Soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookies recipe made with a simple gingerbread recipe and decorated however you like! Everyone loves this classic recipe and they taste delicious!
Looking for more holiday treats? Don’t miss our Ginger Molasses Cookies, Caramel Popcorn, or Chocolate Fudge! And don’t miss my Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas!
When I was young, we often decorated the “kids” Christmas tree with gingerbread cookies and it made the house smell amazing. This is the BEST recipe for soft, chewy gingerbread cookies.
What I LOVE about them:
- Soft and Chewy: Gingerbread cookies have a reputation for being hard and crispy, but not this recipe! Follow my baking tips and they will turn out perfectly soft and chewy.
- Make Ahead or Freeze: You can prepare the chewy gingerbread cookies or dough in advance. See tips below in the post.
- Fun to Decorate: Kids of all ages love decorating Christmas gingerbread man cookies so plan it for your next Christmas party! You can make the soft gingerbread cookies and frosting ahead of time so that the kids can just enjoy decorating.
How to make Gingerbread Cookies:
Gingerbread is made with the following simple ingredients: brown sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, butter, milk, and molasses!
Make the Gingerbread: Mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add chunks of butter and incorporate them with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the molasses and milk until combined.
Refrigerate: Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 hours or overnight.
Roll the Dough: When ready to bake, roll out the dough to ½ inch thickness, use cookie cutters to cut gingerbread men, and place them on your cookie sheet. Bake them for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Once cool, frost and decorate, if desired! You can use any kind of frosting or icing, and candy. It really is the best gingerbread cookies recipe!
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Make the gingerbread and store it, well covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Roll out and cut into cookies when ready to bake. You can also bake the cookies and freeze them.
To Freeze: wrap the dough really well in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Freeze for 2-3 months. Allow the dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before attempting to roll. Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
For more holiday magic, try roasting chestnuts!
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Recipe
Gingerbread Man Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 Tablespoons butter , room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
- 3/4 cup molasses (dark molasses)
- 2 Tablespoons milk
For the frosting:
- 2 Tablespoons butter , room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Add flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt to a mixing bowl and mix.
- Add the butter pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter in until the mixture resembles fine meal.
- With a mixer running on low speed gradually add the molasses and milk and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Divide the dough in half, forming each into a ball. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, or place in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until firm, if you’re in a hurry. (Refrigeration is mandatory or the dough will be too sticky to handle).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one dough sheet from the fridge/freezer and place on a well floured counter. Lightly flour the top of the dough and the rolling pin and roll out the dough (dust with a little more flour if needed), until it’s about ½ inch thick. Cut gingerbread men and place them on prepared baking sheets.
- Refrigerate the gingerbread men for 5 minutes (meanwhile you can roll out the other dough ball).
- Bake the cookies until set in the centers and the dough barely retains and imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes (depending on the size of your cookie cutter). Do not overbake!!
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack. Allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.
- Store gingerbread cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
For the frosting:
- Add butter, milk, and 1 cup of powdered sugar to a bowl. Mix until smooth. Add additional cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add frosting to piping bag if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I originally shared this recipe December 2018. Updated December 2020 and November 2022.
Process photos by Nikole from The Travel Palate
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Omg, tooo sweet. How am I gonna eat them now. Should have read the comments before. How is this almost 5 stars? Too sweet!!
Made these for my gingerbread fanatic kids. They complained that they should be renamed molasses cookies. Unfortunately they won’t eat these.
Gingerbread is not my favourite but I will be the one eating all of these now. They did turn out well for texture other than the predominant molasses taste. The tops are not smooth but I like them chewy and did not use any cookie cutters.
I have made these gingerbread cookies twice this month for Christmas and took some to church and some to the neighbors and some to family and they all loved them. The kids in our family love them too. Some reviews say there is too much molasses but I don’t think so. All they had at our store was the original molasses. We had a blast making them and they are delicious!! Thank you soo much for this recipe!! I think this will be a new family tradition for Christmas time!!
These cookies turned out great, plus had amazing flavor. They got easier to work with the second time under the rolling pin. The dough was easy to work with and the results nicely gingerbready. We plan to make them again.
I’ve made these every year during the holiday season for the last 3 years. Who ever said they taste bad I would like to respectfully disagree with. I’ve gotten nothing but compliments from very real people and they are all gone super quickly.
I get experimental and have variously sized star and/or snowflake cookie cutters. Next year I plan to bake all the similar sizes together, as I over did it a little on the smaller ones. I’ve not found an attractive way to use the frosting, but they taste so great! Maybe one day I will get them to look attractive too.
Too much molasses! Way too much! The dough was too sticky to work with even after chilling for 3 hours and the resulting cookies tasted awful and looked like blobs of bubbling sugar. Had to put the whole lot in the bin, what a waste! I tried another recipe with only 80g of molasses and they turned out great.
Amazing recipe! I used Lau’s tip “modified the making- I beat the butter, molasses, milk and sugar together for 2 minutes. Then integrated the dry ingredients.” Super easy
The best gingerbread cookie recipe I have ever made!
i make these every year! delicious on their own, we usually only frost a third of them. I do refrigerate them closer to 10 minutes after I cut them because we do have some Star Wars cookie cutters that have a lot of detail and that way they hold the imprint better.
hi there,
so this recipe was fine to make, the methods and everything worked out okay – no big deal… but for real, they taste like diesel. i feel like i could crush them up, put them in my gas tank and get better fuel economy out of them than actual petroleum. please take it down.
i’m quite certain that your “5 star” average rating is accumulated from old people whose tastebuds have decayed to the point where they can only taste things that are super intensely flavoured.
if my taste buds had been around since world war 2, or maybe if i had been smoking 3 cigars a day since 1990, i’m sure they’d be delicious to my otherwise complete inability to taste things.
please. take this recipe down or at least make your average rating reflect actual people who have actually made them who actually have tastebuds.
thanks so much!
Perfect recipe
They taste incredible and they’re the perfect chewy texture. I followed the recipe exactly and have been a professional baker in the past. All my batches spread and sank down flat, which has never happened. Tried a second and third time with extra chilling and double checking the butter. Same result. Didn’t work for me for classically thick gingerbread cookies to decorate, but again, they taste so good.
no idea what went wrong but i followed the recipe to a T and the dough was extremely crumbly and dry so i had to readjust and add a bit more butter 🙁
sorry to bother but where are the comments? Also cookies are amazing
I didn’t yet bake the dough but before it is cooked should it taste a bit like molasses?
The reason I chose this gingerbread recipe was I thought all the 1 star reviews were hilarious, and there was no way these extremely angry people could be of sound mind. I followed the recipe down to the exact instructions. I Did Not Use An Egg! Can you believe it? Maybe this baker who wrote this recipe down for us actually knows what she’s doing. And you know what? The world did not end when these eggless cookies were baked. In fact, I even followed the instructions on what type of molasses to buy. Could the infuriated people who made these cookies before me and chose to warn the world of home bakers to not bother, possibly have used the wrong molasses? Idk, only Santa can judge. But, anyways, these gingerbread people that were decorated by my family and I today were the tastiest, softest, yummiest gingerbread cookies that have ever graced my kitchen. I will forever use this recipe and I will ask Santa to not give coal to those who can’t follow recipes.
Your message absolutely made our day! 😄 It’s amazing to hear how you embraced the recipe with such a great attitude, despite the mixed reviews. You’re right, sometimes it’s all about trusting the process (and the baker behind it!). So thrilled to hear your eggless gingerbread cookies turned out to be a hit. It sounds like you and your family had a wonderful time baking and decorating them. Thanks for giving the recipe a chance and for bringing such joy into your kitchen!!
