Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
These thick and chewy cutout gingerbread cookies have an intense gingerbread flavor with a delicious and surprising soft chewiness.
Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. I love it. But I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of thin and crispy gingerbread cookies. I much prefer gingerbread cookie similar in texture to a really good, soft and chewy sugar cookie.
This recipe fits the bill. These cookies are packed with gingerbread flavor but the texture has a delicious and surprising soft chewiness that is unique for gingerbread and absolutely delicious.
Making Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
The dough comes together quickly, but in a bit of an unusual manner. In this recipe the dry ingredients are actually mixed together first:
- flour
- brown sugar
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cloves
- salt
And then the butter is added and mixed in until there are tiny pieces of butter throughout (similar to pie crust). Once the molasses and milk is mixed in, it comes together like soft gingerbread cookie dough.
There are no eggs in the recipe (it’s not a mistake!). They are egg-free and delicious.
Chill the Dough
It is essential to chill the dough so the cookies will hold their shape when baked.
Split the dough in half, roll each piece out about 1/4-inch thick on a piece of parchment paper, and then stack the dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate for a couple hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes.
Cut gingerbread people shapes out of the chilled dough. Or, if you don’t want to go the gingerbread people route, the dough can be cut into circles with a round cookie cutter (or really any other shape).
Don’t over bake!
The gingerbread cookies only bake for 8-9 minutes, and since we’re going for a soft and chewy cookie here, we definitely don’t want to over bake the cookies!
The Best Icing For Decorating Gingerbread Cookies
These soft cutout gingerbread cookies are delicious without any icing or frosting.
But, how can you resist putting a few smiley faces (er, or other funny emoji faces) on a gingerbread person cookie?
I use a simple icing for these gingerbread cookies. Once piped, it sets enough that you can stack a few cookies, but it doesn’t harden as much as royal icing (which is why I like it).
Gingerbread cookie icing: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk (just a few drops at a time) if the frosting is too thick. It should be thick but still able to be spread or piped.
The texture of these soft cutout gingerbread cookies is amazing. Soft and chewy, they beat out thin and crispy gingerbread cookies all the way, in my opinion.
They are one of my favorite holiday cookies, and friends and family always rave at how good they are.
I promise they’re worth the mildly bothersome rolling and chilling step. (Maybe it’s just me, but I’m lazy and I hate chilling cookie dough.) Truly, they are one of the best gingerbread cookies ever!
FAQs for Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
I always use salted butter.
Yes. They stay soft for several days if kept in a well-covered container. The baked cookies can also be frozen.
I use a simple frosting that’s easy to mix together: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth. Add more milk (just a few drops at a time) if the frosting is too thick. It should be thick but still able to be spread or piped.
Yes! These cookies are meant to be soft and chewy, not crisp like a traditional gingerbread cutout cookie.
I use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses usually has a darker appearance and a stronger flavor.
The recipe is correct – these cookies are egg-free.
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed dark or light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (248 g) unsulphured molasses (not black strap)
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- With an electric mixer (stand or handheld), stir together the flour, brown sugar, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the butter and mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the molasses and milk, and mix on low speed until the dough is evenly combined, 30-45 seconds.
- Scrape the dough onto a work surface and divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, roll or press the dough ¼-inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between the parchment paper, stack the dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Or refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one dough sheet from the freezer or refrigerator and place on the counter. Peel off the top parchment paper. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into gingerbread people (or you can use a round cutter to cut circle cookies). Work quickly; the dough softens and can be harder to work with the longer it's out of the refrigerator.
- Transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheets, spacing about an inch apart. You can use a thin metal spatula to help transfer the cookies to the baking sheets. If the dough is sticking and hard to peel up after cutting into shapes, pop the tray back in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until the baking sheets are full. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary.
- Bake the cookies until just set, about 8 to 9 minutes. Don't overbake! Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Frost or pipe, as desired (see notes for the frosting recipe I use).
- Store the gingerbread cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator in a covered container.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook by ATK
Recipe originally posted December 2009; updated November 2021 with new photos, recipe updates, etc.
H-E-A-V-E-N. (if it was a food)
This is my very first time baking (and eating) gingerbread cookies (they are not common in our country, but I have always wanted to make them since they looked so delicious in American movies) and I have to say that we all loved them (specially my dad, who is not into baked goods). Thank you!
