These gingerbread cookies are soft, hold their shape, and are perfectly spiced—ideal for holiday baking. They don’t spread in the oven and work wonderfully as cut-out cookies to decorate with buttercream or royal icing. The buttercream used here is simple to make and easy to pipe. These cookies are a crowd-pleaser and taste far better than store-bought versions.
For a festive twist, try serving them alongside easy gingerbread cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning or brunch.
🍪 Why you’ll LOVE this recipe
- Soft & no spread: These cut-out cookies keep their shape and stay tender, perfect for detailed decorating.
- Classic gingerbread flavor: A blend of molasses and warm spices creates that nostalgic holiday taste—much better than store-bought.
- Easy to decorate: The dough is straightforward to make and the buttercream is quick to prepare and pipe; royal icing can be used if you prefer.
📝 Key ingredients
This recipe has two parts: the soft gingerbread cookie dough and the buttercream for piping.
Read all the tips below for the best results!
Full ingredients and steps are in the recipe card further down.
Gingerbread cookie ingredients
- Molasses: Use unsulphured baking molasses (medium or dark). Avoid blackstrap, which is too bitter.
- All-purpose flour: Weigh flour for accuracy. If using cups, spoon and level—don’t pack the flour.
- Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and optional cardamom give depth and warmth.
- Butter: Real butter gives the best texture and flavor.
- Brown sugar: Dark or golden brown sugar both work well.
Buttercream piping ingredients
- Butter: Use good-quality softened butter for the best flavor.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting for piping.
- Vanilla extract: Adds flavor to the buttercream.
- Heavy cream: Lightens the buttercream for a pipeable consistency; milk can be used in a pinch.
✔️ Ingredient substitutions
- Cloves: Substitute with allspice if needed.
- Royal icing: Use royal icing instead of buttercream when you plan to stack or ship cookies, since it hardens. Buttercream is easier and tastier for everyday decorating.
👩🍳 How to make and cut out gingerbread cookies
Step 1: Beat softened butter, brown sugar, and salt until light and creamy.
Step 2: Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Beat until incorporated and light in texture. Add the spices and mix until combined.
Step 3: Sift the flour and baking soda into the bowl and fold into the wet ingredients just until a dough forms—no dry streaks should remain.
Step 4: Do not overmix. The dough may be slightly sticky but will firm up when chilled.
Step 5: Divide the dough in half. Place a portion between two sheets of parchment and roll to ¼” thickness. Repeat with the other half. Stack the parchment sheets with dough on a baking sheet and freeze for 30–60 minutes (or overnight) to firm the dough.
Step 6: Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove the top parchment layer, peel it away, flip the sheet, and remove the other layer so the dough rests on a single sheet—this makes cutting easier. Cut shapes with a cookie cutter, keeping pieces close together, and set scraps aside to reroll.
Tip: When transferring dough for cutting, peel one parchment layer away, flip the sheet, and remove the second layer so the dough sits on a single parchment for easy cutting.
Step 7: Place cut cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets with about 1 inch between them. If they have warmed while working, chill the sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking.
Step 8: Bake for 5–8 minutes, until the tops lose their shine and puff slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Reroll scraps between parchment to use the remaining dough. Decorate with buttercream, royal icing, or a simple glaze. I like adding sparkly sugar to the buttons for extra shine.
Tip: Use royal icing if you need decorations to harden for stacking or shipping. Buttercream is quicker to make and tastes richer.
👩🍳 How to make frosting for cookies
An American-style buttercream is quick to prepare and pipes beautifully. Beat softened butter until light and creamy, then add powdered sugar in batches, beating well after each addition. Add salt, vanilla, and a splash of heavy cream (or milk) to reach a smooth, pipeable consistency. This buttercream will crust slightly, making it easier to handle on decorated cookies.
❔ What can I use to decorate gingerbread cookies?
American buttercream is an easy, tasty option that pipes well and crusts slightly. For decorations that need to be durable for packaging or stacking, use royal icing, which dries hard. You can also use simple glazes, sprinkles, or small candies to embellish the cookies.
❔ How do I prevent gingerbread cookies from spreading?