Your recipes are so great. I always double the spice in gingerbread, but yours came out delish as is! And if you pre bake the flour… you can eat this dough as frozen dough nites easy peasy! (Or eat the entire thing out of the bowl asap as I often do!) I suggest doubling… tripling… quadrupling this recipe!!! Its that good.
Dough crumbles, definitely better recipes out there. Clearly the reviews don’t justify the final outcome.
The texture was nice on this cookie but its seriously lacking flavor! Never had such a bland gingerbread cookie. I only give 3 because I do love thw texture
I just pulled the last pan out of the oven, and they came out perfectly! I made 2 modifications- I added an egg (only because I have never made cookies without eggs!) and rolled them a bit thinner. The flavor is perfect- rich with just the right spice kick at the end.
Thank you for sharing this recipe- I will definitely use it again!
My dough is very dry and I followed the instructions as listed. I was able to make a ball but fear it will fall apart when I roll it out. Also my dough was much darker than the dough shown in the video.
These turned out fine for me. Too bad for all the nasty, childish one star reviews. Mine did not taste overpoweringly of molasses, then again I used standard baking molasses (Grandma’s Kitchen, I think) so maybe “dark molasses” is too much? There are lighter molasses on the market that people can buy if they’re so aversive to it, but then again making a molasses based cookie maybe isn’t such a great idea if you are. Furthermore the amount of ginger is obviously a lot so just halve the spices. – Do people really not know how to do this? Baking to your taste is always about experimentation, you want it perfect go buy it in the store. Learn to adult. Sorry, not sorry. Totally laughing at all the Karens who are going to mess themselves reading my review. Tough love. The dough was manageable. I didn’t roll out cookies at 1/2″ only 3/8″ made more than 3 dozen 3″ star shaped cookies. Rolling was better at near room temp with a non stick pin covered in flour. I think 2 hr chill is sufficient. Taste and texture is decent, didn’t knock my socks off. Might make again.
I made these last year (and loved them!) but can’t recall if I used salted or unsalted butter. Can you please advise? Thanks!
I’ve never made ginger bread cookies. I thought I baked them wrong. But this step by step recipe was easy to follow. My ginger bread cookies came out great!!!
Has anyone tried it with oat milk instead of regular milk?
GREAT RECIPE! I Followed it exactly no substitutions, no changes, which I rarely do. My four batches of gingerbread cookies turned out perfect. I love love love the robust flavor. I might add a bit more sugar next time, but these were hands down the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever made, would not change anything else. Thank you for the great recipe!!
Awesome flavor!!!
Easy to
Cut out.
If you double the recipe be aware it won’t fit in your kitchenaid mixer.
The amount of molasses ruined the dough, yuck!
How did it ruin it? Molasses is a major ingredient in gingerbread.
Did you follow through and make it as written, including chilling the dough?? It doesn’t sound like it. How can you say it ruined the dough if you didn’t even bake them? Mine are best I ever tasted💕
Hi Lauren, excited to try this recipe for Christmas dinner this year!
If I’m freezing the cookies to be eaten at a later day, should I allow them to thaw or warm them up? How does that work? Thanks.
I would allow them to thaw to room temperature.
This was my first time making gingerbread and they turned out great! I followed the recipe exact and no issues that some others are posting. However I only left dough balls in fridge for 45min – 1hr. And didn’t put back in once cookies were cut just baked from there. I also got 60 cookies so no idea how people are ending up with less than a dozen. I did not find the dough too crumbly or too sticky. Just floured as I rolled and it was fine. I’d post a picture if the site let me. Also not too spicy or over the top molasses. Taste’s like gingerbread is suppose too. Maybe those that found that didn’t mix enough. Or maybe they don’t actually like those flavours. Anyways I definitely recommend and will make again. Thanks for the tasty recipe!
Delicious! And so easy! Thank you!
These cookies turned out fantastic!! I made my dough a few days in advance because I was busy so kept it in the freezer & then on the counter to thaw. The cookies are not too hard & not too soft. Seems like some people can’t follow instructions & are disappointed 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Why can’t I read the reviews?
Although this recipe was listed at having 2.1k five star reviews, I can’t access them. Therefore this sounds bogus and I’m not going to try it. ☹️
Hi Judith, the reviews are all at the very bottom of the page–scroll down and you’ll see them after the recipe card. –You’ll only see a few before you have to click the button “See More Comments” to read more. We can’t load all the reviews on one page or the page speed would take forever to load.
Hey Judith! I use this site frequently for recipes and you’re right! Sometimes on my phone I cant access comments. I think it might be a cache or add block issue. But I assure you they are here and I can see them! I’ll also tell you I tried this recipe and its preeeettty amazing! 🙂
Can I use this recipe to make gingerbread houses to decorate? Or will it be too soft?
I’d suggest my recipe for gingerbread houses, found here: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/gingerbread-house/
I’ve spent 18 years trying to find a recipe like my great grandma’s. This recipe isn’t it. It’s SO MUCH BETTER! (Sorry gramma)
Just finished 4 batches and can’t wait to make more. They were easy to make. Only hiccup was that my kitchen was too warm so had to put the dough in the freezer for a few minutes in between. Baked up perfectly in 10 minutes and cooled just as quick.
My husband couldn’t wait and grabbed a couple before I could ice them. That’s how divine they smelled as they baked.
5/5 Definitely recommend!!
Very easy recipe & my 9 year old and I followed it just fine & they turned out great! We are glad we chose your recipe for our first time making gingerbread men cookies! Thank you for sharing!
I rarely give reviews but these were horrible so I hope to prevent someone from wasting time, ingredients, and money on these. The texture is soft but the molasses is overpowering. They taste so strong that you almost cant swallow them. Just horrible.
I followed this recipe to a “T” and they came out better than I imagined…..thank you!..
Can I use a non stick silcone baking mat instead or parchment paper? Would it affect how the cookie turns out?
I don’t know why there are so many bad reviews for this. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of using fresh ginger instead of dried. These cookies are delicious!
I cut recipe in half since only needed a few. Dough very stiff. Put fridge overnight. Had to wait hours before able roll. I got 9 3″ cookies. Measured dough height to 1/2″. Bottom well baked, center not sure, but soft, not chewy. I will try full recipe again later and roll to 1/3″
Overall, good 💕
These are delicious! I was hesitant to try based on some of the reviews but don’t let the reviews stop you. Watch the video – I rolled these out similar to the video with floured plastic wrap on the bottom and top of the dough. Such a good trick I’ll be using with other doughs from now on. Yum and my house smells like Christmas!
what can i use as a substitute for molasses
Gingerbread cookies need molasses for the signature gingerbread flavor. I’d make a different recipe if you don’t like molasses.
These have become our make every Christmas cookie! Love them!
Can you substitute an dairy free alternative like oat milk to replace the milk?
That should work! Happy Baking!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. The cookies came out great! This was my first time making gingerbread cookies. This recipe makes a soft cookie. My son and I enjoyed making and decorating them. They taste great too. This recipe is a keeper!
horrible. the molasses took over the whole cookie, i felt nauseous making them. Save your time, energy and ingredients and choose a different recipe. if i could give this a zero i would. Horrible.
