Soft Gingerbread Cookies
These soft gingerbread cookies are one of my favorite non-chocolate cookies ever! They are just...perfect. They are the perfect texture (slightly crunchy on the outside, but totally gooey and tender on the inside). They are the perfect flavor (rich and warm, with a little bit of added kick thanks to black pepper). They even look perfect. Like perfect little pillows of sugary deliciousness.
Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft?
This comes down to gingerbread semantics. In some people's minds, the word gingerbread means soft and chewy-you know, like bread. But in my opinion, gingerbread is all-encompassing of the flavor, but most frequently refers to the crispy cookies (like gingerbread men or gingerbread houses). If someone says, "here, have a gingerbread cookie" the first thing that pops in my head is a crunchy gingerbread man-which I'll pass on.
But these tender, soft, chewy gingerbread cookies? These plus a mug of my hot buttered rum recipe, I'm all over.
What makes these soft gingerbread cookies so great?
I think what makes these cookies so spectacular is that they are spectacularly simple. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing cookies with sprinkles and candy and add-ins galore (helloooo, famous cut-out sugar cookie recipe), but all these cookies need as far as accoutrements is a quick roll in granulated sugar before baking to give them a sparkly shine that looks a little bit like a frosty snowfall. That's it. The dough does all the talking.
In case you were wondering, my tasting group was very pleased with these cookies. So much so, it put an end to the gingerbread definition debate. It was decided that whatever the previous definition of gingerbread was, it should be erased from the books and replaced with a description of these cookies, because this is what gingerbread should be.
📖 Recipe
Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks butter softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
- Add in the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper, and salt, and mix until just combined. Add in the flour and mix until well-combined, scraping the sides as needed.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Then roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll each dough ball in granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 2-inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the cookies just begin to crack and crinkle, and the edges barely start to brown. Do not overbake or they won't be chewy!
- Let cookies cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Nutrition
Want more easy Christmas cookie recipes like this one?
- Classic Nanaimo Bars
- Soft Lemon Cookies
- Bourbon Bacon Brown Sugar Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies with Jam
- Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
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I made these exactly as the recipe said and 7-8 minutes just wasn't enough cook time. More than half of them had to be thrown away 🙁 I'd suggest baking longer.
Sorry about that! Oven baking time is a very inexact science, it's better to go by looks than time. And next time, you can just pop the cookies back in the oven for a minute or two until they are in good shape. 🙂
sorry for the spelling - cold fingers the last sentence should read
... to just regular baking for another 5 minutes
I made these twice so far. They were delicious the first time but almost perfect the second time. The first time I couldn't get cracks in the surface even after 15 minutes in the oven at 350 (maybe a calibration is in order!). The second time I used convection for about 5 minutes and then backed off to ujust backing for another 5 minutes and they were beautiful.
I thought the sugar from rolling the cookies in sugar before baking didn't add much as these are pretty complex so when I was at the grocery store I looked at all the sugars and finally settled on C&H Washed Raw Sugar - now that added the right complexity to the finish.
can I freeze the dough ahead of time?
Sure can!
Could these be cut into gingerbread shapes before baking?
I just read the comments and got my answer thanks
At first I was thinking it was ginger snaps like this that my mom's cousin used to make, but while reading the comments, I remember it was molasses cookies-yum, I can still taste them. She used to let me eat some of the raw dough (raw eggs and I'm still here).
When you say 1 1/2 sticks of butter, what size sticks are you using? I buy the smaller 4oz ones so I want to make sure I'm using enough.
1/2 cup sticks—so 1 1/2 cups of butter total.
Hi Cassie, this recipe sounds so yummy and I can't wait to try it! However I'm in the UK and I'm confused about the butter amount (each conversion website I use tells me something different). Can you possibly tell me how much a stick of butter is in oz or grams?
Thanks so much and sorry to be a pain.
I can do you one better! Here is an online butter converter: http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
Just want to be sure, if they are 1/2 cup sticks and you need 1 1/2 sticks... is that 3/4 cup total butter?
Thanks!
Yes!
Hi Cassie - is it definitely 1 1/2 cups of butter or 3/4 cup butter (as stated in later comments)?
Thanks so much!
1 1/2 sticks of butter= 3/4 cups
Oh my! I just made these this morning. SO DELICIOUS, Cassie!!! I think the black pepper makes a difference and adds a little spicy edge! Loved them!
Instead of shaping these as round cookies, can you shape these as Christmas cookies? Also, could you decorate these with frosting given the sugar coating you put on them? I am trying to find a good cookie to do for a christmas cookie swap and I wanted to try a chewy gingerbread cookie.
Since they are so soft, then tend to spread a bit in the oven, so they wouldn't be great for cutouts. And yes, you could definitely put frosting on top! They'd be yummy with a cream cheese frosting. Yum!
My 3 year old son has asked to make gingerbread men for the mailman. 🙂 But I'd like to avoid the hard, crunchy gingerbread cookies also! Is there any way to make these into "men" or would they immediately lose their shape when baked?
Thank you!
Bridget
I haven't tried it, but try chilling the dough for an hour, then rolling out, cutting the shapes, and then chilling again for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before baking—that should help them retain some of their shape (although, no guarantees—I'd love to know how it turns out!).
I've made three batches of these in the last week! They are amazing!
Doug asks for "ginger cookies" all the time. They are his favourite. I am not a fan of the crunchy ones, either, but these look amazing! I'm actually really bummed right now that I'm out of butter, because I really want to make these this weekend.
Actually, I'm out of eggs, vanilla and brown sugar, too. Guess a trip to the store is in order.
I just made a giant batch of soft gingerbread cookies to recipe test and I'm hooked! I can't agree more that soft and chewy is the way to go but they have to have lots of spice too!
I used to make gingerbread from the Laura Ingalls Wilder cookbook, and it was chewy and delicious. I don't care for the hard ginger snaps at all although I can tolerate them only with that pumpkin/cream cheese/powdered sugar dip. Your cookies look amazing--I want to try them asap--I even have molasses in the pantry from making spare ribs recently.
I am with you on the chewy vs. crispy with one exception; I believe that thin, crunchy, spicy gingersnaps (so, an entirely different kind of cookie) must be served with rhubarb fool in springtime. They are *perfect* together, IMHO.
Thanks for the recipe - I will definitely give it a try!!
These look SO good! I'm working on a gingerbread cake right now with cream cheese frosting. I'm in love with all the ginger goodness happening all over right now!
I think of soft gingerbread cookies as "ginger snaps." Or am I totally wrong and that's something different?
See, my Dad says "ginger snaps" are the hard ones!
This is very similar to my grandmother's recipe for gingersnaps, which was my absolute favorite cookie growing up! In fact, I didn't even realize a gingersnap could be hard until I was a teenager and tried a store bought one at a friend's house. Someone told me gingersnaps are meant to be hard - that's where the "snap" come from - but I'm sticking with grandma on this one!
I'm an awful baker, but I feel like I could handle this recipe! And yes, gingerbread should mean chewy, but rarely does.
I'm with you. Chewy all the way! I'll do gingerbread in cake, in granola, or even as an ice cream flavor, but not a crunchy cookie. These look gorgeous!
Do you use regular molasses or blackstrap? Thanks! Can't wait to try these!
Either works! Blackstrap will just make for a richer molasses-y flavor.