I was so excited to make these soft gingerbread cookies. I love molasses/ginger cookies of any kind, and developing this recipe reminded me that I have another molasses cookie recipe I need to blog about. But let me share this soft and perfectly chewy gingerbread cookie recipe with you for your Christmas baking!
The softness comes from the sweeteners: brown sugar and molasses. A soft gingerbread cookie is also dependent on you not over-baking them. Ha! So set your timers. These cookies bake to be slightly crisp on outside, and soft and chewy in the middle. And they almost seemed to get softer overnight after baking, which I was very pleased with.
For spices, you can add your own spices individually, but I tried something else this year – King Arthur Flour’s Gingerbread Spice. This super yummy spice blend made adding spices a cinch! I only added extra cinnamon-quite a bit extra! Not overbearing at all, but if you prefer a super mild gingerbread taste, then cut the cinnamon and ginger in half. It will be a very mild gingerbread cookie if you do that though.
My happy gingerbread baker… So excited to bake Christmas cookies this year!
Two Tips for Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Do not roll the cookie dough too thin. Keep the thickness to at least 1/4″, with 3/8″ being the best thickness.
- Do NOT over-bake the cookie and then wonder why it’s crispy. I know with brown cookie dough it’s hard to tell. The cookies are done when the edges appear dry and slightly firm. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the hot pan for 2 minutes, so the centers can bake a little bit more. Then remove them from the pan to cool the rest of the way.
Cookies cut by a 2-year-old have so much character 🙂
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 3/8″ thick. Cut with cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add sprinkles now, leave plain and decorate later with icing, or leave plain altogether, all are delicious! Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, so follow my tip above for checking the cookies for doneness. Cool cookies and decorate with icing and sprinkles if desired.
Gingerbread Cookie Icing
In a small bowl, whisk together:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. brown rice syrup or corn syrup (This helps the icing harden. I prefer brown rice syrup.)
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
2 tbsp. milk
Whisk until smooth. Humidity will affect your icing, adjust the milk/powdered sugar if it’s too runny or too stiff. Mom uses meringue powder instead of syrup, about 3 TBSP.
A ketchup/sauce style bottle is a wonderful tool for decorating cookies! I’m not sure why I haven’t tried it until now.
Merry Christmas! ~Jessica
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Soft Gingerbread Cookies | Christmas Baking
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 Dozen 1x
Description
If you plan to use a gingerbread spice blend (like the one I mentioned from King Arthur Flour), then add one slightly heaping tablespoon of the gingerbread spice blend in place of the ginger, allspice and cloves.
Ingredients
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup + 2 tbsp. unsulphured molasses (Grandmas’s Molasses brand is best)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Beat the butter, sugar, egg, and extract until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses, and blend just until mixed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Mix into the creamed butter mixture until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into two portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Overnight is better! The flavors have time to develop.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 3/8″ thick. Cut with cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add sprinkles now, or leave plain and decorate later with icing.
Bake 8-10 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Cookies
- Method: American
- Cuisine: Dessert
Child of God, Wife to Josh, Mommy to my four sweet children. Thankful for busy days filled with homeschooling, homemaking and loving my little family! And sneaking in sewing and pattern design whenever I can 🙂
Beautiful cookies honey! I’m going to make these with the girls!