I agree! I was so disappointed with this recipe. The amount of molasses gives these cookies an unpleasant, overpowering flavor and the kick of spice at the end just burns your mouth. No one in my family liked them!
I don’t know how this recipe get the stars it does. I ended up throwing my out. I couldn’t even roll them out. And yes I had them in the fridge for over 8 hours. I tried adding flour and an egg to see it that would help, nope. Don’t recommend this recipe.
Honestly a great easy recipe for my first attempt at gingerbread! I did trust my gut and added an egg as it seemed odd not to have one, and I’m glad that I did. Otherwise, I followed the recipe completely and thought it was great. Dough is a bit crumbly but once it was worked in a bit I found it very easy to roll out and cut. Baked evenly and turned out great! Perfectly chewy and crisp on the edges. Would make again 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly (weighed ingredients per metric measurements) and they were phenomenal! The only note I have is that I made one batch and chilled the dough (plastic wrapped in tupperware) for 48 hours, and made a 2nd batch where I chilled the dough only 2 hours. The cookies made from the 48 hour dough were soooo much chewier and softer, which I enjoyed more than the crunchier 2 hour cookies.
How does this recipe have good reviews??
Way too much molasses! Tastes awful and the cookies don’t hold their shape during cooking. Waste of ingredients and so disappointing.
Hi Justine, yes, gingerbread cookies will have a strong molasses flavor. I’d recommend a different Christmas cookie recipe if you don’t like that strong flavor.
I left in refrigerator overnight. Got the dough out and it is dry as a bone followed the recipe wrapped in plastic wrap could not even roll out. Garbage it went will try another recipe. Maybe leaving overnight was the downfall
Gingerbread cookies are meant to taste like spices and sweet, not like you’d be spooning molasses put pf a jar. This reply actually annoyed me so much, own up for your disgusting recipe.
I’m sorry Isa, but this recipe has been beloved by my family for over 3 generations, so I’ll only own up to it being a really special, delicious recipe that we all love and make every year. There are so many different variations of this type of recipe though, so you are welcome to share you own on your own website :-).
I agree! I was so disappointed with this recipe. The amount of molasses gives these cookies an unpleasant, overpowering flavor and the kick of spice at the end just burns your mouth. No one in my family liked them!
The recipe is very simple and great for the holidays. I added a little ground pepper and maple extract to kick it up a bit. The dough is SUPER sticky, so be prepared to use copious amounts of flour. It worked so much better when I rolled individual dough balls and cut each cookie separately too. It’s way too sticky to do it otherwise. They turned out perfectly chewy and everyone loved them!
Kind of shocked by all the positive reviews! I followed the recipe exactly without thinking too much due to the high rating. Only when we took the dough out from being chilled did I notice that a) it was unworkably sticky due to the very high molasses ratio compared to other gingerbread cookie recipes and b) it had no egg! We tried to cut cookies anyways but the dough was just too sticky. We threw it back in the blender to try and backwards work it based on other recipes I’ve used in the past. Definitely skip this one unless you are confident adjusting ratios based on prior experience. And for goodness’ sakes, add an egg and vanilla!
Hi Caitlin, I’m having trouble understanding why you put the dough in a blender? You will need to use flour when rolling it out.
Why were these so STICKY?? My daughter and I were unable to cut out any shapes. We followed the written recipe exactly. Dough was wayyy too wet.
This didn’t work for me at all. My dough is so much darker and stickier than in the video. Had to use very small cutters as anything big like a gingerbread man would stick/tear but still took longer to cook to avoid being raw. The clove is very overpowering. Not my favourite, my kids don’t like it as quite cakey and a bit bitter from the molasses and cloves (followed metric recipe exactly)
Is this a great recipe to work with kids? Thanks!
My sister in law shared this recipe with me, and I couldn’t believe how good these cookies are. So my wife and I decided to have a go at it. The only thing that we did differently, was to go a little heavier on the spices. We like to really like a lot of spice in recipes.
The cookies have been a hit. So far we’ve made three recipes, and planning for a fourth one. This recipe brings back memories of my mother baking when I was a kid. Thank you for this great recipe, now my daughter wants it.
lots of work for a few cookies, states to roll them 1/2 inch thick, i went 1/4 inch and still only got 1 doz cookies, very hard to roll
I thought it was a bit odd this recipe did not contain an egg, and after baking, I regretted not adding one on my own and a bit more flour because the texture of these cookies is not super nice to eat.
After I added one egg the recipe worked much better. Did you forget to put an egg in the online recipe?
I’m glad you made that comment because I added 1/2 cup more flour, 1 egg, and reduced the molasses by 1/4 cup. I had to cook 13 minutes instead of 11. They turned out great.
Awesome recipe for Gingerbread.
I made it last year and planning this year too…
Perfect cookies if u follow the exact recipe.
Thank u so much Lauren 😊❤️
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas
Best gingerbread men ever! Delicious!!!
Hi Lauren, I remember as a kid having delicious chewy gingerbread snap cookies (maybe rolled in sugar). Is this the recipe for that or is there a different one? Many thanks!!
Easy to follow recipe! So Delicious!
This cookie is so full of Christmas Joy!!! The cookie is soft, chewy and full of ginger spice. I added 1/2 tsp pepper per two batches just to kick it up a bit. Nicely enhances the overall taste.
Hi. Can I use dry molasses instead of liquid molasses? Because I couldn’t get the liquid molasses.
I usually just use treacle in place of molasses as I’m from the UK and liquid molasses is harder to find and more expensive than treacle! Never had an issue using treacle over molasses.
I am attempting to use a ginger cookie cutter, but this dough is very sticky. I left it in the refrigerator for about 5 hrs before trying to cut them out. I am putting the dough back in the refrigerator overnight, and will try again in the AM. Will add more flour if it is still sticky. (I followed the recipe exactly)
Same here 🙁 waste of ingredients. Too much molasses I could see it when doing it and I was right
These cookies are great! I got 2 doz using a small mouth jar as a cookie cutter. It’s very hard for me to follow a recipe as written. I tried here but ultimately failed. I tripled the spices and added nutmeg. Accidently left them in the oven maybe 2 minutes too long but they were still chewy and terrific!
I made them again using honey for my husband who hates gingerbread and he loved them.
Has anyone made these without rolling them out? Just a drop style cookie using a cookie scoop? I assume I will have to flatten them out but would that work?
Yes, we did and they came out just as good.
Okay so- YES. It’s full spice and chewy, as promised.
I modified the making- I beat the butter, molasses, milk and sugar together for 2 minutes. Then integrated the dry ingredients.
Perfect texture. Easy peasy.
I have made these a couple of times now and I LOVE them!! I’m not too fond of hard gingerbread cookies, so these are perfect.
Delicious and simple. Fun to make and decorate with my toddler. Didn’t have any issues decorating.
Thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely LOVED these! My adult kids would not stop eating them. I made some 1/4″ thick and then a really large one (8″ cookie cutter) about 1/2″ thick. My kids like the thicker one better than the thinner ones. It was a different way to make cookie dough, but following all the directions made it work. It is most important for the butter to be room temperature! Thanks for all the “notes”. It was helpful!
I was wondering if this cookie recipe would be appropriate for cookies hung on a Christmas tree.
I tried this recipe about a month ago hoping to make gingerbread men for my family. I hate making bad comments on baking vlogs but these cookies were not good. They were not soft and they were very gumy if thats how you say it. Overall do not recommend.
