Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

These soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are full of warm spices and rich molasses flavor, with a perfectly tender texture from edge to center. The dough is easy to roll and cut into gingerbread men or your favorite Christmas shapes, and the baked cookies stay soft without breaking when you pick them up. They're perfect for decorating, gifting, or making ahead for holiday cookie trays!

Helpful Tips for Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

1. Chill the dough. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight. This dough is sticky, and chilling makes it much easier to roll and cut into shapes.
2. Roll between parchment paper. This prevents sticking without adding extra flour, which can make the cookies dry or tough.
3. Avoid overworking the dough. Try to cut as many cookies as possible from each rolled sheet. Repeatedly gathering and rerolling the scraps can make the cookies tougher.
4. Don't overbake. For soft and chewy gingerbread cookies, start checking at the minimum recommended baking time. Bake a few minutes longer if you prefer a firmer cookie, watching carefully to prevent burning.

Ingredients

These gingerbread cutout cookies are made with simple pantry ingredients. Here are a few things to know before getting started.

• Molasses: Use regular, unsulphured molasses for a rich, classic gingerbread flavor. Avoid blackstrap molasses, which has a much stronger, more bitter taste.
• Brown sugar: Adds sweetness, moisture, and helps give the cookies their soft, chewy texture.
• Butter: Adds richness and helps create a tender cookie.
• Warm spices: Ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice give these cookies their traditional gingerbread flavor.
• All-purpose flour: Measure carefully, preferably using a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make the cookies dry or tough.

Instructions

Prepare the Dough

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Stir in the brown sugar, molasses, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice until smooth and combined. The mixture does not need to boil.
2. Allow the molasses mixture to cool slightly, then whisk in the egg.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add the molasses mixture and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until a soft, sticky dough forms. Do not add extra flour.
4. Divide the dough in half and shape into discs. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Roll and Cut the Cookies

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Place a chilled dough disc between two sheets of parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll to ⅛–¼ inch thick. For soft, chewy gingerbread men, I prefer ¼ inch.
7. Cut into your favorite shapes and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Gather and reroll the scraps as needed, working the dough as little as possible.

Bake and Cool

8. Bake for 9–12 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. Look for tiny bubbles on the surface and edges that have just begun to set. Avoid overbaking to keep the centers soft and chewy.
9. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment onto the counter or transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
10. Once completely cool, decorate with royal icing, if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe

How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies

Once the cookies have cooled completely, decorate them with this simple royal icing. It's perfect for piping faces, buttons, and other details onto gingerbread men.

Easy Royal Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons meringue powder
• 1–3 tablespoons water

Whisk the powdered sugar and meringue powder together. Add water a little at a time, mixing until smooth and thick enough to pipe. Transfer to a piping bag and decorate the cooled cookies. Allow the icing to dry completely before stacking or storing.

How to Store and Freeze Gingerbread Cookies

• Room temperature: Store completely cooled gingerbread cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. They'll stay soft and chewy without becoming hard or crumbly.
• Freezing: Place cooled cookies in freezer-safe bags or airtight containers and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating or serving.
• Make ahead: Prepare the dough the day before baking and refrigerate overnight. Chilling makes the sticky dough easier to roll and cut into shapes.

Helpful Baking Tools

You don't need any fancy equipment to make homemade gingerbread cookies, but a few of my favorite baking tools make the process easier.

• Silpat baking mats: A reusable alternative to parchment paper that works especially well for rolling out cookie dough.
• KitchenAid stand mixer: Makes mixing the thick, sticky gingerbread dough quick and easy.
• AirBake cookie sheets: These are my favorite baking sheets for cookies! AirBake pans have two layers of aluminum with an insulating pocket of air between them. This slows heat transfer to the bottoms of the cookies, helping prevent overbrowning and promoting more even baking. I especially love them for soft, chewy cookies like these gingerbread cutouts.
• Parchment paper: Perfect for rolling sticky dough without extra flour and lining baking sheets for easy cleanup.

More Christmas Cookies and Holiday Desserts

Looking for more homemade treats for your holiday baking? My Sweet Cream Sugar Cookies are another favorite for rolling, cutting, and decorating. For something a little different, try these Cranberry Orange Cookies with their soft texture and bright citrus flavor.

And if you're planning your Christmas dessert menu, don't miss my Classic Homemade Pumpkin Pie or Chocolate Pecan Pie made without corn syrup.

Happy baking!

Meg