Classic gingerbread cookie recipe with royal icing frosting. Use this easy to make dough to create all sorts of gingerbread cookie cutouts!
Soft and chewy cookies when enjoyed fresh from the oven. These gingerbread cookies are great for snacking and holiday decorating.
They make wonderful cake decorations as shown in this gingerbread layer cake!
This dough is ideal for making gingerbread houses. Allow the baked cookies to sit out uncovered at room temperature for two days. By the second day, the cookies will have significantly hardened. They will be structurally stable and ready for cookie house building.
The gingerbread cookies from the kits don’t taste very good. They look, smell, and oddly enough taste like cardboard. No matter how much icing and sugar I slather on those pre-made cookies, it still doesn’t taste good.
That’s not the case with these homemade gingerbread cookies! These are delicious, fragrant, and well spiced.
Ingredients
A fine balance of spices is the key to delicious gingerbread cookies! The proportions of spices should work harmoniously to create a sweet warm flavor.
Gingerbread cookies are spiced with ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. Ginger and cinnamon are mandatory. You may reduce or omit the nutmeg and cloves if desired.
Molasses is another key flavor component. Be sure to use unsulphured molasses. It is the most commonly available type of molasses. It is sometimes labeled as light or original molasses.
Do not use blackstrap molasses, which is much more concentrated in color and flavor.
Make Ahead Cookie Dough
These gingerbread cookies start off like any other creamed butter cookie dough. Mix together softened butter and sugar until creamy. Add remaining wet ingredients. Follow with dry ingredients.
Divide cookie dough into two equal portions. Cover dough well in plastic wrap. Flatten dough out to allow for easy rolling later.
Chill dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or until the dough is cold to the touch. Dough may be left in the fridge for up to three days.
Tools for Rolled Cookies
All you really need is a rolling pin and a cookie cutter to make rolled cut out cookies. Here are some recommended tools that make these cookies so much easier to make:
Baking Tips
- Dip cookie cutters in flour before stamping to allow for easy unmolding.
- Brush any excess flour off cut out dough before baking.
- Space cookie cutouts at least one inch apart. The cookies will slightly expand and puff up as they bake.
- Err on the side of underbaked versus overbaked.
Royal Icing
These gingerbread cookies are decorated with royal icing. There are several ways to make royal icing. The traditional method uses egg whites and confectioners’ sugar. I prefer the more modern method which uses meringue powder.
Meringue powder is a mixture of dried egg whites, cornstarch, and stabilizers. It’s a great alternative to using raw egg whites. It’s safer (no worries about salmonella!) and much easier to measure out.
Note: Meringue powder can also be used to make meringue topping and other frostings!
You will need a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a high-speed hand mixer to whip together the royal icing. The royal icing here is simply made using: water, meringue powder, and confectioners’ sugar.
Cookie Storage
This is also a stable cookie that only gets stronger as it cools and sits out.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, (390 g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt*, or fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves, optional
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113 g), room temp, softened
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, (100 g), packed
- 1 large egg, , room temp
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses, (180 g)
Royal Icing
- 8 teaspoons meringue powder, (24 g)
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar, (227 g)
- 3 Tablespoons water
Instructions
Gingerbread
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg and molasses. Mix until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Add flour mixture in two additions. Mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Divide cookie dough into two equal portions. Cover each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Chill in refrigerator or freezer until firm, about 15 minutes in refrigerator.
- Depending on size and shape of cookies, bake for 10-15 minutes until cookies are crisp but not dark. Let cookies cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to wire racks. Do not let your cookies cool completely on the baking sheets. They will get soggy. (NOTE: my 3 1/2 inch gingerbread people cutouts took 13 minutes to bake)
- Once cookies have fully cooled, decorate with royal icing, sanding sugars and sprinkles.
Royal Icing
- Whisk together meringue powder and sifted confectioner’s sugar.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add whisked ingredients and water. Paddle on low-medium speed for a couple minutes until icing is smooth and shiny.
- Use immediately. Store extra icing in an airtight container with a moistened paper towel directly on top of the icing to keep icing fresh. Store in the refrigerator. (makes about 1 cup)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Thank you, everyone! I hope you enjoy making the cookies :)
Haha! They all look so happy.
These are adorable. My kids love making ginger bread houses. I promised this year we would make the little guys also. I will have to try your recipe.
So adorable! I love the pearl necklace on the “girl”.
These are so cute! It would be hard to eat such nice looking cookies. I would be tempted to keep them around and then devour after the holidays. Well done!
Those cookies are so cute! I love the little beady eyes :)
SO cute and so yummy-looking!
These are adorable and I bet they were delicious too!