The cookies were absolutely delicious! Best gingerbread cookies I have ever had! Yes soft and chewy and the flavor is really great! HOWEVER, I did not like these to decorate 🙁 the dough is on the more crumbly side which makes the cookies crack (as seen on the picture for this recipe, so I should have known better). I like a recipe where the tops of the cookies come out smooth so they’re “pretty” when you decorate. Will still use this recipe for eating with a nice cup of coffee! Again, flavor wise 5/5. To decorate, 3/5. Thank you for the tasty recipe!!
Loved this recipe. I chilled the dough overnight. This was the easiest gingerbread dough I have ever worked with. Normally, I have issues with the cut outs being so dry, that they fall apart or crack before I get them in the oven. Not this time. The cookies were so moist. I froze them before decorating, and couldn’t believe that they were soft and chewy once thawed. This is definitely a go-to recipe. Thank you!!!
At first I was not too sure about this recipe, never made cookies that didn’t have eggs. But these are addicting! And probably one of my favorite cookies now. I baked them at 350° for 6 min and removed them from the pan immediately because I prefer really soft cookies, which did make it a little hard to decorate (the heads kept breaking off lol) but seriously, these cookies are so good. Would def recommend this recipe, just play around with the baking time for preference
Used this recipe for my 1st time ever attempt at gingerbread cookies and knew I was never going to use another recipe! Made them again last night and they were exactly how I remembered from last year. Added plus is my 4 year old adores it just as much as he did last year too! Made it following exact measurements. No subs. Dough does get soft very quickly so divvying into smaller batches and putting it in the fridge/freezer or working super quick is necessary.
Made these for Christmas and received SO MANY compliments. Delicious!!
This is the BEST gingerbread recipe I’ve ever used. It got the dream of approval from my son-in-law for a nice soft gingerbread cookie, and he does not give his approval easily.
Soft and the perfect amount of Christmasy flavour!!
These are so soft and delicious. This recipe is a keeper for me. I even used GF flour due to an allergy and they were still amazing. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us.
It did not turn out the way it’s supposed to be . I followed the instructions perfectly and it came out too sticky and it would not harden . I feel like you lied about something and planned people on wasting their time using your recipe when it doesn’t even work .
Was there supposed to be baking powder in there? what did I do wrong? if I made the cookies themselves too small would that cause them to be rock hard or did I miss something essential in the recipe?
Yes, If you made the cookies thinner than the recipe suggests you would need to adjust the cooking time to ensure they are not overbaked. The recipe has baking soda. You’ll want to be sure your baking soda and ingredients are fresh.
Too dry and bitter without frosting.
Cookies were alright but the big amount of mollases ruined the taste was expecting them to be better
Big amount of molasses? My dear, what kind of cookies did you think you were making? Personally I’d use more if it were possible.
Idea: I made these using honey instead of the molasses because I’m in the minority in our house. They came out great. It wouldn’t hurt this recipe if you left out the ginger altogether either.
This was such an easy recipe. I am not a fan of the hard or very spicy gingerbread cookies. These had the right amount of spice and nice chewiness. I didn’t have a pastry cutter and so I used a fork at first to break up the larger chunks, but then rubbed the butter into the mix to get the consistency I needed. Will make this again!
This was not soft and chewy.
This recipe was so terrible! Luckily, it tasted decent enough, but it didn’t turn out brown it was more dark and a little more on the bitter side. I followed exactly what it showed. Wasted my resources trying to make perfect gingerbread cookies for my wife who has never had them before. Don’t use this recipe if you are reading. Don’t use it!!!
Big amount of molasses? My dear, what kind of cookies did you think you were making? Personally I’d use more if it were possible.
Idea: I made these using honey instead of the molasses because I’m in the minority in our house. They came out great. It wouldn’t hurt this recipe if you left out the ginger altogether either.
This was a great recipe, and the gingerbread turned out super soft, chewy, and amazing!
However, I ended up making a few adjustments to the original recipe.
I used maple syrup instead of molasse because I didn’t have any on hand and it worked fine. I also ended up using only 1/2 a cup of it, based on other reviews saying the molasses flavor was a bit too strong. I had to add around 3 more tablespoons of milk since the dough was too dry. I rolled the dough to be about 1/4 inch instead of the 1/2 inch that the recipe recommended since it was suggested by other reviews. I baked for about 8 minutes and the dough puffed up anyways, so you really don’t have to have them super thick. I wish I decreased some of the spices since you can REALLY taste them in this recipe. It’s not too overpowering, but just a bit too strong for my liking.
I gave 4 stars because I feel like you shouldn’t have to modify a recipe too much for it to work . A quick tip, the cookies are really soft and they break extremely easily, so make sure to be careful 🙂
Hi,
Is it 1 tbsp of cinnamon or 4tbsp? Recipe says 1 but video says 4. Thank you
Nice catch!! It is 1 Tbsp. of cinnamon. Hope you love the cookies!
Sorry, I hated this recipe. The cookies taste so strong of molasses and not nearly enough sugar. I followed the recipe exactly …
Just made these last night. I’ve never made gingerbread cookies to cut out before. I think next time I’ll separate the dough into smaller balls because they warm up quickly when working with them. Dough turned out great and cookies have a nice warm flavor to them.
Great recipe! I replaced some of the flour with oat flour for more texture and reduced the cook time to keep them from getting too crunchy.
Excellent taste, texture, and instructions! I made both the cookie and frosting with excellent results!
A waste of ingredients; these cookies don’t keep their shape like a good gingerbread cookie should. They puff up 😬
The ginger taste was way too overpowering, even after making another batch with less. The amount of frosting was enough to decorate double the amount of cookies, and they didn’t turn out soft in the end. I added a few minutes to the baking time because the cookie sank when touched. The tray on the bottom turned out burnt so I recommend switching trays midway.
Good morning. I want to make these today but I only have light brown sugar. The icy roads are not my friends today so can’t go to the store..any suggestions?
Light brown sugar will work!
The cookie dough was sticky, the cookies run while baking so the shapes were blown out, they were sooo thin, never will use this recipe again.
I agree! Such a waste of resources and didn’t turn out good. Mine were not even close to being the beautiful brown color that is shown in the pics and video. Never again!!!
Thanks for the easy recipe! And for including an icing recipe!
These turned out great! The spice was bang on. Although I did have a hard time rolling it out when it was cool. Left it sit on the counter for about 30 min. Much easier to roll. Will make again
Love the cookies and great video.
hi its good
I used this recipe for my first time making gingerbread cookies and it was PERFECT! They’re gloriously chewy which is a major plus for me, and I think they taste far better than store bought cookies. I would definitely recommend these to anyone who’se looking for a simple, soft gingerbread recipe.
I am making these before Christmas. Have already mixed the dry ingredients. My husband likes soft gingerbread cookies, so I will let you know how they turned out after he eats them. We are looking forward to eating and sharing them with neighbors.
I love this recipe but find I have to add a little more milk than called for to mix the dough, otherwise won’t form. Best gingerbread recipe ever and loved by everyone I share with.
Does it matter if I used salted or unsalted butter?
unsalted but you can use either. If you use salted butter simply decrease the added salt a litte bit!
Hiii , this recipe was/is amazing !! Very easy and simple to follow ❤️ I love to bake and when I saw the email of this recipe I ws like I have to do them this Holy season. 🤍💘 also the taste amazing !!!!! Love love love
Not a fan. The combination of spices tasted off – not really very gingerbread like
I am so happy with this recipe. The amount of molasses and spices were just right – not too spicy like some are. I rolled the dough out to just a bit under 1/2 inch and they came out perfectly. The cookies stayed soft and chewy and as long as the dough is chilled before baking, they won’t spread and lose their shape. I actually forgot to chill my first batch of gingerbread men and they ended up looking like chubby Pillsbury Doughboys. Overall, an excellent recipe, a keeper.
