The Best Soft Gingerbread Cookies Recipes

GINGERBREAD COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients - flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
• Add egg, orange juice and molasses, stirring carefully until well combined.
• Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, thick dough will form.
• Drop dough by rounded teaspoon into sugar. Roll to cover, then place on cookie sheet. Set cookies about 2-inches apart.
• Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will spread out and flatten a bit. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before removing to wire rack.

THE BEST SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, whisking to completely combine.
• In a large bowl using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and the brown sugar for 3 minutes on medium high speed. Add the molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy-looking.
• Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Next, beat in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined.
• Divide the cookie dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each dough up tightly and pat down to create a flat disc shape.
• Chill the discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Chilling is mandatory for gingerbread cookie dough.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (We recommend these for cookies and never bake without them.)
• Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator.
• Generously sprinkle a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin with powdered sugar, not flour.
• Roll out disc until 1/4-1/2"-inch thick. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. Repeat with remaining disc of dough.
• Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes.
• Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate with royal icing!

SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the molasses, brown sugar, water and butter until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon, stir them into the wet mixture until all of the dry is absorbed. Cover the dough and chill for at least 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out into desired shapes. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• First, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
• Next, add egg and molasses and mix well.
• In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger, stirring to combine.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Form or scoop balls of dough that are slightly smaller than a golf ball. Place them on a baking sheet approximately 2" to 3" apart to allow room for cookies to spread.
• Finally, bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking for approximately ten minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

THE BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves in a large bowl.
• Mix the butter, shortening, brown sugar and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and pat to 1/2-inch thick. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to 1/4-inch thick, dusting with flour if needed. Cut into 3- to 5-inch cookies with a gingerbread man cutter or desired shape. Brush off the excess flour and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Bake the cookies in batches until they are golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• For the royal icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar with the meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat in 6 tablespoons of water until well combined and you have stiff glossy peaks, adding 1 tablespoon more water at a time to reach a smooth pipeable consistency. Mix in food coloring as desired. Fill pastry bags fitted with tips. Decorate the gingerbread cookies with the icing.

SOFT-BATCH GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the gingerbread cookie dough: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
• Cream the butter, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture becomes lighter in color. Mix in the egg and molasses on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
• Sift the dry ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt) into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
• Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to shape and roll 14 cookie dough balls using about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies seem set in the center. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
• For the buttercream frosting: While the cookies bake and cool, mix the butter on a medium speed in a large bowl for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Mix on a medium speed until combined. Mix in the powdered sugar and milk on a low speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, mix for an additional minute on a low speed to give the frosting a super smooth consistency.
• For the cookie decorations: Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cooled cookies using a small offset spatula or butter knife. Top with sprinkles, then enjoy!

BEST-EVER CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and molasses. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper or silicone baking mat. In small bowl, place granulated sugar. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. On cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set and soft in center. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Store tightly covered up to 1 week.

BIG SOFT GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. , Roll into 1-1/2-in. balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° until puffy and lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

THE BEST SOFT GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine shortening, sugar, molasses and egg and beat throughly.
• Add baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to flour and mix together.
• Gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture.
• Cover and chill for 1 hour.
• Roll into 1 inch bals and roll in granulated sugar.
• Place on cookie sheet (I like to flatten them slightly with bottom of a glass).
• Bake at 325 for 8 minutes **very important not to over bake or else they won't be soft!**.