I used maple syrup instead of dark molasses and 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of baking soda and they turned out a little like butter cookies, which was perfect for us.
These were amazing!! So so easy. And delicious. I searched tons of recipes looking for a soft, thick, chewy cookie, similar to the perfect sugar cookie. THIS IS IT! first off it was so easy to make and refrigerate over night. I made it exactly like the recipe. Didn’t change a thing. Everyone loved them. They were great the day after baking as well, I put a simple cookie icing on top and really went well together. Will be making again and now my go to Gingerbread recipe.
These are really not good. I have been baking gingerbread cookies for many years and these taste like total molasses! Followed the recipe to a tee. I dont like giving bad reviews but this is a waste of ingredients.
No egg?
No egg is the BEST part! These are the BEST gingerbread cookies. No need to try another single recipe ever again. I love them and my kids agree. The BEST gingerbread recipe. They are actually shocked to eat the hard ones at the store and have commented that Mel’s are waaaayyyy better! So excited to make them again this year.
Just took them out of the oven wow. Absolutely the best gingerbread cookie I have ever eaten. I can’t wait for my grandkids to decorate them on Christmas Eve. I really did not know that there was such a thing as a soft gingerbread cookie. Thank you for expanding my world
I followed the directions exactly, and as the recipe suggests… These cookies were quite chewy, which is great. The only problem is that they taste way too strong of molasses as I used a dark molasses. I would no longer called them gingerbread cookies, but molasses cookies. I would use the recipe again, but would maybe use light molasses?
When taking out the oven.. are they suppose to be extremely soft?
Yes, they are soft cookies.
Can I make a giant gingerbread cookie with this recipe? If so, are there any adjustments? I will be using the giant cookie pan made by Wilton.
Thanks Sherrie
I’ve never tried that but you could definitely experiment! If the dough is thicker than the cookies pictured in the post, you’ll want to adjust the baking time. Good luck!
Can this dough be frozen after rolled and cut the next day?
It’ll probably need to thaw just a bit out of the freezer to cut, but yes, you could freeze it after rolling.
Um…these are totally delicious. Soft and flavorful. I just pulled them out of the oven (yes a pre dinner snack) and I can’t stop eating them. So good!
Best. Gingerbread. Ever. I have been bringing various desserts to my VERY picky parents (now 87 and 84 respectively) for literally years. And they always found something wrong with them, they were never quite right (“too sweet,” “not tart enough,” “too dense,” “too moist” etc). There was the apple crisp year. There was the chocolate chip cookie year. And the final nail in the coffin (so to speak) was the lemon pound cake year. I gave up trying. And then, this year, came these gingerbread cookies. I originally made them for my daughter (who helped me roll out the dough and did the decoration- a simply white Royal Icing), who intensely dislikes thin and crispy cookies of any kind. She went crazy over these. So, on a flyer, I took them to my folks. And they loved them. My mother said they are “one of my best desserts ever.” She is eating them for breakfast, and for dessert. THANK YOU, Mel! This recipe means more to me than you can possibly know.
So happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
These were amazing! I made them for Christmas with my littles. After reading reviews I cut back the ginger just a bit and made sure they were rolled out quite thick so they would hold their shapes. I didn’t add icing but they were still the first of all the cookies to go. Will make again next year for sure!
I just made the batter for these. The butter is not well incorporated and I had to add at least 3 times the amount of milk to even get it to combine. Any ideas what went wrong?
I’m not sure, Justine – any chance the dough was overfloured?
Mel,
Will you please share the frosting recipe you use for these cookies?
I usually use the royal icing recipe from the meringue powder can or this simple vanilla frosting.
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/perfect-vanilla-buttercream-frosting/
Just make these, love the dough, but OMG WAY too much ginger. Will use this batch to decorate and hang on the tree as these cookies are too hot for children to eat and will make a new batch with 1 tsp ginger versus 2 Tablespoons.
Well, maybe if you READ the recipe correctly, you wouldn’t have had an issue, as it says 1 Tablespoon of Ginger, NOT 2.
Well, maybe if you READ the recipe correctly, you wouldn’t have had an issue, as it says 1 Tablespoon of Ginger, NOT 2.
Hello. Can you use blackstrap molasses in these? Should I reduce the amount? They look great!
