These gingerbread cookies are soft and perfectly spiced with warm spices and molasses. Enjoy them plain or decorate them with my simple icing recipe.

Looking for more Christmas cookie recipes? You’ll love my Molasses Cookies, Sugar Cookies and Snowball Cookies!

Gingerbread person cookies decorated with white icing and red hots for buttons.

The Best Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

It’s been 12 years since I first shared this gingerbread cookie recipe on Kristine’s Kitchen, and it just wouldn’t be the holidays without these soft, spiced cookies! Every year I make a double batch of these gingerbread cookies with my kids, along with our favorite Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Cherry Cream Cheese Cookies. They’re easy to make and so fun to decorate!

These gingerbread cookies bake up soft, with delicious molasses and gingerbread spice flavor. I’ve included my simple icing recipe below if you want to decorate them after baking. I kept things simple here with a gingerbread person cookie cutter, but this dough also makes cute snowflakes, Christmas trees, or any holiday shape you want. I hope you enjoy this gingerbread cookie recipe as much as my family does!

Ingredients for gingerbread cookie recipe.

Ingredient Notes

  • Flour: I’ve made these cookies with all-purpose flour and I’ve also made them with half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. You can hardly tell a difference and they’re delicious both ways!
  • Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These help the cookies to puff up slightly as they bake.
  • Salt: Brings out all of the flavors.
  • Spices: Ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves bring plenty of warm gingerbread spice flavor.
  • Butter: Let the butter soften at room temperature before making the dough.
  • Brown Sugar: Using brown sugar instead of granulated keeps the cookies soft and adds more depth of flavor.
  • Molasses: Molasses gives these gingerbread cookies their signature flavor and color. It also keep the cookies soft and chewy. Do not use blackstrap molasses in this recipe, since it’s less sweet and has a somewhat bitter flavor.
  • Egg Yolk: You’ll need one egg yolk for this recipe. To separate the egg yolk from the egg white, crack the egg in half, keeping it in the shell. Then, over the sink or a bowl, carefully transfer the yolk back and forth between the two egg shell halves, allowing the whites to fall out of the shell, until only the yolk remains.
  • Vanilla Extract: Brings warm sweetness.
  • Icing and/or Decorations: This is the fun part! After baking, you can pipe icing onto the cookies to decorate, then add a few candy “buttons” on top of the icing, as seen in the photos.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies

Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Finish the dough. Use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Then beat in the molasses, egg yolk and vanilla. Finally, mix in the flour mixture on low speed.

Molasses, egg yolk and vanilla added to creamed butter and sugar in mixing bowl.
Gingerbread dough disk wrapped in plastic wrap.

Chill cookie dough. This dough requires chilling to help it roll out easily. Shape the dough into a round disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Roll and cut cookies. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Cutting out gingerbread cookie dough with gingerbread person cookie cutter.

Bake cookies according to the bake times in the recipe card below. Smaller cookies will bake faster than larger cookies. If you’re making different sizes, group similar sized cookies on each baking sheet. Try not to overbake the cookies, since that will make the bottom and edges crispier.

This recipe makes a smallish batch (about 18 medium-sized cookies). You can double the recipe to make more cookies – I usually do!

Piping icing onto gingerbread person cookie.

How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies

These gingerbread cookies are perfect for decorating, or you can enjoy them plain. The gingerbread is so flavorful that the cookies are delicious without any frosting or decorations.

After baking, you can pipe icing or spread frosting onto the cooled cookies. A simple piping of white icing will give you beautiful cookies. Feel free to add food coloring to the icing to make other colors.

To make a simple icing, combine powdered sugar with a small amount of water, as well as a little vanilla extract for flavor. I measure out the powdered sugar and vanilla first, then stir in water one teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches my desired consistency. You want it to be fairly thick for piping onto the cookies. I used a piping bag and Wilton #2 piping tip to decorate these cookies. These mini squeeze bottles also work well.

Gingerbread person cookie decorated with white icing and red hots for buttons.

For a fun touch, you can use small candies, sprinkles or other food-safe cookie decorations to decorate the cookies before the frosting hardens. Another option is to press decorations such as small M and M’s, raisins, red hots or other small candies onto the cookies before baking. This is how my kids like to decorate these cookies.

Decorated gingerbread person cookies on a cooling rack.
Decorated gingerbread person cookies on a cooling rack.
5 from 1 rating

Gingerbread Cookies

Servings: 18 3-inch cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 34 minutes
Author: Kristine Rosenblatt
These gingerbread cookies are one of our favorite cookies to bake for Christmas! They bake up soft, with the delicious flavors of warm spices, molasses and brown sugar. These cookies are fun to decorate, but also delicious enough to serve as is. I've included my simple icing recipe below, which is perfect for piping on the cookies.
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Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 cup each of all-purpose and 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 butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes at medium speed, until light and creamy. Add the molasses, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in the flour mixture.
  • Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
  • When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured work surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut cookies into desired shapes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about an inch apart. Re-roll scraps of dough until all dough has been used.
  • Baking time will vary depending on the size of your cookies. Medium (3-inch) gingerbread cookies bake for 7-9 minutes, and mini cookies bake for about 5-7 minutes. Larger cookies will take longer to bake. Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To Decorate: Once cookies are cool, pipe icing onto cookies to decorate as desired. I use a piping bag and Wilton #2 piping tip to decorate these cookies. To make the icing, add the powdered sugar and vanilla to a medium bowl. Then stir in the water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing reaches your desired consistency. It should be fairly thick for piping onto the cookies. If it's too thin, stir in a little more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, stir in a little more water.

Notes

  • If you use different cookie cutters to make cookies of different sizes, be sure to bake cookies that are the same size together. Otherwise, smaller cookies may over-bake in the time that it takes larger cookies to bake.
  • I used a piping bag and Wilton #2 piping tip to decorate these cookies. Mini food-safe squeeze bottles (linked in the post above) also work well.
  • This recipe makes a smallish batch (about 18 medium-sized cookies). You can double the recipe to make more cookies – I usually do!
  • Nutrition estimate is for cookies without icing or decorations.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 143kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 86mg, Potassium: 174mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 173IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Kristine Rosenblatt
Tried this recipe?Mention @kristines_kitchen on Instagram or tag #kristineskitchenblog.

I originally shared this recipe in December 2012. Post updated in December 2016, November 2020 and November 2024.

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