A cross between a soft sugar cookie and a gingerbread snack cake, these soft gingerbread cookies aren’t your typical gingerbread man cookies. They’re always a hit, and guess what- they don’t require any chilling.
Why You’ll Love These Soft Gingerbread Cookies
A chewy cookie that’s full of the best spices of the season- what’s not to love!
- Perfect texture– Unlike the traditional gingerbread men that are crunchy, this recipe yields soft, chewy cookies that are perfect for your cookie trays.
- Full of seasonal flavor – With spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, these cookies will make the house smell like Christmas!
- Great for cookies trays – These cookies are great when you want to add a little something different to your cookie trays.
Ingredients
This list may be a little long, but all of the ingredients are simple and easy to find at the grocery store.
- Salted Butter – Using salted butter balances the sweetness and the butter itself gives the cookies their soft texture.
- Granulated Sugar – White sugar sweetens the cookies.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar gives the cookies a richer sweetness and helps to keep them moist. Use dark brown sugar for the most molasses-style flavor.
- Egg – This contributes to the cookies’ structure and soft texture.
- Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste – Either extract or paste will give the cookies a warm flavor and aroma. We also use it in the frosting.
- Molasses – This gives the cookies their signature flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour – Flour forms the base of the dough and helps the cookies to keep their structure.
- Baking Soda – As a leavening agent, baking soda gives the cookies their light texture.
- Baking Powder – This also helps the cookies to rise and achieve the perfect texture.
- Ground Cinnamon – Cinnamon is crucial for that classic warm flavor of gingerbread. We also use it in the frosting.
- Ground Ginger – You can’t have gingerbread without ginger! This gives the cookies a slightly spicy zing.
- Ground Nutmeg – This spice adds subtle nuttiness.
- Ground Cloves – Cloves add even more warm flavor.
- Cream Cheese – Be sure to allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature so it’s easy to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
- Powdered Sugar – This fine sugar helps to make the frosting perfectly smooth.
- Butter – This gives the frosting richness. You can use salted or unsalted, but if using unsalted, you may want to add a little salt.
- Milk – Use full-fat milk to thin out the frosting to just the right consistency.
Variations
Put your own spin on these chewy gingerbread cookies with some of these variations.
- Citrus – Add a little bit of orange zest to the cookie dough or the frosting for a citrusy kick.
- Espresso Powder – Just a little espresso powder will boost all of the other flavors.
- Glaze – Instead of the cream cheese frosting use powdered sugar icing.
- Nuts – Fold chopped nuts into the dough.
- Syrup – Swap some or all of the molasses for pure maple syrup.
- Shapes – Use cookie cutters to create gingerbread men or a Christmas tree shape.
- Chips – Fold in chocolate chips. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate chips all work well.
- Chocolate Kiss – Press a chocolate kiss into the top of each of the cookies just after baking to make a gingerbread version of peanut butter blossoms.
How to Make Soft Gingerbread Cookies
It only takes a few basic steps to make these easy gingerbread cookies!
- Mix the butter and sugars. Place the softened butter and all of the sugars into a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Beat until completely combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as you mix.
- Add remaining wet ingredients. Mix in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract.
- Combine dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices into a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients while mixing. Only mix until the dry ingredients are just combined and a soft dough forms.
- Form the cookies. Create cookie dough balls using a small cookie scoop and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake until the edges brown.
- Cool. Remove the baked cookies from the oven and let them cool briefly before using a spatula to move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Combine frosting ingredients. Add all of the ingredients except the milk to a medium bowl and mix until smooth.
- Thin. Pour in the milk and continue to mix. Adjust the milk as necessary to achieve the right consistency.
- Frost. Once the cookies have cooled completely, frost them with an offset spatula before adding sprinkles, if desired.
Storage and Freezing
Unfrosted cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to a week, but once frosted they’ll need to be refrigerated.
How to Store Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Refrigerate the cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days. If layering, separate them with sheets of parchment paper.
Can I Freeze These Cookies?
Place the cookies in a resealable freezer bag or wrap them with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Common Questions
What makes gingerbread cookies hard or soft?
For soft cookies, brown sugar is a must! Using just molasses or honey will result in crispy cookies. Also, using a combination of baking powder and baking soda helps to achieve just the right texture.
How do you soften gingerbread cookies?
If your gingerbread cookie has hardened, you can easily soften it by wrapping it in a damp paper towel and microwaving it in short intervals until it reaches the desired texture.
Does baking soda make cookies harder or softer?
Baking soda helps to create soft and chewy cookies.
More Festive Cookies
Looking for more delicious cookie recipes? We have plenty to choose from!
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
A cross between a soft sugar cookie and a gingerbread snack cake, these soft gingerbread cookies aren't your typical gingerbread man cookies!
Servings: cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 3/4 cup salted butter softened at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Soft Gingerbread Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy for a few minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Stir in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until dough has formed. Be sure not to over-mix.
- Use a small cookie scoop equivalent to 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough to form cookie dough balls. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes or until more stable, then transfer to a wire cooking rack to finish.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a medium bowl beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Add the milk to thin and beat again until smooth. Add more milk if the frosting seems too thick.
- Using an offset spatula, frost the tops of each cooled cookie and add Christmas sprinkles while still tacky, if using.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
Nutrition
Calories: 175 kcal, Carbohydrates: 22 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 9 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g, Trans Fat: 0.2 g, Cholesterol: 29 mg, Sodium: 150 mg, Potassium: 90 mg, Fiber: 0.4 g, Sugar: 14 g, Vitamin A: 300 IU, Vitamin C: 0.01 mg, Calcium: 26 mg, Iron: 1 mg
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Delicious cookies! Texture and taste was perfect. My only issue was that the frosting never hardened.