I’m not sure, Chris – but it’s worth experimenting! If it were me, yes, I’d probably reduce the amount
I only ever use blackstrap, without adjusting the amount, and they’re rich+delicious. The dough is sticky and I’m religious about freezing before, during , and after cutting them out. But I can endorse blackstrap, for sure!
These were terrific. Only change I made was adding vanilla. They were chewy as described and really tasty. My kids really enjoyed these, but next time we make these we might reduce the spices just a smidge to suit our tastes. We did decorate ours with frosting, but they truly didn’t need to be iced. They are so delicious on their own. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. We had fun making and eating these.
I’m making these right now! The dough is rolled out and chilling in the freezer. I tasted what was left in the bowl and on my paddle attachment and it is AMAZING!! And it’s eggless so I don’t have to worry about sickness! (Who am I kidding … Eggs have never stopped me from eating raw dough … )
It’s the flour not the eggs that can cause sickness
Can anybody tell me how many dozen of cookies this makes.
The yield is above the recipe title – it makes about 2 dozen.
For me, it made about 5 dozen cookies! I made a dozen 6″ gingerbread men, and the rest with assorted 2-3″ cutters. Instead of icing, I placed cinnamon imperials for the eyes and one in the middle of the rest. Rolling the dough out and placing it in the refrig overnight, made them very easy to work with. Delicious!
So after reading some of these comments, people are saying the shape hold for them. I agree, they didn’t for me at first even after refrigeration. What I did was rolled out the dough, and used cookie cutters of my choice, layed them on a cookie sheet, then I refrigeratated them for a few hours. I then popped them in the oven straight of of the fridge and they held their shape!!! Even the intricate cookie shapes was no problem for this dough. Thank you for the amazing recipe!!!!
These cookies are the BEST gingerbread cookie I have ever eaten. I had a tried and true recipe, but lost it. Found you online, and am delighted with the result. My grandchildren will love decorating them and eating them! Now, when I am looking for a new recipe, I will trust you to have tested many recipes and identified the best one. So, no more testing for me – just trusting you!
So happy they worked out! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi! I am Addison, and I am 11 years old and I love to bake. I have always used your recipes and these gingerbread cookies are one of my all time favorites. I am going to give some of these cookies to my teacher. I also love your chocolate kiss blossom cookie. Your amazing! THANKS!!!!!
You are amazing, Addison! Thank you for commenting!
These cookies are fantastic!! 100% my go-to gingerbread recipe! My only comment would be to make absolutely sure you put in enough salt! The salt is what brings out the spices in the cookie and I forgot to add it one time when I made this recipe and it made it taste really bland!
This recipe has been my go to gingerbread cookie for several years now….I love these cookies SO MUCH. I literally think about them all year! My youngest daughter has a dairy intolerance and I was wondering if you or anyone else has had any success making these with a non dairy butter or a substitute?
I haven’t tried a non-dairy sub – sorry, Rachel!
I just made a batch using butter Cisco and they’re PERFECT…maybe even a bit softer and chewier today than next day with the regular butter recipe 🙂
Absolutely delicious and yes very chewy, this is forever my goto cookie
Made these last year and loved it!! I used unsalted butter last time, but wanted to check if you use unsalted or salted? Your sugar cookie recipe uses salted, so I was just curious if this one would turn out better using salted too. Thanks!
I always use salted butter.
I absolutely love this recipe! It was quick and easy and my grandson really enjoyed the cookies!
All of Mel’s cookie recipes are my GO TO! I can even make them vegan/gluten free for all of my friends. These are delicious and I will never use a different recipe for gingerbread.
this was awful…. i ended up having to use an egg… and way more milk… and still it was gross and grainy. NOT a fan. will not be making this again
This recipe was the answer to my Christmas! I only like gingerbread if it is soft and chewy but never found one that turned out right. This was so easy and turned out perfectly! I did chill the dough in plastic wrap in the fridge overnight. We cut out reindeer and piped their red noses.
YUM! I made these without refined sugar by subbing date syrup for the brown sugar. That made the dough pretty sticky so omitted the milk and added about 1/3 cup more flour. The keys for me for getting them super soft was rolling out thick like you said and NOT over baking. I found 5-7 minutes to be ideal, depending on the temp of the dough and the cookie sheet. Thank you for your recipes, they are always great!
I am going to make these, I’m a little confused about the rolling out and refrigerating? However we have a bakery here in Salt Lake City that dips the bottom half in milk chocolate… I am so going to do that with these. Thank you for sharing!