Super easy gingerbread recipe! It was really nice to have a simple cookie dough to mix up with my two year old. Dough mixed up really nice and I did have to use a hand held mixer till it was all mixed up at the end. When rolling out I did use a little flour and I rolled it to more like 1/4 inch. Baked for about 6 min and they turned out great! My daughter loves them.
I have never made a Gingerbread cookie, I researched many recipes and chose this one. I bake and cook all the time. This recipe is absolutely delicious! A pro chef had a video and he said if the dough was the right consistency to roll out immediately, mine was and I did! They came out perfect, soft inside, strong enough to decorate. And now we ate the batch before Christmas so now I have to make more! Thank you for a delicious cookie…and Merry Christmas..Joy
I followed the instructions to the “T” and they came out perfect. Great recipe and I’ll be making these again! Soft and chewy and delicious.
This is not royal icing, it will not hold a gingerbread house together. I should have realized but wish that was mentioned. That said, the cookies worked perfectly and taste AMAZING! We rolled thinner than stated and let them cool on the sheet a few minutes before removing. So delicious and easy enough for my kids to roll/cut!
This is the second time I’ve made these and the first time I realized there’s no eggs in the recipe 😅. That’s pretty great if you’re craving a cookie and don’t have eggs but anywhoooo… the recipe is the best for chewy cookies. I’m not sure what others are doing wrong but it is a true gingerbread recipe. Strong flavor and delicious texture.
I did put it in my stand mixer for all steps the second time I made them and happy to report, they came out as great as the first time. I will be making them again and again. They taste just like the ones from my local European bakery but better 😄!
10 out of 10!
Sara, you didn’t follow the recipe. Sorry
BEWARE! The cookies worked fine but this icing recipe is buttercream, NOT royal icing. So sad for my kids to watch their gingerbread house creations fall apart before our eyes. This will not dry hard or hold anything together. I would imagine it also needs to be kept in the fridge. Please change this to a traditional gingerbread icing to save others from disaster 🙁
Where in this recipe did it state anything about making gingerbread houses? Your kids just got a lesson in life. Live and learn.
This recipe is the best! I’m not the best baker but these cookies were easy to make and looked and tasted great! The frosting recipe was also amazing. Fun craft for the whole family… what a hit! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Not impressed by the recipe. I have tried twice to make these cookies and it’s been a disaster. The dough in the video doesn’t look anything like the dough I made from the recipe. I planned on giving these cookies for a Christmas teacher appreciation day and now I’m coming up with Plan B.
Chill, chill, then chill again. I’ve never made gingerbread. Apparently it’s a sticker dough than most. The only way I was able to manage it was to chill the dough overnight, roll it out on a cookie pan with parchment paper, chill that for 30ish, take it out and cut the cookies then separate the excess dough, then chill the cut cookies for a little more before baking ~ repeat until dough is all used up. It’s not a quick process but after I figured it out the cookies looked great. They taste good too!
These are so yummy and were as simple to make as ginger bread cookies can be! I had pulled a few recipes and decided to start with the easiest to follow – now I don’t have to try any of the other complicated ones! 😆 🙌
I did have to substitute a lot due to allergies, sensitivities, and what I had on hand, but everything worked perfectly! I used Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend, coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, a combo of molasses and sorghum syrup, Earth Balance vegan butter, and coconut milk.
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve found a new Christmas family tradition! ❤
This recipe is really just ok. Not as terrible as some here say, but the dough was a bit hard to work with and the end result is a bit of a let down. No so much soft and chewy as mushy. As others have said the cookies spread and cracked which kind of defeats the purpose of cut out cookies.
These were Fantastic. I made 4 batches at once and they all came out nicely. I lightly floured my work area. ThankYou for sharing recipe.
This family was a HIT with the family! As long as you follow step by step, it should be smooth sailing. Not quite sure why some are having so many issues. I will way I found my cookies rose better with the freeze prior method. If you let the dough get too warm prior to oven time, they will crack. Time varies based off thickness. Definitely use some flour when rolling and shaping. A new go-to for my soft gingerbread loving family <3 Merry Christmas!
These were so fun to do with the kiddos & they smelled amazing!! They LOVED decorating and eating them!!!! Thank you & Merry Christmas!
Why is the dough so sticky? The fact that I have no seen the author reply back to any feedback should have been a red flag for me. After taking the dough out of the fridge for over 2 hours it’s seems like I just wasted ingredients. I followed the recipe and the dough is now stuck on my rolling pin. Thanks. This recipe is a joke.
Did you flour your board and rolling pin. I had zero problems with this recipe.
These comments are so… Everyone, please a little gratitude and grace over the holidays, especially for free recipes made with love 🙂 If you like them, great. If you don’t like them, then try something else. My dough is in the fridge at the moment. Let’s see how they turn out! Regardless, thanks Lauren for your efforts.
Thank you Kimberly! Hope you love the cookies and happy holidays from all of us at Tastes Better From Scratch!
They were great!! Big hit with adults and kids!! I actually divided the dough in half, and refrigerated the other half. The second batch was so much better. I think the trick is for the dough to be colder. I actually put it straight on the parchment paper and was cutting the shapes from there so it could hold the shape. Anyway, delicious recipe and perfect with chai. Thanks so much!!
Hi, we (sisters) were so excited to make these adorable gingermen for Christmas baskets…we are bakers and if we can’t make a recipe work our mother can ❤. But we need so expert advice from the one who made the recipe. The dough is very dry and crumbley so I just mashed it together with my hands and it still was dry, am I doing something wrong? I’d love to try again!
I just made these. As others have said, the dough was really, really sticky and difficult to work with, so instead of making balls of dough to chill I made pancakes of dough so they chilled faster and were quick to roll out (and thus did not warm up as quickly). Still, the last cookies I cut from each pancake were very soft and hard to move to the cookie sheet. I rolled out to a little more than 1/4 inch thickness because a 1/2 inch is really thick and would have only made a few cookies. Baked for 11 minutes at 350 and they turned out pretty well, crispy outside with a thin soft center, but they spread a lot so don’t bother using cookie cutters that have fine details. Best for gingerbread men, hearts, circles, etc. It might help to put the cutouts on the cookie sheet and refrigerate them for an hour before baking, but that would make the process take even longer. Very strong spice flavor. I would cut back on some of the ginger and clove.
This was a disaster – I followed step-by-step and the mixture was dry &crumbly; nothing like the creamy mixture in video. So disappointed as this was for a gingerbread party.
Update: Although the dough was a bear to mix and work with, it became easier the more it was handled. No chilling required as it was dry/crumbled until I kept kneading. Once baked, they were delicious. Don’t overbake! About 10 min.
I don’t like to hate on recipes but this just didn’t work for me. The gingerbread dough didn’t roll out nicely, so I tried flouring it and the roller. I still had to squish it together continuously because it cracked all over despite being moist. The cut-outs were so fragile, they wouldn’t hold together when transferring to the sheet. I also don’t like the butter amounts given in only in tablespoons. My butter was a block so I had to measure it. I did the calculations to come up with 3/4 cup. That would have been nice to have. Other measurements were a bit wonky. I ended up making little ball cookies with the second pan because the gingerbread shape just wasn’t going to hold.
