Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (Soft Cut-Out Cookies for Decorating)

These gingerbread cookies are the classic holiday cut-out: a molasses dough spiced with ginger, cinnamon and cloves that rolls cleanly, holds sharp edges in the oven and stays soft in the center. Below you will find exact cup and gram measurements, a chill-and-roll guide, timing for soft or crisp cookies, a simple royal icing, and fixes for the most common problems.

Recipe at a Glance

Ingredients

Gingerbread dough

• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling
• 1 tablespoon (5 g) ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon (2.5 g) ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) ground nutmeg
• ¾ teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
• ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine salt
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks / 170 g) unsalted butter, softened to about 65°F (18°C)
• ¾ cup (160 g) packed dark brown sugar
• ½ cup (170 g) unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1 large egg (about 50 g out of the shell), room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Royal icing (optional, for decorating)

• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1½ tablespoons (12 g) meringue powder
• 3–4 tablespoons (45–60 ml) warm water
• ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) vanilla or lemon extract (optional)

Out of powdered sugar? See how to make icing sugar at home. If you only need a quick glaze rather than piping icing, our powdered sugar icing works well on these cookies too.

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until evenly combined.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth and slightly lighter in color. Do not overbeat; too much air makes the cookies puff and lose their shape.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the molasses, egg and vanilla on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl. The mixture may look slightly curdled; that is normal.
4. Add the flour. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed in two additions, just until no dry flour remains. The dough will be soft and sticky.
5. Divide and chill. Split the dough in half, flatten each half into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
6. Prepare to bake. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Roll out. Let one disk sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment), roll it ¼ inch (6 mm) thick for soft cookies or ⅛ inch (3 mm) for crisp cookies.
8. Cut. Cut shapes with floured cutters and transfer them to the sheets, spacing them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Gather and re-roll the scraps once; if the dough gets soft, chill it for 10 minutes.
9. Chill the shapes (recommended). Put the tray of cut cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes or the fridge for 20 minutes. This keeps edges sharp.
10. Bake. Bake ¼-inch cookies for 8–9 minutes (soft) and ⅛-inch cookies for 10–12 minutes (crisp), until the edges are set and the centers look just dry. Rotate the sheets halfway through if baking two at once.
11. Cool. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Cool completely (about 30 minutes) before icing.

How to make and use the royal icing

Beat the powdered sugar, meringue powder and 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of water on medium-high speed for 4–5 minutes, until glossy with stiff peaks. This thick icing is right for outlines and details. For flooding, stir in water ½ teaspoon at a time until a ribbon of icing disappears back into the bowl in about 10 seconds. Keep the bowl covered with a damp towel while you work. Let decorated cookies dry uncovered at room temperature for 6–8 hours, or overnight, before stacking.

Soft or Crisp: Thickness and Bake Time Guide

If you plan to hang cookies as ornaments, poke a hole near the top with a straw before baking and re-open it right after the cookies come out of the oven.

Ingredient Notes

• Molasses: Use regular unsulphured molasses (light or dark/“robust”). Blackstrap molasses is bitter and much less sweet, and it will make the cookies taste harsh.
• Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar adds more molasses flavor; light brown sugar works with no other changes.
• Butter: Softened, not melted. Melted butter makes a greasy dough that spreads. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt to ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g). Need to convert sticks or tablespoons? Use our butter conversion chart.
• Spices: Ground spices lose strength after about a year. If yours are old, add up to an extra ½ teaspoon of ginger.
• Flour: Spoon the flour into the cup and level it. Scooping straight from the bag can add 20–30% more flour and give dry, cracked dough.

Troubleshooting

• Dough is too sticky to roll: It needs more chilling. Give it another 30–60 minutes, roll between parchment sheets, and use only a light dusting of flour.
• Dough cracks when rolling: It is too cold or has too much flour. Let it sit 5–10 minutes at room temperature and press any cracks together.
• Cookies spread and lose their shape: The butter was too warm or over-creamed, or the cut shapes were not chilled. Freeze the cut cookies on the tray for 10 minutes before baking, and check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
• Cookies are puffy with rounded edges: Too much air was beaten into the butter, or the baking soda was over-measured. Cream for only 2 minutes and level the measuring spoon.
• Cookies are hard after cooling: They were rolled too thin or baked too long for a soft cookie. Pull ¼-inch cookies when the centers still look slightly soft; they firm up as they cool.
• Icing is runny or never dries: Too much water was added, or the room is humid. Beat in more powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, and dry cookies in front of a fan if needed.

Make-Ahead and Storage

• Dough: Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge before rolling.
• Baked, undecorated cookies: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
• Decorated cookies: Once the icing is completely dry, store in a single layer or between sheets of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Do not refrigerate iced cookies; condensation makes the icing sticky.
• Soften crisp cookies: Add a slice of bread to the container overnight; the cookies absorb its moisture.

Building a holiday cookie box? Gingerbread pairs well with our cut-out sugar cookies (same rolling method), fudgy chocolate crinkle cookies, and slice-and-bake cranberry pistachio shortbread.

Gingerbread Cookies FAQ

Do I have to chill gingerbread cookie dough?

Yes. This dough is too soft to roll and cut straight after mixing. At least 2 hours in the fridge firms the butter and hydrates the flour, which makes rolling easier and keeps the shapes from spreading.

Can I make gingerbread cookies without molasses?

You can replace the molasses with the same amount (½ cup / 170 g) of dark corn syrup or honey, and use dark brown sugar. The cookies will be lighter in color and less deep in flavor, but they still roll and bake the same way.

Why are my gingerbread cookies hard?

Usually they were rolled thinner than ¼ inch (6 mm), baked a minute or two too long, or the dough had too much flour. Take soft cookies out when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone.

Can I use this dough for a gingerbread house?

It works for small houses and ornaments if you roll it ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and bake it until fully crisp (10–12 minutes, a little longer for large pieces). For large houses, a dough with less butter and no baking soda gives straighter, sturdier walls.

How far ahead can I make decorated gingerbread cookies?

Bake and decorate them up to 1 week ahead. Let the royal icing dry completely, then store them airtight at room temperature. For longer, freeze the undecorated cookies and ice them after thawing.