Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
These thick and chewy cutout gingerbread cookies have an intense gingerbread flavor with a delicious and surprising soft chewiness.
Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. I love it. But I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of thin and crispy gingerbread cookies. I much prefer gingerbread cookie similar in texture to a really good, soft and chewy sugar cookie.
This recipe fits the bill. These cookies are packed with gingerbread flavor but the texture has a delicious and surprising soft chewiness that is unique for gingerbread and absolutely delicious.
Making Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
The dough comes together quickly, but in a bit of an unusual manner. In this recipe the dry ingredients are actually mixed together first:
- flour
- brown sugar
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cloves
- salt
And then the butter is added and mixed in until there are tiny pieces of butter throughout (similar to pie crust). Once the molasses and milk is mixed in, it comes together like soft gingerbread cookie dough.
There are no eggs in the recipe (it’s not a mistake!). They are egg-free and delicious.
Chill the Dough
It is essential to chill the dough so the cookies will hold their shape when baked.
Split the dough in half, roll each piece out about 1/4-inch thick on a piece of parchment paper, and then stack the dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate for a couple hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes.
Cut gingerbread people shapes out of the chilled dough. Or, if you don’t want to go the gingerbread people route, the dough can be cut into circles with a round cookie cutter (or really any other shape).
Don’t over bake!
The gingerbread cookies only bake for 8-9 minutes, and since we’re going for a soft and chewy cookie here, we definitely don’t want to over bake the cookies!
The Best Icing For Decorating Gingerbread Cookies
These soft cutout gingerbread cookies are delicious without any icing or frosting.
But, how can you resist putting a few smiley faces (er, or other funny emoji faces) on a gingerbread person cookie?
I use a simple icing for these gingerbread cookies. Once piped, it sets enough that you can stack a few cookies, but it doesn’t harden as much as royal icing (which is why I like it).
Gingerbread cookie icing: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk (just a few drops at a time) if the frosting is too thick. It should be thick but still able to be spread or piped.
The texture of these soft cutout gingerbread cookies is amazing. Soft and chewy, they beat out thin and crispy gingerbread cookies all the way, in my opinion.
They are one of my favorite holiday cookies, and friends and family always rave at how good they are.
I promise they’re worth the mildly bothersome rolling and chilling step. (Maybe it’s just me, but I’m lazy and I hate chilling cookie dough.) Truly, they are one of the best gingerbread cookies ever!
FAQs for Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
I always use salted butter.
Yes. They stay soft for several days if kept in a well-covered container. The baked cookies can also be frozen.
I use a simple frosting that’s easy to mix together: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk (just a few drops at a time) if the frosting is too thick. It should be thick but still able to be spread or piped.
Yes! These cookies are meant to be soft and chewy, not crisp like a traditional gingerbread cutout cookie.
I use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses usually has a darker appearance and a stronger flavor.
The recipe is correct – these cookies are egg-free.
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed dark or light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (248 g) unsulphured molasses (not black strap)
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- With an electric mixer (stand or handheld), stir together the flour, brown sugar, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the butter and mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the molasses and milk, and mix on low speed until the dough is evenly combined, 30-45 seconds.
- Scrape the dough onto a work surface and divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, roll or press the dough ¼-inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between the parchment paper, stack the dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Or refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one dough sheet from the freezer or refrigerator and place on the counter. Peel off the top parchment paper. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into gingerbread people (or you can use a round cutter to cut circle cookies). Work quickly; the dough softens and can be harder to work with the longer it's out of the refrigerator.
- Transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheets, spacing about an inch apart. You can use a thin metal spatula to help transfer the cookies to the baking sheets. If the dough is sticking and hard to peel up after cutting into shapes, pop the tray back in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until the baking sheets are full. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary.
- Bake the cookies until just set, about 8 to 9 minutes. Don't overbake! Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Frost or pipe, as desired (see notes for the frosting recipe I use).
- Store the gingerbread cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator in a covered container.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook by ATK
Recipe originally posted December 2009; updated November 2021 with new photos, recipe updates, etc.
These cookies are some scratch that the best cookies I’ve ever had in my life! Recommend from my whole family! Turners out even better if you let them sit over night!
Chilled the heck out of this recipe multiple times. Even after 2 hrs in the freezer the dough is gummy. It’s impossible to peel away the excess dough from around the cookies and we couldnt transfer them. And we had to chisel gummy bits of dough out from around the ginger shapes using butter knives.
In hind sight if i hadnt used a different recipe i kinda wish we just baked it as one flat sheet and tore into peices after.
Lets pray it comes off the liner after baking.
The cookies have a crackle top which is what I was trying to avoid in a ginger bread cookie. This is more like a Molasses cookie that you happen to shape into gingerbread cookie shapes. Tastes good though.
How large a cutout cookie will this work for? I have my Grandmother’s almost 9” ginger person cutter. Every other recipe I’ve tried is too hard and cardboard-y. Looking for softer. Also know it has to stay solid.
Thicker dough? More bake time? Different add ins… extra flour, part shortening, egg?
I haven’t made this recipe with a 9-inch cookie cutter. These cookies are soft after being baked, so I do worry that a cookie that big might bend and break being transferred off the baking sheet. But if you have a large flat spatula, it might be ok. You could try rolling the dough a bit thicker – but just keep in mind that this is a soft and chewy cookie. Good luck if you try it!
If I want these to be crispy – do i just roll them out a little more and bake for longer?
