
Our greatest gingerbread cookie recipe! These festive treats are comfortable and warmly spiced, with a wealthy molasses taste. Excellent for spreading vacation cheer!
What could possibly be extra festive than gingerbread cookies?! With Christmas only a few weeks away, I’m prepared to show up the vacation cheer round right here, and making this gingerbread cookie recipe looks as if an amazing place to begin. For one, it makes the home scent wonderful, filling it with the comforting aroma of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. It’s additionally a blast to make–rolling out the dough, slicing out gingerbread individuals, baking them, and adorning them as soon as they cool.
However extra vital than all of that, these gingerbread cookies are scrumptious! They’re comfortable, warmly spiced, and richly flavored with molasses and brown sugar. To me, they’re the right vacation deal with, particularly with a mug of sizzling chocolate to drink. I hope you’re keen on them too.
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe Components
Right here’s what you’ll must make this gingerbread cookie recipe:
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and stage it to keep away from packing an excessive amount of into your measuring cup.
- Unsalted butter – Enable it to return to room temperature earlier than you begin to bake.
- Brown sugar and molasses – They sweeten the cookies and add wealthy molasses taste. We’ve had success baking these cookies with Healthful and Brer Rabbit blackstrap molasses.
- An egg yolk – It makes the cookies extra-soft and chewy.
- Baking soda – It helps the cookies rise.
- Floor ginger, cinnamon, and cloves – They provide these gingerbread cookies their signature spice.
- Vanilla extract – For heat depth of taste.
- Almond milk – For moisture. Every other milk, equivalent to cow’s milk or oat milk, would work right here too.
- And sea salt – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements beneath.
The way to Make Gingerbread Cookies
When you’ve assembled your elements (is your butter at room temperature?), this gingerbread cookie recipe is easy to make:
First, make the dough. Utilizing an electrical mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar collectively till mild and fluffy. Combine within the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the dry elements–the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Step by step add the dry elements to the moist combination, mixing after every addition. Lastly, combine within the almond milk.
Then, chill the dough. Divide it into two equal disks, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for no less than 2 hours. Chilling the dough permits it to agency up, making it simpler to roll out.
Subsequent, roll out the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll out the primary disk on a calmly floured floor till it’s 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to chop out your required shapes (I all the time do gingerbread males and snowflakes!). Re-roll and reduce out the dough scraps as vital. Repeat with the remaining dough disk.
Lastly, bake the cookies. Organize the cut-outs on parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake in a 350°F oven till the perimeters are simply set however the middles are nonetheless comfortable. I prefer to bake one sheet at time on the middle oven rack in order that the cookies bake evenly. Allow them to cool for five minutes on the baking sheet earlier than transferring them to wire racks to chill fully.
Embellish, or take pleasure in as they’re!
Gingerbread Cookies Recipe Ideas
- Don’t skimp on the chilling time. I’m normally all for not chilling cookie dough (you get to eat the cookies quicker that method!), however on this recipe, it’s 100% vital. The dough is comfortable and sticky whenever you first combine it collectively. Chilling it for no less than 2 hours provides it an opportunity to agency up with the intention to simply roll it out. The cut-outs additionally maintain their form higher when baked.
- The timing will rely in your cookie cutters. In another way sized and formed cookies bake at totally different charges! For an ideal comfortable texture, I sometimes bake a 3-inch gingerbread man for 8 minutes. If in case you have smaller cut-outs, you’ll doubtless must bake your cookies much less. If in case you have bigger cut-outs, you would possibly must go a bit longer.
- Adorning is half the enjoyable. As scrumptious as these comfortable gingerbread cookies are plain, they’re even tastier (and extra festive!) with icing on prime. For detailed traces and patterns like those in these footage, use the royal icing recipe from this put up. For a less complicated glaze, stir collectively 1 cup powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons almond milk, including extra milk as wanted to achieve your required consistency. Sprinkles, gumdrops, and different candies are enjoyable decorations too!
- Strive to not eat all of them straight away. These gingerbread cookies preserve nicely in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 5 days, and I really like them finest on day 2 or 3! They turn out to be even softer and chewier, and their spiced taste deepens. These cookies additionally freeze nicely. Saved in a freezer bag or container, they preserve for as much as 3 months. They thaw completely at room temperature.
Extra Favourite Christmas Cookies
Should you love these gingerbread cookies, strive one in all these festive cookie recipes subsequent:

Gingerbread Cookies
Serves 24
Our BEST gingerbread cookie recipe! These festive treats are comfortable, warmly spiced, and stuffed with scrumptious molasses taste. Embellish with icing (see the information within the put up above for recipes), or take pleasure in plain.
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup packed darkish brown sugar
- ⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses, we just like the Wholesome model
- 1 giant egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons floor ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon high-quality sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon floor cloves
- 1 tablespoon almond milk, or any milk
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Within the bowl of a stand mixer, or utilizing an electrical mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla and blend once more.
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In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Step by step add the dry elements to the moist elements, mixing after every addition. Combine within the almond milk.
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Kind the dough right into a ball, divide the ball in half, and flatten every half right into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for no less than 2 hours.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two giant baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Roll out the dough on a calmly floured floor till about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to chop out desired shapes, then switch the cut-outs to the ready baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as vital.
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Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7 to 9 minutes, or till the perimeters of the cookies are simply set however the middles are nonetheless comfortable. The cookies may appear underdone, however taking them out at this level will make sure that they keep comfortable as soon as they cool. I sometimes use a 3-inch cookie cutter and bake my cookies for 8 minutes. The precise timing will rely in your oven, the dimensions of your cookie cutters, and the way comfortable or crunchy you want your gingerbread cookies.
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Let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes earlier than transferring to a wire rack to chill fully. Embellish as desired.