Gingerbread Cookies
These Gingerbread Cookies are one of our favorite Christmas bakes! Soft and full of warm spices, molasses, and brown sugar, they’re fun to decorate but delicious enough to enjoy plain. I’ve included my simple icing recipe below, perfect for piping decorations.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses not blackstrap molasses
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Simple Icing/Decorations (Optional)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 teaspoons water
- Small candies for decorating optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla, mixing until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- On a floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and place the cookies about an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather and re-roll scraps of dough until all the dough is used.
- Baking time varies based on cookie size. Medium (3-inch) gingerbread cookies bake for 7-9 minutes, while mini cookies bake for 5-7 minutes. Larger cookies may take longer. Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To Decorate: Once the cookies are cool, pipe icing onto them as desired. Use a piping bag with a Wilton #2 tip for precise decorating.
- To make the icing, whisk the powdered sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing reaches a thick consistency suitable for piping. If too thin, add more powdered sugar; if too thick, add more water.
Notes
If using different cookie cutters, bake cookies of the same size together to prevent smaller cookies from over-baking while larger ones finish baking.
I used a piping bag with a Wilton #2 tip for decorating, but mini food-safe squeeze bottles also work well.
This recipe makes about 18 medium-sized cookies. For a larger batch, double the recipe—I usually do!
Nutrition estimate does not include icing or decorations.