, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and cutting with cookie cutters.

How can you make the cookies flatter?

If you like a crisper gingerbread cookie with less puffing then reduce the leavening agents and add 1/4 cup of corn starch. You can also scale back the molasses.

How should you store these?

Store leftover gingerbread men cookies in an airtight container for up to three weeks in the refrigerator. They can be left at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container. Over time, the cookies will lose moisture and become drier.

Can you Freeze Gingerbread cookies?

You have a few options here!

• Freeze the dough for up to three months. Wrap well in plastic and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling, cutting, and baking.
• Freeze undecorated baked cookies for up to three months. It’s best to freeze them on a baking sheet or cooling rack and then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Add a sheet of parchment paper between each cookie to prevent sticking.

If you’ve tried this Gingerbread Cookies recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!