My daughter and I made this recipe. The result is awesome. Great for Christmas season.
Great recipe! Easy to follow and I had just about everything already in my cupboards. I didn’t have a pastry blender, but between a potato masher and a large fork, I got the job done. My daughter is dairy free and this recipe was super easy to modify for her. We cut down on the ginger and cloves, just for personal preference. The cookies were crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Best of all, they were so much fun to decorate!
I haven’t ate a cookie yet, I’m really hoping that they are good, tried the recipe, no altering, no substitutions, mixing with a hand blender for 30 seconds was not even close to combining ingredients, had to knead for 20 minutes, at this point I knew I would have to knead again to make it rollable. I separated into 3 balls not 2 cause 2 would have been harder. When I got the dough pliable enough to roll(half-hour)after refrigeration, half inch thickness would have yeilded 5 cookies. So rolled a bit thinner, and watched the time, recipe said 10/11 minutes, I took them out of oven at 20 minutes. I got 18 small gingerbread cookies. They smell wonderful and they feel like a soft cookie, let you know how they taste, but won’t do this recipe again.
I had the same thoughts on how long it took to combine the ingredients and bake the cookies. It took several minutes to mix them, and 20 minutes to bake them. Any less and they were much too soft (according to the directions of waiting till they were only a little soft in the middle).
My cookies turned out very dark and when they hardened they were hard and crispy, and tasting strongly of molasses.
My partner, an accomplished baker, and I tired making these for my students. What a fiasco. The dough too sticky, and even after adding flour, it was next to impossible to work with the dough. A mess!
First time baking gingerbread cookies and they were a hit among friends and family! Absolutely delicious
Honestly, these tasted good, but I found the dough to be very sticky when trying to roll out, it was rather frustrating. I will be using my previously used gingerbread cookie recipe. It was super fun decorating them with my little kids.
First time I ever made gingerbread. I found this recipe while searching for one and decided to give this a whirl. They turned out wonderful and my dad even loved them, rather soft and delicious, and the frosting wasn’t needed.
i made these yesterday for practice because i want to bake cookies for christmas and oh my god they were sooo good !!! can’t wait to make these on christmas eve!!
Does the frosting firm up? Like royal icing?
It’s softer than royal icing but it does firm up!
I’m getting ready to try this recipe. You say to roll the dough out to 1/2″ thickness. That sounds too thick. Is that correct? Merry Christmas! Thank You!
1/2 inch is correct but you can roll it thinner if you like a thinner cookie. You’ll have to adjust the cooking time a little. Merry Christmas to you too! Hope you love the cookies!
These cookies were so good! My kids said this is our new Christmas cookie tradition. So yummy and soft. We will definitely make these again!
They swelled up so bad you couldn’t tell what it was
Probably the worst recipe I’ve ever used, they’re absolutely vile! Please don’t ruin Christmas and heed my advice, head to bbc good food, I shall be sticking to that recipe!!
So sad that a cookie recipe can ruin one’s Christmas. What it must take to make some people happy.
Gingerbread cookie recipe is the best! Dough is so easy to work with and they taste so delicious. A given for Christmas.
Nice easy recipe. Had to add lots of flour when rolling as would stick to rolling pin. Kids enjoyed making them.
Very sticky dough that even out of the fridge from overnight was hard to roll. Followed recipe exactly and cookies spread to cover almost my entire cookie tray. They puffed up, cracked, spread. Very disappointed.
My daughter and her friend made these today. They are 11 and 13 and had a blast. The dough was so easy to work with. They were delicious and looked great! They drizzled with chocolate/white chocolate and sprinkles with dusting sugar. 🤩
Dough was crumbly and unusable, couldn’t even make dough balls
It was amazing i love this recipe
Does the icing harden on these gingerbread cookies? I want to be able to package them to give out so need a harder icing so they don’t ruin.
The BEST gingerbread recipe I have ever tried! It’s so soft and chewy! It’s so good my family couldn’t resist them, especially fresh from the oven! Now, I have to run to the store for more ingredients!
So happy they were a hit!! Happy baking Jaime
For high altitude : Add one egg, one tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda. WELL chill the dough. It will be sticky and tacky if you don’t.
(Always compare recipes to see what is left out or added in.)
We really enjoyed this recipe for gingerbread cookies! They were delicious and the dough was easy to work with! My daughter really enjoyed decorating them.
When I finished making the dough I was already skeptical because it was super dark, and then I baked them and they don’t even taste like ginger bread, all I taste is molasses, the other recipes only you 1/4 cup.
They’re ok. Not as light and fluffy as I’m used too. Stayed sort of wet in the center. Sooooo much butter. I really feel like I’m eating a stick of butter and some spices. Not a big fan.
I am going to try these this weekend but am wondering if the frosting hardens. I want to individually package them and give them out so don’t want a soft frosting that will ruin.
This was a delicious gingerbread recipe and the kids had so much fun decorating them !! 😊😊
These were so easy to work with and turned out great! My kids had so much fun making and decorating them! Thank you for the recipe 😊
Super easy to make and super delicious! My son and I enjoyed baking and decorating these sweet little treats!
Such a fun recipe to make with the Grand Kiddos!!
The best gingerbread cookie! So yummy!
I have made them for neighbor gifts and they have been a big hit! I love sharing the link to your recipe’s with others. Thank you for sharing your love of food with us all
We also ended up with crumbly dough that had to go straight into the garbage after refrigeration.
Instantly a family favorite! These will definitely be a family tradition for us. The recipe is so simple and the video is so helpful. We were able to easily follow both and they turned out perfectly. My son had so much fun decorating them.
hi these taste great! how long would they last outside the fridge?
About 5-7 days although they never last that long in my house!!
Wow, this is a fun and easy recipe!! I even modified it with pumpkin spice instead of all the other spices and added the ginger. These are the first gingerbread cookies that I try that are not overpowering with spice. Thank you and Happy Holidays!!
Hi Lauren,
This is the absolute best gingerbread cookie recipe ever!
I found it two years ago and I have saved it and cannot wait to make them Monday. Is there a sun for buttermilk?
Great gingerbread cookie recipe! I just made these with my kids and they loved decorating and eating them.
No egg? Is this correct? Every recipe I have looked into making for gingerbread calls for an egg, so I just wanna make sure that the recipe is correct before I make it. Thank you.
No egg!
The cookies are great, but the recipe made way too much icing. Try double batch cookies with single batch icing and it should be more than enough, even applying more generously than in the pictures.
Could fancy molasses be substituted?
Very good! I really enjoyed the process and the product, thanks for a great recipe!!
Literally just like my grandmothers. Thank you!
That is the BEST COMPLIMENT!
Has anyone made these omitting the cloves? We can’t seem to find in our area.
Just wondering if still be ok if I just Make them without the cloves.
made them without cloves still where awsome
Great recipe – easy to follow and really fun to do with kids! I appreciated the make-ahead and freezing instructions too. And, to top it all off – SO delicious!
Can you use something other than a pastry blender?
Absolutely love this recipe! Was exactly what I was looking for and they came out amazing!
You can try using forks, two butter knives, pulse it in a food processor, or just rub the butter in with your fingers. I haven’t got a pastry cutter either and I usually find just using my fingers to be the easiest (although messy!), but I’m intrigued by the food processor method and may try that next time.
