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–+ servings
Decorated Gingerbread Man cookie with a bowtie.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Krista Stechman
These festive Soft Gingerbread Cookies are perfect for the holidays. Made with brown sugar, molasses and warm spices they have the best holiday flavor and are so fun to decorate with the kids or family!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 33 minutes
Course dessert
Cuisine american
Servings 40 cookies
Calories 89 kcal

Equipment

  • Rolling Pin
  • stand mixer or electric hand mixer
  • oven
  • sheet trays
  • cookie cutters

Ingredients
  

Dry Ingredients

  • 3¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ dried mustard
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Ingredients

  • ¾ cup butter room temp
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg room temp
  • ½ cup molasses

Icing

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoon milk
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Mixing the Dry Ingredients

  • In a medium bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients
    dry ingredients mixed together

Mixing the Wet Ingredients

  • Cream the butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes on medium speed
    butter and sugar creamed together
  • Add the egg and molasses and beat on medium speed just until incorporated
    the consistency of the dough after the molasses and egg are added
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix together on low speed just until fully mixed
    the soft gingerbread cookie dough after the flour has been added
  • Separate the gingerbread cookie dough into 2 equal parts and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Rolling, Cutting and Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Set the gingerbread cookie dough on a lightly floured surface then lightly flour the rolling pin and begin rolling out the dough to about ⅛ inch thick or just slightly thicker
  • Cut out cookie shapes with cookie cutters. Use a metal spatula to lift the cookies and transfer to the baking sheet. Re-roll all the dough that is leftover and repeat the same process. Repeat this process until all dough is used up
    cutting out the soft gingerbread cookie dough
  • Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool on the tray for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes remove the cookies from the tray and place on a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way

Making the Icing

  • Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer
  • Add the milk and vanilla then beat on low to medium speed until smooth. If icing is too thick add a small amount of milk. If it's too thin then add a small amount of powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency

Decorating the Soft Gingerbread Cookies

  • Using the icing decorate the cookies however you please. Feel free to use my photos as a guide! Holiday sprinkles and small candies in the baking section work well too!
    decorated soft gingerbread cookies

Notes

The refrigeration step is important for gingerbread cookies to turn out.
Do not overbake cookies. They will become dry and hard.

Nutrition

Calories: 89kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 59mgPotassium: 88mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
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