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These soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookies are my favorite gingerbread cut out cookies! Frosted with an easy royal icing, they’re the perfect holiday cookie. I’ve been making these cookies my entire life – and everyone loves them.
The BEST Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
My dad and I both love gingerbread. I cannot get enough of the flavor and texture of these cookies! When I was young, we’d make this recipe every Christmas. I remember going to the cookbook cabinet and sorting through to find the Christmas one that held this recipe. Back then we only had a hand mixer so I remember how, by the 4th cup of flour, mixing would get hard. Usually my dad was called in to help finish up the dough.
I make these gingerbread cookies every year. We normally make sugar cookie cutouts and these because I cannot decide which to make. If you’re wondering how to make chewy gingerbread cookies that are also soft AND keep their shape, this is the recipe for you.
Gingerbread Recipe Ingredients
- Butter: make sure it’s softened to room temperature
- Molasses: I use the regular kind you find at the grocery store – unsulphured or blackstrap molasses.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar. I wouldn’t substitute brown sugar; they’re soft enough by design and brown sugar might make them too soft.
- Egg, vanilla, salt: regular cookie ingredients!
- Baking Soda: You’ll need 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda – this makes a lot of cookies.
- Vinegar: the SECRET to soft and chewy gingerbread cookies! This activates the baking soda to keep them nice and soft. Substitute lemon juice if you don’t have white vinegar.
- Flour: All-purpose flour, be sure to spoon and level it into the measuring cup.
- Spices: A teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger and a teaspoon ground cloves.
How to make Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- Cream butter and sugar: Beat butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or very large bowl with a hand mixer) on medium speed until smooth.
- Add wet ingredients: Mix in the egg, then add the vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until combined (mixture may look a bit curdled, that’s normal.)
- Add Flour: Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms. Divide dough into two or three sections (depending on how much space you have for rolling out).
Hack for Rolling Out Cookie Dough
I roll out my cookie dough before I chill it – between sheets of parchment paper or wax paper – making it easier to roll and removing the mess of using a lightly floured surface.
- Roll dough: Cut the cookie dough in half or into thirds, like you normally would. Then, sandwich each half between two sheets of Parchment Paper. Roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick using a rolling pin, and use the guidelines on the parchment paper to help with your rectangular shape.
- Chill the dough: Once you’ve rolled out your cookie dough between the sheets of parchment, cover with plastic wrap and chill it until it’s firm.
- Cut your shapes: use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out your cookies, re-rolling the dough scraps between the parchment as needed. My favorite shapes are the gingerbread men! NOTE: if your dough is too soft to remove to the cookie sheet, chill the dough first.
- Before baking: Once you cut your shapes, I like to chill it again because the chances of spread are reduced if you bake these COLD. Plus, baking a cold cookie ensures softness and lessens the likelihood of an overdone cookie.
Royal Icing Recipe
Once cooled, I make a simple royal icing to decorate with. You can definitely use regular sugar cookie frosting, but I love making a simple royal icing. Royal icing comes together fast and dries hard, so you can stack the cookies for giving.
- Powdered Sugar – be sure not to pack it (spoon it into the measuring cup)
- Meringue Powder – powdered egg whites; this is why the icing hardens
- Vanilla Extract – for flavoring (use any extract you like)
- Water – the amount depends on how thick you want your icing
- Whisk the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- Start with 5 tablespoons water and mix on high speed until it’s no longer glossy, then add more water as needed for consistency (whether you plan to pipe, flood, or frost).
- Mixing will take 7-10 minutes. It’s done when it’s no longer glossy.
- Pipe or frost as desired!
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- You can also freeze the dough once it’s rolled out or in balls. Allow it to thaw before rolling.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to a month.
- Don’t feel like making Royal Icing? Make sugar cookie icing or use my buttercream for cookies recipe.
- This will be one of your favorite Christmas Cookie recipes I promise!
FAQs
The dough is a sticky dough, so make sure to chill the rolled out sheets until they are hard (they shouldn’t move if you pick them up). I use a spatula sometimes to help me release them up from the parchment paper. If you’re still having trouble, cut your cookies then chill again, then try moving them.
Yes you can use any vinegar (or lemon juice) instead of white distilled. But don’t use red wine or balsamic – you don’t want to taste it.
