Soft Gingerbread Cookies
These easy to make gingerbread cookies hold their shape beautifully in the oven and there is no chilling required. They are soft and chewy, and loaded with delicious spices!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
These soft gingerbread cookies are perfectly chewy with warm holiday spices and no chilling time required — making them ideal for last-minute baking and decorating with kids! They hold their shape beautifully, taste rich with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and are easy to decorate or enjoy as-is.
If you are in the mood for more Christmas cookies, try my Whipped Shortbread Cookies, White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, and Jam Thumbprint Cookies.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour — gives the cookies structure and helps them hold their shape.
- Baking soda — provides lift so the cookies bake up soft instead of dense.
- Salt — balances the sweetness and enhances all the flavours.
- Ground ginger — delivers the classic warm, spicy gingerbread flavour.
- Ground cinnamon — adds sweet, cozy spice notes that complement the ginger.
- Ground nutmeg — brings a subtle warmth that rounds out the spice blend.
- Ground cloves — adds depth and a bold, aromatic holiday spice flavour.
- Unsalted butter — creates a rich taste and tender, chewy texture.
- Brown sugar — sweetens the dough while adding moisture for softness.
- Molasses — gives gingerbread its signature flavour, colour, and chewiness.
- Egg — binds the dough together and provides structure.
- Vanilla extract — enhances the overall flavour and adds aromatic sweetness.
How to make soft gingerbread cookies:
(The full written and printable recipe is further below.)
1. Prepare the oven and baking sheets.
Preheat to 350°F (177°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Make the dough.
Whisk the dry ingredients together; cream the butter and sugar, mix in molasses, egg, and vanilla, then combine with the dry mixture to form a dough.
3. Roll and cut the cookies.
Flour your surface, roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness, and cut into shapes.
4. Bake and cool.
Bake for 6–8 minutes depending on your desired softness, then cool completely.
5. Decorate.
Mix a simple frosting of powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk, then pipe or drizzle onto fully cooled cookies.
🌟 Expert tips for the best gingerbread cookies:
- Spice level: Adjust ginger and cinnamon to taste — less for milder flavor, more for a spicier cookie.
- Warm the molasses slightly (10–15 seconds in the microwave) so it mixes more smoothly into the butter and sugar.
- Prevent sticking: Generously flour your surface, rolling pin, and cutters
- Use parchment, not silicone mats if you want the cookies to hold their shape better; silicone makes them spread a bit more.
- Flour your cutters between each stamp to keep the shapes crisp and easy to release.
- Re-roll the dough only once to avoid dry, tough cookies from overworked dough.
Storing & freezing instructions:
Storing – Store the gingerbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. If they’re decorated, let the icing fully set before stacking and place parchment between layers to keep them looking neat and fresh.
Freezing – Gingerbread cookies freeze beautifully—simply arrange them in a single layer to freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe container with parchment between layers. They keep well for up to three months and thaw perfectly at room temperature without losing their soft texture
Recipe FAQs:
Yes, you can make the dough up to 3 days in advance—just keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before rolling.
If the butter was too soft or warm, the cookies may spread more; try chilling the cut shapes for 10 minutes before baking if your kitchen is warm.
Absolutely—royal icing works beautifully and dries firm, making it great for detailed designs or gifting.
If you’ve tried this Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup (125ml) molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the flour, baking soda and salt.3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Toss in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer.1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- Mix in the molasses until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. The batter might look curdled, but that's ok, it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.1/2 cup (125ml) molasses, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in the flour mixture, one third at a time, mixing in between. The dough will be sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Flour your hands and top of the dough. Knead it a few times to gather into a round ball. Roll your dough to 1/4″ thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Re-roll the scraps if you want to get a few more cookies.
- Transfer the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies puff up and bottoms just start to brown. Let cool completely on baking sheets before frosting.
To Prepare the Frosting:
- Add the vanilla to the powdered sugar. Whisk in the milk a little at a time until you reach a thick but pourable consistency. Adjust with more powdered sugar or milk if needed. Decorate as desired.1 cup (125g) powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1-2 Tbsp milk
Great tasting, but absolutely nothing like the picture. Flat and wrinkly. Won’t matter because they’ll still get devoured, I just have to wonder how yours look so puffy. I’ve been baking for over 50 years so it’s not my first rodeo. No idea what happened. Mixed everything perfectly, didn’t handle the dough a lot, and they still fell.
I see this recipe doesn’t require chilling. That’s great, but is it ok to chill for a while if made ahead of time?
Yes, you can chill it then just bring it to room temperature before rolling it out. Enjoy!
We used this recipe last Christmas to make “Wookie cookies” as gifts–Chewbacca-shaped Star Wars cookies. It was wonderful to have such a quick, versatile recipe that didn’t require chilling the dough so that we could make lots of cookies quickly. I loved that they retained a wonderful softness rather than being totally hard and crunchy. We found they didn’t even need icing they were so delicious, and everyone enjoyed them. Will definitely be making them again!
Thank you for your wonderful review, Elizabeth! I’m glad you everyone enjoyed them:)
Can you tell me how long does this keep for? I am thinking of making these as gifts.
They keep well for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container. Thank you for your question and have a great week!
This is a real nice recipe. I tried these cookies with a little more ginger to strengthen the flavor and aroma as I like it and they came out perfect according to my taste. Which molasses would you prefer for these cookies? I used half blackstrap molasses & half fancy molasses. Can corn syrup be used in place of molasses?
Hi again Corrie,
I prefer fancy molasses and no, it’s best to use molasses for the right flavor.
They are just the cutest!
Thanks for sharing all the gingerbread cookie details and joining the party at Fiesta Friday!
Nothing says “Merry Christmas!” better than cute gingerbread cookies. You did a great job decorating these little guys! Thanks for sharing the recipe at Fiesta Friday. Enjoy your weekend!
You’re very welcome, and thank you for co-hosting!