These cookies are formulated not to spread much, but follow these tips for best results:
- Measure flour accurately: Weigh flour with a scale for consistent dough texture.
- Chill the dough: Roll dough between parchment and freeze to firm it—avoid dusting with extra flour to preserve softness.
- Bake chilled cookies: If cut cookies warm while you work, chill them briefly before baking to prevent oven spread.
- Avoid overbaking: For soft cookies, remove them when the tops are no longer shiny and have puffed slightly. They will firm as they cool.
🎄 Make ahead and storage
These tips simplify holiday prep:
- You can make and roll the gingerbread dough ahead, freeze it for a few weeks, then cut and bake when you want fresh cookies.
- Baked, undecorated cookies freeze well in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months. Layer with parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking.
- Avoid freezing decorated cookies, as the frosting can be damaged. Decorated cookies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days—layer with parchment to protect decorations.
💚 How to make Gingy cookies from Shrek
To make Gingy, use a gingerbread-man cutter with straight arms and legs. Prepare three colors of frosting or royal icing: white, baby blue, and red.
- White: Pipe eyes, arm and leg squiggles, a waist squiggle, and stitches on the broken leg.
- Blue: Pipe raised eyebrows.
- Red: Pipe an open mouth expression.
Attach two purple gumdrop-style buttons using white icing. If gumdrops aren’t available, use round sprinkles moistened and rolled in sugar to mimic buttons.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Yes. Freeze baked, undecorated gingerbread cookies in an airtight bag or container for up to 2 months. Layer cookies with parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking.
Yes. For a sturdier gingerbread house, lower the oven temperature by about 15°F and bake longer so the cookies dry out more and hold their shape.
American buttercream is easy to make and pipes well; royal icing will dry hard for stacking or shipping. Both work depending on the result you want.
More gingerbread and cookie recipes
-
Easy Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls [No Knead]
-
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
-
Marshmallow Cookies
-
Buttercream Frosted Sugar Cookies
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear what you think—please rate it or leave a comment and share photos of your cookies.
📖 Recipe
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Mary
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (450 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Buttercream
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, more as needed for piping consistency
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and salt until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Beat until light and combined.
- Add the spices and mix until evenly incorporated.
- Sift in the flour and baking soda. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until a dough forms—do not overmix.
- Divide the dough in half. Place one portion between two sheets of parchment and roll to ¼” thickness. Repeat with the other portion. Stack the parchment sheets with dough on a baking sheet and freeze for 30–60 minutes to firm.
- Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Remove one sheet from the freezer, peel away the top parchment, flip the sheet, and remove the remaining parchment so the dough lies on a single sheet. Cut shapes with a cookie cutter.
- Place cut cookies on parchment-lined sheets with 1 inch between cookies. Chill for 5 minutes if they’ve warmed.
- Bake 5–8 minutes, until the tops are no longer shiny and have puffed slightly. Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining dough and reroll scraps between parchment paper.
Buttercream
- Beat the softened butter until creamy and lighter in color.
- Add powdered sugar in batches, mixing well after each addition. Continue beating for a few minutes until very light.
- Add salt and vanilla, then a tablespoon of heavy cream. Beat until fluffy. Add more cream by teaspoons if needed to reach a pipeable consistency.
- Fill a piping bag or a sandwich bag with a corner snipped and pipe details on cooled cookies. Decorate as desired and allow the buttercream to set slightly before stacking or packing.
Notes
Don’t stack freshly frosted cookies until the frosting has set to avoid smudging. Use royal icing if you need hardened decorations for stacking or shipping.
Make ahead: Dough can be rolled and frozen for several weeks—slice, cut, and bake when needed. Baked, undecorated cookies freeze up to 2 months in an airtight container with parchment between layers.
Storage: Decorated cookies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Tips for perfect cookies:
- Measure flour with a scale for consistent results.
- Chill the dough and roll between parchment to keep the cookies soft and prevent spreading.
- Bake cookies straight from the freezer if they get warm while you work.
- Remove cookies from the oven when the tops are no longer shiny and have puffed slightly for a soft texture.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 34 g
Protein: 2 g
Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 8 g
Sodium: 123 mg
Sugar: 19 g
Let us know how it turned out!