Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

This classic gingerbread cookie recipe is soft and delicious. I love the crunchy gingerbread in gingerbread houses, but I prefer my cookies to be soft and chewy.

This recipe provides a perfect dough for cutout shapes (similar to sugar cookies) with all the cinnamon and spice flavor you love about gingerbread.

Gingerbread cookies are my husband’s favorite cookie and I make this recipe over and over again every holiday season. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Related recipes: Snowball Cookies, Pinwheel Cookies, and Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Gingerbread cookie ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup black molasses
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cloves

How to make gingerbread cookies:

1. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and all spices. Set the mixture aside.
2. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until completely combined (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides as necessary.
3. Slowly add molasses, eggs, and vinegar until completely combined. It is normal for the mixture to appear curdled.
4. Slowly add flour mixture, scraping down sides as needed. Make sure the bottom and top of the bowl are both fully joined. If the dough is crumbly, it’s not mixed thoroughly.
5. Divide the dough into 3-5 flat balls and wrap them in plastic wrap.
6. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Cooling is an essential step to create cutout shapes with clean edges. If you omit this step, the cookies may lose their shape while baking.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Roll the dough, using a little flour if necessary. i use Cooking sheet If the dough is sticky, roll it up. To make soft, delicious cookies, the dough should be about half an inch thick.
9. Place the cut out shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Collect and reroll shapes as needed. There is no need to chill the dough again unless it becomes very soft.
10. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the tin for 5 minutes before transferring.
11. Decorate the cookies as you like. I used the royal icing recipe as a reference. There is also a recipe for vegan royal icing.

Tips for making gingerbread cookies:

• If you prefer crunchy gingerbread, roll out the dough thinner (1/4 inch) and bake for 12 minutes instead of 10.
• You can use light or dark molasses, but do not use blackstrap or cooking molasses. Otherwise, the cookies will be bitter. I used the brand Grandma’s Original Molasseseasily found in the US
• here is the link christmas cookie cutter I used it.

More holiday recipes:

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PS Did you like this post? Check out my Gingerbread House Decorating Party.