Add these super-soft gingerbread cookies to your holiday baking lineup this season. With simple pantry ingredients and a touch of brown butter and homemade gingerbread spice, this recipe yields about three dozen standard cookies that are soft, warmly spiced and wonderfully tender.
What is holiday baking without gingerbread cookies?
Gingerbread feels like the quintessential holiday flavor. This year I set out to make soft, flavorful gingerbread cookies and landed on a method that combines a gingerbread spice blend with brown butter for extra depth and tenderness.
Brown butter is easy to make: melt butter over medium-low heat and cook until the milk solids turn golden and the aroma becomes nutty. It adds both a richer texture and a warm, toasty note to the cookies.
To Make These Super Soft Gingerbread Cookies You Will Need:
- unbleached all-purpose flour
- gingerbread spice mix
- baking powder
- baking soda
- kosher salt
- unsalted brown butter (cooled slightly)
- dark brown sugar
- unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg
- powdered sugar (for icing)
- milk (for icing)
- pure vanilla extract (for icing)
In a medium bowl whisk together 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 1½ tablespoons gingerbread spice mix, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon baking soda until evenly combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine ¾ cup slightly cooled brown butter, ¾ cup dark brown sugar and ¾ cup unsulphured molasses. Add 1 large egg and mix on low to medium-low until blended.
With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture in batches, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape the bowl as needed and avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
Once combined, divide the dough in half, shape each half into a compact rectangle, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
After chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll one dough rectangle on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness. If you have a rolling pin with thickness guides, it helps get an even thickness every time.
Cut the dough into gingerbread shapes using your favorite cookie cutters and transfer up to a dozen shapes to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Reserve scraps, re-roll and cut additional shapes as needed.
Chill the prepared baking sheet briefly while you cut the remaining dough. Save all scraps, combine them into a rectangle, wrap and refrigerate—this ensures you end up with roughly three dozen cookies.
Bake the first batch on the middle oven rack for 8–9 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Baking time can vary by oven; the cookies should be soft in the center with slightly firmer edges.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining chilled dough.
When the cookies are fully cooled, prepare the icing: sift 2 cups powdered sugar into a bowl and whisk in 3–4 tablespoons milk, a little at a time, until the consistency is squeezable but not runny. Add a splash of vanilla and stir. Adjust with more powdered sugar if the icing is too thin or more milk if it’s too thick.
I like to use a squeeze bottle or piping bag to decorate.
This makes outlining and filling shapes easier; a small zip-top bag with the corner snipped also works. If you’re not doing elaborate decoration, you can halve the icing amounts.
These cookies are delicious iced or plain—soft, well-spiced and not overly sweet. Let the decorated cookies set before storing.
Enjoy these super-soft gingerbread cookies with friends and family this holiday season.
Super Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES:
- 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1½ tablespoons gingerbread spice mix
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup brown butter, cooled slightly
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg
FOR THE ICING:
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3–4 tablespoons milk, as needed
- splash pure vanilla extract
Equipment
- Rolling pin with guides (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, gingerbread spice, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl.
- In a mixer bowl, combine the cooled brown butter, dark brown sugar, molasses and egg. Mix on low to medium-low until combined.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in batches, mixing until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Divide the dough in half, shape into rectangles, wrap tightly and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
- When chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll one rectangle to 1/4-inch thickness, cut shapes and place up to 12 on a lined rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate the sheet while cutting the remaining dough.
- Gather scraps, re-roll and cut more shapes as needed. Reserve scraps from both batches, wrap and refrigerate to make a total of about 3 dozen cookies.
- Bake for 8–9 minutes on the middle rack, rotating the pan halfway through. Cookies should be soft in the center with slightly firmer edges.
- Let cookies rest on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
PREPARE THE ICING:
- Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl.
- Gradually whisk in milk, a little at a time, until the icing is squeezable but not runny. Add vanilla and stir.
- Transfer icing to a squeeze bottle or piping bag and decorate. Adjust thickness with more powdered sugar or milk as needed. If the icing is slightly too thick, a toothpick helps manipulate details.
- If you’re not decorating extensively, you can halve the icing recipe.
Notes
