As you might be able to guess, I’m pretty opinionated when it comes to cookies. Chocolate chip cookies need to be packed heavily with chocolate, drop cookies need to be chewy, and shortbread style cookies need to be super tender. Gingerbread cookies are no exception to my pickiness.
My idea of the perfect gingerbread is a cookie that’s soft with an ever so slight chew, is perfectly spiced (read: not overwhelming), and is super easy to work with when rolling out. After a lot of struggling to find one that fits my super specific (probably annoying) criteria, I’ve come up with a recipe to satisfy all of those who are also on Team Soft Gingerbread with me.
These cookies are my dream gingerbread cookie. They’re soft, perfectly spiced, taste delicious with and without icing, and can even double as ornaments!
If you love soft gingerbread like me, I know you’re going to love these. Follow along for the step-by-step or skip to the bottom for the recipe.
Begin by making the dough.
Beat the softened butter, sugar, and molasses together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until combined and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape the bowl as needed.
Add the egg, vanilla, and vinegar and beat on medium speed until smooth and combined, about a minute.
Vinegar is very common in gingerbread cookie recipes and helps to tenderize and keep the cookies soft.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice in a separate bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. The dough will likely be pretty sticky and you’ll probably be really concerned, but don’t worry! It’ll work itself out through a good chill in the fridge.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form the dough into a slab as best as you can, and wrap the dough tightly. Chill the dough in the fridge until it has firmed up, at least 2 hours or up to overnight. For quicker chilling, divide the dough into two, wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour or up to overnight.
I really can’t emphasize how important a good chill in the fridge is here. The amount of molasses in this dough makes it pretty soft. Chilling the dough in the fridge will allow the flour to more fully hydrate and the butter to firm back up. This in combination with the molasses makes the dough easy to work with when rolling out and will yield a soft cookie. Don’t skip the rest!
Once chilled, divide the dough in half. Generously dust your work surface, rolling pin, and one half of the dough with flour. Return the other half of dough to the fridge.
Roll out the piece of dough to 1/4-inch thick, dusting with more flour as needed.
Flour your cutters and punch out your cookie shapes of choice.
Carefully transfer the cutouts to the lined baking sheets, grouping the smaller sizes on one sheet and the larger sizes on the other sheet. Space the cookies staggered on the sheet, about 2 to 2 1/2-inches apart. Gather any scraps together and set aside.
Repeat the rolling and cutting out with the other half of the dough. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets. Gather the scraps from both halves of the dough, re-roll, and punch out cookies from the remaining dough. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets.
Gently brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Freeze each sheet of cutouts for 15 minutes until solid before baking.
Once chilled, bake the cookies at 350 degrees f until very lightly browned around the edges and matte in appearance, 7 to 11 minutes depending on the size of the cutout. Because the dough is already dark, it can be hard to determine doneness by looks alone. Gently poke the cookies. It should feel dry on the surface.
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake and cool the remaining cookies.
While the cookies cool, make the icing for decorating.
I think royal icing is great for intricate work, but I honestly can’t always be bothered to take out my mixer and meringue powder. I love using a thicker, 2-ingredient icing. It’s fairly easy to work with, doesn’t require any mixers or special ingredients, and IMO tastes better.
However, if you aren’t as skilled with a piping bag and need something with maximum control, you may want to consider making royal icing. I usually use this recipe from Wilton (scale down as needed).
Whisk together the sugar and 4 teaspoons of milk.
Add another 1/4 teaspoon of milk at a time (as needed), whisking after each addition, until the icing is the consistency of glue. If too much milk is added, add a bit more sugar to balance it out. You want the icing to be able to hold the marks from the whisk for a few seconds before pooling back out.
Put the icing in a piping bag with a small round tip or in a resealable bag with a very small opening cut off at the corner.
Decorate your cookies as desired. Allow the icing on the decorated cookies to harden before storing.
Store the cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to a week.
Directions for making the dough in advance can be found below.
If you want to turn these cookies into ornaments—
Use a small piping tip to punch a small hole out of the cutouts before freezing. Ribbon or string for hanging will be strung through this hole.
Once baked and while still hot from the oven, re-punch out the hole if it has closed a bit.