Instead of a pastry blender, cut in the butter using a couple of butter knives, or you can use your fingers.
Lauren, if I could leave 10 stars, I would! I made these gingerbread men with my grandson during our stay with them. They came out so beautifully & delicious and were gone by the end of the next day! We used your recipe for the decorating, my Grandson is autistic, and he did it so neatly! Thank you for making this recipe so easy to make!
Has anyone tried with a gluten-free flour? I use the King Arthur brand that contains xanthan gum and it works fine with other recipes 1:1. Recommendations?
Hi, could anyone tell me what to do when my dough is too dry. Can I add more milk?
Yes, you can add a little more liquid!
Wonderful recipe!
The only line of this recipe that raised my eyebrow was the part about rolling the dough 1/2” thick. That seemed excessive to me, so I rolled it down to about 1/4” like I have done with other recipes, and the cookies turned out great.
Is the 1/2” thickness legit? Has anyone tried that and had success at that thickness?
I think it’s supposed to say 1/4 because that is what she says in the recipe video.
I agree with folks who rated this with 1 star. I have thrown the rest of the dough away…. Added extra flour. Still ended up with a super soft mess. The few cookies I was able to get cut out spread to over twice their original size and never did cook through. Yuck
I made this recipe for Christmas, gave some to a friend and she ordered 2 more dozen. They are the absolute best! Am about to make another batch. Thank You!
It is too wet. I rolled out on pan and baked with no cut out. Dough was in fridge overnight. You have to be able to work it very fast.
Sounds like you needed to add a little more flour!
Maybe you used the dry cup measurer for the wet or vice a versa?
Amanda.
Such an Unkewl rating!
Obviously, you messed something up. Not the recipe …
Dough is way too wet, couldn’t work with it at all. Ended up just randomly smacking the wet dough on the baking sheet hoping for the best
Has anyone tried making a gingerbread house with this recipe, or would it be best to stick to a hard gingerbread recipe for that?
I’m not sure if I want to rate these.
Please help! I’ve tried this recipe 2yrs in a row. Is it me, or are these cookies a bit dense???
Last yr was a complete and utter fail – hard and heavy. Likely my doing …
This yr … somewhat chewy, but still quite dense. I’ll bake them less for the next attempt. I still have 3/4 of the dough. I’m tempted to split the dough into a small amt, add a tad bit more baking soda, and I’ll see what that does. I already added an additional tbsp of milk and 1 of water. Like last yr, I found mine a bit crumbly.
I do wonder how someone else complained about this being “wet!” LOL, and a poor rating to boot! Not kewl at all. 😉
Flavor – A+
Thank you Liz! Make sure your ingredients are fresh. Baking soda and powder are only good for about 6 months once opened.
So the recipe failed for you twice yet you knock someone else for low rating? And also said it was them not the recipe? I appreciate their reviews especially on cut out cookies that are time consuming. Here’s a hint: try a different recipe!
Way to wet. 0 stars. Can’t do anything with the dough and it was chilled for 8 hours. Garbage recipe.
I’m sorry Amanda, but but it sounds like something definitely went wrong in the preparation. The dough should not be wet at all. Were you able to watch the video of me walking through the recipe step by step?
There doesn’t seem to be a video. Is it because I’m on my phone not a laptop?
You should see it on either device…Click the “jump to video” button on the top of the post, and it will take you there. On mobile the video will show at the top of your phone as you scroll down.
I had this same issue on my phone, and I clicked “Jump to Video”
If it was too wet you did something wrong….mine was very firm after chilling and actually had to warm up a little to roll out well. Cookies turned out perfectly….and look beautiful! The dough should be pretty stiff when done…so you can shape it into a ball before refrigerating. Sounds like you used too much liquid (milk)….or not enough flour.
This is the best recipe ever! My 5 year old twins and I made these today in the shapes of sea creatures. They’re slightly crunchy on the outside and wonderfully perfectly chewy on the inside. Thank you for posting your recipe!
Can you use Maple syrup instead of molasses?
I wouldn’t suggest that. The molasses is what gives the cookies their signature flavor. Molasses is also much thicker than maple syrup!
Can you use Maple syrup instead of molasses, will it taste different ?
In this recipe, Maple syrup is not a good substitute!
Delish! Great flavor and consistency. I did not mix as directed~ just blended the wet ingredients and dry separately and then mixed it all together and turned out perfect.
Absolutely perfect!! Love this recipe, definitely a keeper. I made as written. Honestly did have doubts per others review. But, I always make as written first. And this is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing what will be my new family favorite recipe. 🥰🎄
Super-easy very yummy!
Thanks for it. ☺️
Really yummy! I got molasses powder and vanilla bean paste from OliveNation. Found their vanilla bean paste to be really amazing with no alcoholic taste to it. Highly recommend!
I found that the recipe calls for way too much molasses, it was so overpowering I couldn’t taste the ginger or any spices. But the consistency of the cookies were great. I’ll try the same recipe but with golden syrup instead of molasses.
These tasted delicious, but the dough was difficult to work with. I followed the refrigeration instructions, and worked quickly rolling the dough out in my floured butcher block. However, it was so sticky that I had a hard time getting the cookies off the counter and onto the tray. They ended up a little smooshed. They also spread some during baking, so my gingerbread men looked a little chunky! Very tasty though, will make again.
Sorry I forgot to rate them! Ten stars! 😋😋😋
Best gingerbread cookies ever!
baked the ginger bread cookies today & they’re great only found one brand of gingersnaps in store that comes close.
thanks for sharing
My mom loves gingerbread cookies. I made these for her at Christmas. They were perfect. I’m making them for her at Valentines day. They stay soft and the flavor is wonderful. Love them.
I made these but substituted molasses for honey. They tasted just as good, were soft chewy and sweet.
good to know for the future
I’m a amateur when it comes to baking and I followed this recipe exactly and they came out absolutely perfect
Can this recipe be used for a cookie press?
Cookies came out delicious, probably one of the best gingerbread recipes I’ve made, however rolling the dough to 1/2” did not work for us, the cookies came out more like a hard cake, I very much recommend 1/4”
they turned out hard as a rock. I’ve made gingerbread many times before, and this is by far the worst recipe I’ve ever used. i don’t understand what I’ve done differently than those saying it’s good.
My new favorite gingerbread cookie recipe!!! Soft and tasty, but firm enough to hold together and decorate. Not too sweet or too spicy, a great balance of all the flavors. Followed the recipe as written…except doubled it!!! No changes needed.
After many years of baking traditional gingerbread cookies using Betty Crocker recipe I thought I would try a new version soft and chewy. Dough the color of mud much too spicy though I reduced measurements rolling cutting bsking a disaster Theybare all in the garbage not even good for the birds
Best gingerbread cookie recipe!!
Question, can I use half n half for the icing and the recipe?
Great recipes I would love to have a book of them .This is the first time in a long time that I have had time to do this now that the grandkids or old enough to help.My kids use to love this kind of stuff.Then work took over.Thanks for your help.
Be on the lookout for my cookbook later this year! So excited to share it with you Patsy!
Really hard dough to work with.
Wasn’t impressed with this one.
Sorry
I liked this recipe overall! My ONLY qualm is the amount of molasses. I followed the recipe exactly even though I was nervous about the molasses… and it ended up being too much for me. Even with the frosting on, I taste more molasses than ginger. Next time, I’ll do less and then I think I’ll be happy with it.
This recipe was the consistency of bread crumbs and had almost no liquids and no binders?!?!? Wasted a bunch of ingredients ?!?!?