These are the best! My daughter has made several batches now and they stay chewy and moist! They held their shape perfectly and you can really taste the spices! We will never need another gingerbread recipe! Thank you!
Is it possible to put a picture on this comment site?
Hi Carol – so glad you and your daughter love this recipe! There isn’t a way to add a picture here…sorry about that!
These rolled out well and came out soft, but they tasted VERY salty. I’ll continue my search…
They taste good, but didn’t hold there shape from the cookie cutter, won’t be making them again
Mel these were life changing. I don’t even like gingerbread or so I thought. I ate five. Yes five. Our elderly friend mother of seven loves them too. Score! And now I have to try all the other gingerbread recipes on here.
I am obsessed with the flavor of these cookies but unfortunately they spread too much for what I need them for. I have tried to play around with the recipe so it won’t spread, but so far no luck. Any ideas? I need cookies with crisp edges for decorating. Thanks!
These might not be the right cookie, I’m afraid – they are meant to be soft and chewy, not crisp like a traditional gingerbread cutout cookie.
I made these today and dipped half of each cookie in chocolate. This has made a great holiday treat! I love the flavor. Thanks!
I just posted the same thing! I’m going to dip them in chocolate as well!
Best gingerbread recipe I’ve tried yet, and I’ve tried quite a few. Thick, moist and chewy, like I remember as a little girl. These are my favorite Christmas cookies. THANK YOU!!!!
This recipe is magic!!! Thank you. We were able to yield almost 40 cookies (cut them into circles with a biscuit cutter instead of gingerbread men), and we served them right out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream… HEAVEN on a plate Mmmmm we’ll be dreaming about these all Christmas…
Just finished these cookies for Christmas and they were such a hit!! I will definitely be saving this recipe for next year. The cookies were perfect for me because I prefer them to be a little softer and slightly chewy…these came out perfect!!
I tried both your recipe and the King Arthur Flour recipe this year for gingerbread men. I found them similar in taste and texture (which I loved both!) but your method for rolling out and chilling the dough was the hands down winner! Rolling between parchment while the dough is still soft, and then freezing the rolled out dough before cutting out the cookies worked great. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
This recipe is GOLD!!! Gingerbread cookie *dough* is my favorite thing about cookies, ever. But the cookies always dissapoint. At last, here’s a recipe where the cookie tastes better than the best dough. It’s perfectly assembled — and the caution against overbaking is very important. Thank you for changing my holiday baking forever!
These cookies were a heartbreaker for me. So many folks seem to have had success with them, but mine came out of the freezer so stuck to the wax paper that I had to throw the whole batch away. I tried letting get softer, letting them get harder, no matter what they were just tragically stuck. By the end there were pieces of wax paper all through the dough so it wasn’t salvageable. I’m not a terrible baker, and followed the recipe so I’m not sure what happened here.
Sorry these didn’t work out for you, Kelsey. Any chance your dough needed a bit more flour?
Just a thought in case it helps…I had a similar problem last year when I made these, but I was able to determine it was the wax paper. When I used parchment paper instead, there was no sticking! Maybe some brands of wax paper don’t work as well.
These sound great! I am wondering if subbing coconut oil for the butter would work. What do you think?
I haven’t tried that, Lisa, so I’m not sure but usually coconut oil subs pretty well for butter in cookies so I’d say it’s worth a try.
Ok. I’ll give it a try and report back. 🙂
First eggless cookie recipe that i can truly say you do not miss the egg! Very flavourful, perfectly chewy and soft…so good! I followed the directions to a T and got perfect results. I added white chocolate chips and it went well. Thank you for posting this recipe.
I made these with my 2 kids and they were a huge hit! My son has an egg allergy, and I can’t thank you enough for something he can decorate that is also delicious! And these are just plain Delicious! We made not only gingerbread men, but also snowmen, trees, and snowflakes. The entire batch was gone in 3 days, my husband is requesting more this weekend, he says it’s he best cookie we’ve ever made.
3 cups is 24 oz.
3/4 cup is 6 oz.
That’s true if you are including ounces for the volume, but the ounces I’m including in the recipe is for weight.
Do you happen to know if these freeze well after being baked? Thanks!
Hi Jordan – I’ve never frozen these but I suspect they would freeze just fine.