Yes, you can try that. The ingredients are meant for a soft and chewy cookie, so I’m not sure if they’ll get as crispy as a gingerbread cookie written and tested that way, but it is worth a try.
The BEST gingerbread cookie HANDS DOWN!!!
Perfect recipe! From start to finish is surprisingly quick and easy. Best of all the texture is right on and the taste is outstanding. Will be making these every year, thank you!
So happy you loved them, Brooke! Thank you!
I was very happy to find this unique recipe. Full gingerbread flavor and chewy and fun for kids to cutout. Keeping the dough cold was key which did make it take a little longer since kids don’t cutout cookies quickly. But to me, it was worth it for the great cookie.
Thanks, Sam!
Delicious, just as described – soft and chewy and exactly how I was hoping they would be!
Can these be used to make gingerbread houses? Will they hold up? I just can’t stand the store bought kits and would love to try something different. Thanks!
No, unfortunately they are a soft and chewy cookie and wouldn’t work for gingerbread houses.
My cookies got huge and puffy. What did I do wrong? Mixed it too much?
How thick was the dough when you cut out shapes?
The recipe says 3 cups of flour, but then I parentheses says (426g)
3 cups of flour is 360g. Which measure should I use?
I test all my recipes using 142 grams of flour per cup, so the weight measure in this recipe is correct. Three cups of flour is 426 grams. (There is no one standard for the amount of flour per cup, as many different sources use different measurements, so it’s important to use the weight measure given in a tested recipe)
These are the absolute best gingerbread cookies. I have made these for the past two holidays and people ask me about them all year long! I am so happy that I stumbled on this page!!
Thanks, Jen! I’m glad you found your way here, too!
Will they turn out as good if I make the dough a few days in advance?
Yes, you can definitely do that.
We’ve been looking for the right soft gingerbread recipe for years, and we finally found it! These were a huge hit and will be our go to gingerbread people every holiday season now!
I tried making this but the dough in the video vs the dough I ended up with was not the same. Mine was very sticky and nearly impossible to work with. Not sure if I did something wrong or should I add flour to make it less sticky??
Hi Kristen – the dough should be less sticky after refrigerating, but yes, you can add a bit more flour, if needed.
These are so good! I made the dough a few days in advance and baked them today. I used extra flour to keep them from sticking when I rolled them out and that worked great. They are soft and chewy. I will definitely be making these again!
Can we use Golden Syrup in place of unsulphered molasses? I can’t seem to find at the supermarket. Is there a big difference?
Hi Nic, there is quite a difference between golden syrup and molasses – the flavor is remarkably different. I don’t think the cookies will turn out the same if using golden syrup.
I make these every Christmas for the neighbors and they’re still spoken about in hushed tones. And my mom is a queen in the kitchen and even she asked me for the recipe! Love love them.
Can I substitute fresh ginger or the paste from a tube?
I haven’t tried that but it’s definitely worth experimenting. The paste can be quite liquidy so just keep an eye on that.
This has been go to chewy gingerbread recipe for years! I get requests every year specifically for these cookies!!
Love them
I made a double bath of this and added a little extra spice. My dough ended up on the dryer side so I ended up having to add some water but no biggie! Great recipe 🙂
I thought they were inedible, I had to throw the dough away. I have made a lot of gingerbread cookies but the spices were too strong and it runied them and I couldn’t fix them.
Did you use light or dark brown sugar in yours?
I’ve used both with good results – but I probably use light brown sugar more often since I always have it on hand.
Mmmmmm Mel, how did you know that I was on the hunt for the best chewy, intense gingerbread recipe right now! Add psychic powers to your skills. LOL
Look forward to baking these – your recipes never disappoint.
These are literally the BEST gingerbread cookies I have ever eaten. I have probably made a hundred different recipes for different types of cookies, and these are actually my favorite cookie period. It’s a pretty fail proof recipe, and I make it (doubled or tripled of course ) every Christmas, and sometimes in between, lol!!
Does this recipe double okay?
Yes
Does this recipe double okay?
Curious it was really dry until I added an egg, and other recipes called for 1?!
did your cookies turn out fine with an addition of an egg?
Excellent flavor and easy instructions!
great cookies lots of ginger flavor
the best, with great ginger flavor
Amazing taste! Made these with my husband for Christmas and they’re a hit! 🙂 Thank you Mel!
These cookies are really wonderful and I will be sure to save the recipe for next year! Do be sure to leave the cookies on the cookie sheet until they cool a bit. I tried to take them off too soon and had some casualties!
My family has outgrown the butter rollout cookies. We have my grandmother’s cookie cutters (1920’s) and love using them. So, I made your gingerbread cutouts. We love them! Thank you for sharing the recipe and for the helpful tips regarding parchment paper and rolling out the dough. I left it in the paper layers overnight in the fridge. It saved a lot of time when it was time for baking. This is my new Christmas cutout cookie!
I was a little disappointed. While the texture was lovely, they were very bland. I would double the cinnamon and maybe add nutmeg.
Do they have to be rolled out with a rolling pin? Or can I just scoop dough into balls directly on the cookie sheet?
I haven’t tried that so I’m not entirely sure – sorry I’m not more help!
I tried it out and it worked great! I used half the door and rolled it and froze it and cut into shapes. The other half I didn’t roll out, and just scooped into balls and baked right away. They’re great!! I recommend eating them the next day after they’ve softened up in a Tupperware!
Okay, these are seriously the BEST gingerbread cookies! Every year I try multiple recipes trying to find just that perfect cookie. My search is over. Thank you so much for sharing it.