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Decorated with pretty royal icing piping, this easy gingerbread cookie recipe is ideal for celebrating the Christmas season!
Why Make This Gingerbread Cookie Recipe?
While sand tarts (a Pennsylvania Dutch classic, and a long-standing family tradition!) will always remain my favorite Christmas treats, when it comes to classic holiday bakes, gingerbread cookies definitely run a close second.
Made by creaming together butter and dark brown sugar, then adding black treacle (or molasses), egg, and a blend of holiday spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, these homemade gingerbread cookies feature slightly crispy edges, soft centers, and the unmistakeable taste of the holiday season.
Arrange gingerbread cookies on a holiday cookie platter (alongside homemade sand tarts, chocolate candy cane cookies, and peppermint meringue cookies) for a festive party or open house, bring to a cookie swap, or gift to friends and neighbors in a metal cookie tin or a Christmas-themed cello bag.
Ingredients for Making Homemade Gingerbread Cookies
To make this easy gingerbread cookie recipe, start by gathering the following ingredients:
- Butter – You’ll need 113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter to make the dough. Be sure to allow the butter to soften at room temperature for an hour or two before getting started.
- Dark Brown Sugar – I prefer the deeper notes of dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar also works for this recipe.
- Black Treacle – Black treacle (in the UK) or molasses (in the US) gives the gingerbread dough its rich, molasses-y flavor. If opting for molasses, choose unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap.
- Eggs – You’ll need one large egg to make the cookie dough, and a second egg white for the royal icing.
- Whole Milk – Or, substitute your favorite plant milk, such as oat or almond.
- All Purpose Flour – This gingerbread cookie recipe requires 320 grams (2 1/2 cups) of all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the countertop or rolling mat.
- Spices – You’ll need ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) acts as a leavening agent.
- Kosher Salt – My go-to is Diamond Crystal, but any kosher salt (or fine sea salt) is fine.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – Also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar, to make the royal icing.
Making and Working with Royal Icing
This cookie recipe features homemade royal icing. Made with just two ingredients (egg whites and confectioner’s sugar), this type of icing sets quickly and solidly, making it ideal for decorating cookies and gingerbread houses.
To make royal icing, whip an egg white to soft peaks, then add confectioner’s sugar and, with a hand or stand mixer, mix on high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy. If necessary, add a little bit more confectioner’s sugar to adjust the consistency. The royal icing should be thick, but pipeable.
To pipe the decorations, you’ll need a disposable piping bag and a small round piping tip. I used a 1/16th-inch round tip, but you can go slightly bigger or smaller than this, depending on the designs you want to make.
Allow the royal icing to dry completely before packaging the cookies into tins or bags. And store the cookies at room temperature—never put royal icing-decorated cookies in the refigerator, or the icing will draw moisture, creating sad, weepy-looking decorations.
I kept the icing white, but you can mix in a few drops of gel food coloring if you’d like to make colored icing.
When not in use, cover the bowl of royal icing with wet a j-cloth to prevent the icing from drying out. If refrigerating royal icing overnight, cover it with a wet cloth, allowing the cloth to touch the top of the icing, and briefly re-mix before use.
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe Tips and Tricks
Chilling is the key to successful gingerbread cookies! First, chill the plastic-wrapped disc of dough for at least four hours (or up to two days) before rolling the dough. After rolling and cutting, chill the cut cookies for 30 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes) before baking. Keeping the dough cold helps the cookies to retain their shape as they bake.
You can cut the gingerbread dough into any shape you’d like. I used a set of snowflake cookie cutters, but you can also cut stars, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, stockings, or just about anything else.
Don’t overbake the gingerbread. The baked cookies should be very lightly brown around the edges, but if they’re too dark, the gingerbread will taste slightly burnt.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Gingerbread cookie dough can be made up to two days in advance. Flatten dough into a disc, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to roll.
Store leftover gingerbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
To freeze, layer cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature.
Other gingerbread recipes you might enjoy:
Gingerbread Chocolate Molasses Cookies
How to Make a Gingerbread House
Gingerbread Loaf Recipe with Walnuts and Pears
Gingerbread Wreath
Festive Gingerbread Simmer Pot
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
- Total Time: About 7 hours
- Yield: About 36 cookies 1x
Description
A gingerbread cookie recipe with royal icing piping. These easy gingerbread cookies are ideal for celebrating the Christmas season!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough:
113 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup / 1 stick)
150 grams dark brown sugar (3/4 cup, packed)
100 grams black treacle (1/3 cup), or substitute unsulphured molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons whole milk
320 grams all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups), plus more for dusting countertop
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Royal Icing:
200 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 1/2 cups), plus more to adjust consistency
1 egg white, at room temperature
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies:
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the black treacle (or molasses), followed by the egg and milk, and mix on medium-high speed until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg, and kosher salt.
Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix on medium-high speed until just combined.
Flatten dough into a large disc. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least four hours and up to two days.
Line a half-sheet rimmed baking tray with parchment or a silicone mat.
Unwrap the chilled dough and cut the disc in half. Place half of the dough on a floured surface.
Roll the dough to approximately 1/4-inch thickness.
With a snowflake or other metal cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes.
With a flat metal spatula, transfer cookies to prepared tray.
Re-roll scraps and cut remaining dough.
Chill cut cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 minutes. (If your tray doesn’t fit in the refrigerator, you can stack the cut cookies between squares of parchment and chill the stacks.) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C.
Bake in preheated oven, one tray at a time, for 10 minutes (11-12 minutes for crispier cookies) or until very light brown around the edges.
Cool on tray for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Royal Icing:
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip egg white to soft peaks.
Add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix on high speed until all sugar has been incorporated and meringue is thick and glossy, with stiff peaks. If necessary, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar to adjust the consistency. The royal icing should be thick, but pipeable.
With a flexible rubber spatula, scoop royal icing into a piping bag fitted small round tip. (I used a 1/16th-inch round tip.) Pipe as desired.
Allow decorated cookies to sit, uncovered, until icing sets. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
Notes
You can halve the icing recipe if making simpler designs. If you are planning to do a lot of flooding, I suggest making the full recipe.
After making the royal icing, either put all of the icing in the piping bag, or cover what is left in the bowl with a wet j-cloth to prevent it from drying out. If desired, you can add food coloring to the royal icing.
- Prep Time: 2 1/2 hours
- Chilling Time: 4 1/2 hours
- Cook Time: 9-12 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Desserts