Bake the cookies as instructed. I’ve found that I can bake the cookies for ornaments for the same time as the ones I am going to eat. Although soft, these cookies are sturdy. As an extra measure however, you can leave the cookies for a few minutes longer in the oven, being sure to not get too dark around the edges or allow the baked cookies to sit out, uncovered to sort of dry out and stale a bit.
String a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie together. Hang your ornaments as desired.
Soft Gingerbread
Yield: about 46 cookies of various sizes
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread
1 stick (1/2 cup or 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (108 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (160 grams) unsulfured molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups (314 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2.3 grams) kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon (3.8 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (3.1 grams) baking powder
1 tablespoon (6.1 grams) ground ginger
2 teaspoons (4.6 grams) ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon (.5 gram) ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon (1 gram) ground clove
1/8 teaspoon (.3 gram) allspice
For the Icing
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4 to 7 teaspoons milk, as needed (see notes)
Method
Begin by making the dough. Beat the softened butter, sugar, and molasses together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until combined and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla, and vinegar and beat on medium speed until smooth and combined, about a minute.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice in a separate medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. The dough will likely be pretty sticky—don’t worry.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form the dough into a slab as best as you can, and wrap the dough tightly. Chill the dough in the fridge until it has firmed up, at least 2 hours or up to overnight. For quicker chilling, divide the dough into two, wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour or up to overnight.
Line 2 to 4 rimmed baking sheets (as needed) with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.
Once chilled, divide the dough in half. Generously dust your work surface, rolling pin, and one half of the dough with flour. Return the other half of dough to the fridge. Roll out the piece of dough to 1/4-inch thick, dusting with more flour as needed. If the surface of the dough becomes very floury, dust off the excess flour with a dry pastry brush.
Flour your cutters and punch out your cookie shapes of choice. Carefully transfer the cutouts to the lined baking sheets, grouping the smaller sizes on one sheet and the larger sizes on the other sheet. Space the cookies staggered on the sheet, about 2 to 2 1/2-inches apart. Gather any scraps together and set aside.
Repeat the rolling and cutting out with the other half of the dough. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets. Gather the scraps from both halves of the dough, re-roll, and punch out cookies from the remaining dough. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets.
Before baking, freeze each sheet of cutouts for 15 minutes until solid.
Once chilled, bake the cookies at 350 degrees f on the top and bottom thirds of the oven, rotating front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking, until the cookies are just very lightly browned around the edges and matte in appearance, 7 to 11 minutes depending on the size of the cutout. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake and cool the remaining cookies.
While the cookies cool, make the icing for decorating. Whisk together the sugar and 4 teaspoons of milk. Add another 1/4 teaspoon of milk at a time (as needed), whisking after each addition, until the icing is the consistency of glue. If too much milk is added, add a bit more sugar to balance it out. You want the icing to be able to hold the marks from the whisk for a few seconds before pooling back out. Alternatively, use royal icing if you need something stiffer or with a bit more control.
Put the icing in a piping bag with a small round tip or in a resealable bag with a very small opening cut off at the corner. Decorate your cookies as desired. Allow the icing on the decorated cookies to harden before storing.
Storing
Store the cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to a week.
Notes
The milk in the glaze imparts little to no flavor. Milk of any fat content or even a milk alternative can be used here.
For ornaments— use a small piping tip to punch a small hole out of the cutouts before freezing. Ribbon or string for hanging will be strung through this hole. Once baked and while still hot from the oven, re-punch out the hole if it has closed a bit. String a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie together. Hang your ornaments as desired.
Make ahead:
There are a few options here—
The dough can be made and kept wrapped tightly in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once you’re ready to roll, proceed as instructed in the method.
OR
The dough can be made and cutout as instructed. Freeze the cutouts until solid. Once solid, the sheet with the cutouts can be wrapped tightly or the cutouts can be transferred to a freezer-safe container or resealable bag and stored in the freezer. The frozen cutouts can then be kept for up to 3 months. The cutouts can be baked from frozen and will likely need to be baked for an extra minute or so.
OR
The dough can be made and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough in the fridge overnight before using. Proceed as instructed in the method.
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