Smooth & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

This classic gingerbread cookie recipe is soft and delicious. While I love crisp gingerbread for a gingerbread house, my preference for cookies is soft and chewy.

This recipe delivers perfect dough for cutout shapes (similar to sugar cookies) with all the cinnamon and spice flavor you love from gingerbread.

Gingerbread cookies are my husband’s favorite cookie, and I make this recipe multiple times each holiday season. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Related recipes: Snowball Cookies, Pinwheel Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Gingerbread Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup dark molasses
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies:

1. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt and all spices. Set mixture aside.
2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat until mixture is fully combined—about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides if needed.
3. Slowly add the molasses, egg and vinegar until fully combined. It’s normal for the mixture to appear curdled.
4. Add the flour mixture slowly, scraping sides as needed. Be sure the bottom and top of your bowl are both fully combined. If the dough is crumbly, it is not fully mixed.
5. Divide the dough into 3-5 flattened balls and cover in plastic wrap.
6. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling. Chilling is an essential step to create cutout shapes with nice edges. If you skip this step, your cookies may lose some shape while baking.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Roll dough using as small amount of flour as necessary. I use parchment paper to roll if my dough is sticky at all. Dough should be about half an inch thick for a nice, soft cookie.
9. Place cutout shapes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Gather and re-roll shapes as needed. You do not need to chill your dough again unless it becomes very soft.
10. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring.
11. Decorate your cookies as you like. I used this royal icing recipe. We also have a vegan royal icing recipe.

Tips for Making Gingerbread Cookies:

• If you prefer crispy gingerbread, simply roll the dough thinner (1/4 inch) and bake for 12 minutes instead of 10.
• You can use light or dark molasses, but do not use blackstrap or cooking molasses or your cookies will be bitter. I used the brand Grandma’s Original Molasses, which is easy to find in the U.S.
• Here’s a link to Christmas cookie cutters I used.

More Holiday Recipes:

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P.S. Love this post? Check out my Gingerbread House Decorating Party.