As long as you follow the recipe you shouldn’t have this problem: be sure to chill the cookies before baking and to measure the ingredients correctly.
Chewy & Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (237ml) molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 5 Cups (620g) All purpose flour Sifted
For the frosting:
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups (452g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons water
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- Beat butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer (or very large bowl with a hand mixer) until smooth. Mix in the egg, then add the vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until combined (mixture may look a bit curdled, that’s normal.)
- Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms. Divide dough into two sections.
- Lay out a sheet of Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid on your work surface. Add half the cookie dough and add a second sheet of parchment paper on the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4″ thick, in between the pieces of parchment. Periodically, gently lift the parchment off the layer to make sure it’s not sticking. Repeat with second half of dough.
- Chill the rolled out dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper with SmartGrid. Cut shapes from chilled dough, placing on the prepared pans. Chill another 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on cookie size. Re-roll any scraps of dough and re-chill and repeat.
- Cool cookies completely before frosting.
Make the frosting:
- While cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Add meringue powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, and water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until peaks form and it’s lost it’s glossy sheen, about 7-10 minutes. Add a bit more water as needed for piping consistency.
- At this point you can color the frosting if you want, using food coloring. Frost cookies and top with sprinkles. (I used a small piping tip in a disposable pastry bag.) Let set for at least an hour before stacking.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
Other Holiday Favorites
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Russian Tea Cakes
- I also use this rolling method for my cutout sugar cookies.
- Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
This post was sponsored by Reynolds Kitchens in 2018; I know you’ll love the simple hack for rolling out the cookies I do with their parchment paper.
I absolutely love this parchment paper because it comes with a SmartGrid to help you with placement and it also helps you cut the paper to fit your baking sheet. I use parchment paper because it offers a non-stick cooking surface and easy clean-up, but the SmartGrid is a major added bonus. Plus: you can reuse this parchment paper up to three times, reducing waste, and it’s compostable. You can bake ALL your gingerbread cookies on two cookie sheets, easy peasy.
Last Updated on February 29, 2024
I can’t believe how good this recipe is, delicious, fast and virtually no clean up. Glad I found it.
So glad you enjoyed it!
These cookies turn out perfect. Chewy but keep their shape. I have to use an egg substitute (applesauce with a little baking soda in this case) and it didn’t seem to make any difference. I used waxed paper and it worked well. This recipe is a great find!
Hi. Thanks for this recipe. What about using apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar?
I have an old family recipe which calls for apple cider or water and has been chewy when made by my Aunt, who is gone now. It is my first time making them though and I have a feeling an egg may have been left out of the recipe.
Excellent recipe! This was my first time making my own gingerbread cookies.
The cookies stayed soft and were a hit at my cookie exchange.
I was looking for soft gingerbread cookie dough recipe that would also hold it’s shape when baked. This recipe made beautiful little gingerbread men that still had a nice edge after baking. I rolled the dough between parchment before putting it in the refrigerator, as instructed but on one of the dough portions I floured the parchment paper out of habit The batch that wasn’t floured stuck to the parchment paper and I had to re-roll the dough, but the floured portion didn’t stick. The parchment paper technique definitely made things easier, but next time, I will lightly flour both pieces of parchment paper before rolling out the dough Thanks for sharing your recipe and the parchment paper technique.
Delish!! Soft and chewy!!
Awesome cookies! The crust was so silky and easy to work with, but I do like mine a bit spicier. I will probably double the ginger and cinnamon next time, but they baked beautifully.
These reminded me of my grandmother’s! Really soft and just the perfect amount of spice.
Delicious ! We just tasted our first batch! The flavor is just right and ours had a just slightly crusty edge with soft center. We will make this our go to for gingerbread cookies. Thank you for all the perfect instructions, including expecting when it looked curdled (my daughter got worried when she saw it that way!)
These were delicious! My kids wanted to make gingerbread cookies and I’d never made them before – I’m so glad I found your recipe to try instead of anyone else’s, as they are delicious and I love that they’re soft. What works best for storing them? My kids want to decorate them tomorrow, and then we’ll give them to guests the next day and the day after. I’m not sure what’s best to store them tonight, or what’s best to store them once decorated?
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