They tasted amazing, but when I rolled the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut the cookies and baked them, they ended up huge and distorted. Had the best luck with rolling the dough out to 1/8 inch
Best gingerbread I’ve ever had
what kind of butter do i use? unsalted or salted?
These turned out wonderfully! They were the perfect consistency and soft to bite into. the kids and I had a blast! This will be our go-to gingerbread recipe for life!
Love, love, love this recipe. The cookies were not hard and the spices are just right. This is definitely a keeper.
These gingerbread cookies were a hit at my daughter’s cookie exchange! Soft and chewy with a rich flavor. Will make these a permanent fixture to our Christmas cookie party.
I used this recipe to make these gingerbread cookies (the first time baking gingerbread cookies for me) for a Christmas event with friends. Let me tell you, they were a super hit! I kept hearing, “who brought the gingerbread cookies” over and over. When I finally answered I brought them, they asked me, “did you buy them or baked them?” Lol…LOL… EVERYONE enjoyed them and were the talk of the evening. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
This recipe is ridiculously good!! Definitely will be making these again very soon 🙂
I am curious about the no egg. Can you explain why?
*Chef’s Kiss*
This became a favorite for my class for a gingerbread activity! The cookies were excellent! We left the clove out and it still tasted incredible!
My first attempt at gingerbread cookies and this recipe has been a hit! I added orange extract to my dough for a little something special.
Very yummy!
This was an easy recipe and it tastes so good. My family enjoyed the smell as they were baking also.
We will be saving this recipe for many years of holiday baking.
Thank you
Can I use unsulphured blackstrap molasses?
Yes
1st time making gingerbread cookies. Very tasty. The only thing I did different was cut 1/4″ thick. Felt 1/2″ was to thick but have to say next time I might try 1/2″. I had a pretty good size cookie cutter so I only got 12 – 14 cookies. Thanks for sharing the recipe💕
One thing about this…..if roll the dough into a ball it will take a long time to chill…make disc’s and it chills much quicker. Love this recipe. Hubby is in heaven.
Delicious! I added fresh squeezed lemon to the icing. Yum.
Finally..perfect soft chewey gingerbread men,excellent recipe
I followed the recipe, froze after cutting (5min) and then baked.
They turned out great, perfectly chewy even next day.
I will definitely bake again but next time perhaps put more ginger. I just like them generously spiced, however, these are delicious as is!
Wondering if I can pulse in a food processor rather than using a pastry cutter, would that affect texture?
That should be fine.
I used my stand mixer instead of pastry cutter and it came out perfectly:)
Can I make these and not shape them into gingerbread men? Just regular circular cookies?
Yes!
The recipe was easy to follow and the dough was easy to work with. My 2&4 year olds were able to roll the dough with ease. We baked the cookies for 9.5 minutes. They had a slight crunch on the outside with the perfect tender softness throughout. The portions were perfect, as some recipes make several dozen. We did not frost them as they were so good right out of the oven. I imagine they’d be even better. This recipe converted me to a gingerbread cookie lover!
I scoured for a good gingerbread cookie recipe and decided on this one. We love it! It wasn’t until I was making my sugar cookie batch that I realized that THIS recipe doesn’t contain egg. I’m not a connoisseur of gingerbread cookies but a quick scan of some other recipes told me it’s pretty common to include egg. Is there a reason no egg is included?
These are the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever eaten. I love gingerbread and the soft and chewy texture was on spot. The decorating was more fun knowing they tasted great too. I was skeptical of no eggs and was pleasantly surprised the dough was so easy to work with.
These are so delicious! I thought my two toddlers wouldn’t approve because of the distinct flavors of both molasses and ginger, but I was wrong! I could hardly get a chance to frost these cute gingerbread men. I did notice that the thinner cookies were crunchy and the thicker cookies were chewy. So if looking for a chewier cookie, do not roll dough out too thin. Yum!
Got to save the recipe. The molasses and spice taste almost like chocolate!
I made these with my 12 year old this weekend and they were absolutely delicious and soft, as promised! Will be a recipe we come back to year after year.
Perfection! This website is becoming my go to for recipes.
same!
Will try this one. Last gingerbread cookie recipe I tried was disappointing. This one sounds better. Do you have a recipe for butter cream frosting to go with? Something with little to no icing sugar.
I made these exactly as written and they are delicious, soft and chewy- they way they should be! Also I was reading the comments and I always struggle with making royal icing (too sweet) but I used butter cream icing as you suggested and added some peppermint extract to the icing to keep the Christmas flavours and it was a delicious combo! Thanks for sharing!
These are by far the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever had. My family and I loved ❤️ them so much that I decided to make a batch on this chilly January evening.
Question: Is it okay to freeze the dough? I would love to make it in large batches and freeze them. Thank you.
Yes, you can do that!
I always hated tooth breaking hard gingerbread cookies, but loved the flavor of them. Im soooo glad I found this recipe by accident. Absolutely delicious and the best ever. I made unicorns (as i didnt have the men cookie cutters)Lol, and received nothing but compliments. THANKS for sharing!!
I’ve never had soft baked gingerbread cookies before. As a matter of fact Ive only made gingerbread cookies once and it was a disaster. These are delicious and was so easy to make. I’m bummed I didn’t stumble upon this recipe sooner. Thank you Lauren for sharing.
Wan Tito make these to decorate with the grand kids. Was wondering if the recipe can be doubled. Thank you
Yes, that’s fine! Enjoy.
Can you use light brown sugar if you don’t have dark??
Yes, thats fine.
Hi! How long could this dough keep in the refrigerator? For example, we’re spending some time in the mountains and I was wondering if I could make the dough at home and take it to the mountains to bake and decorate there. Would the dough be okay for 1-2 days? Thanks!
Yes, it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days! How fun!
My daycare made these today and soooooo yummy!
Soft and chewy.
Hi Lauren
I’m a novice when it comes to baking. My sister is the baker in my family. I thought I would try baking as a fun family tradition with my kids.
I searched for Gingerbread that was moist and I found your recipe. Boy, did you make me look good!
To my surprise the cookies turned out great. I even got the nerve to share them with some people at church. They were a hit!
I just followed your recipe.
It will become a part of our family memories.
Thank you 😊
Used this recipe many times- brilliant recipe!
I made this gingerbread recipe for the first time to make Christmas cookies and it is perfect! It’s my new favorite! The gingerbread was soft just as promised. That was the most important requirement. I don’t like hard gingerbread so choosing a recipe that would deliver as promised was key.
I’m so happy you liked it! Thanks for coming back to comment.
Can anyone tell me what 12 tablespoons of butter might be I
in grams? What weight in grams for dry ingredients ie I cup = 200g dry or mls wet?
Isn’t half inch too thick? Cut out mine little less than 1/4 in and I got 16 cookies out of one ball of dough. Half inch you won’t get many cookies?? bbb
Okay I want to make this recipe but I want the frosting recipe you used to decorate them too!! I don’t see it here? I HATE hard gingerbread cookies. I only ever see them hard! I have a recipe I love for soft ones but I’m going to try this one this year!!
Me too– only soft! Same goes for sugar cookies! 🙂 I don’t use a recipe–I just make a regular buttercream frosting with butter, powdered sugar, a splash of milk and vanilla and make it the right consistency I want by adding a little more powdered sugar or a little more milk. Here’s a recipe you could use: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/buttercream-frosting/ Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!