Whether you’re looking for a fun after Thanksgiving dinner activity —or a tasty treat to leave for Santa— this gingerbread cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays. 

 

When you start to think of the holidays what comes to mind? Is it the turkey and ham for dinner? Maybe it’s the twinkling lights and the cooler weather. For me, it’s gingerbread cookies. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside — gingerbread cookies are a wintertime favorite. 

And while the Grinch may be trying to steal our Christmas festivities—quarantine during the holidays can be such a downer. He can’t steal the joy that comes with decorating and eating these delicious cookies.

If you’re really trying to get into the holiday spirit, check out this holiday playlist selection to listen to as you prepare the recipe.

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

You will need these Gingerbread Cookie Recipe ingredients to make this recipe…

• Butter — unsalted, softened
• Granulated sugar 
• Molasses — a staple ingredient to making delicious gingerbread cookies
• Water
• Flour — all-purpose flour is ideal
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Allspice
• Baking soda
• Salt

How to make Gingerbread Cookies

The key to this gingerbread cookie recipe is chilling the dough for at least two hours, but we’ll come back to that in a minute. 

We like our gingerbread cookies crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. So, how exactly do you make soft gingerbread cookies? 

Here’s how: 

1. 1. 1. Gather all your ingredients.
      2. Start by creaming the butter in a large mixing bowl until it’s light and fluffy. 
      3. Add the molasses and water.
      4. Beat until the mixture is well combined.
      5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 
      6. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until all is combined—don’t over mix!  
      7. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
      8. Once the mixture is combined, divide the dough in half, shape them into discs, and wrap them in plastic wrap. The disc shape makes the dough easier to roll out. 
      9. Chill your dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
         Properly chilling the dough is important. It allows the fats in the butter to solidify, reducing how much the cookies will spread in the oven. 
      10. It’s time to get baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone cookie mat and set aside. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll your gingerbread cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness. Using your favorite cookie cutters cut the dough into shapes, and place them on the baking sheet keeping them two inches apart. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set and a little crispy around the edges

Remove the pan from the oven, let cool slightly, then transfer the gingerbread cookies from the baking sheet to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

How to Make Icing For Gingerbread Cookies 

This part is pretty simple, gather your icing ingredients and get started: 

1. Combine the powdered sugar, corn syrup, clear vanilla extract, and two tablespoons milk in a medium bowl.
2. Whisk together the ingredients, adding a little more milk as necessary.
3. Grab a decorating bag and fit it with a small round tip—you don’t want to make the lines too thick—and fill it with icing.
4. Decorate your gingerbread cookies as desired.  

In a time when get-togethers are limited and maybe you just aren’t feeling the holiday cheer as much as in previous years, try creating some quarantine cookies to get you in the mood for the season. They are masked up and ready to go!

Check out these amazing Christmas desserts from fellow bloggers – 

Orange White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies from Chipa by the Dozen

Chocolate Covered Oreo Reindeer from Design Dazzle 

Black Forest Brownies from Devour Dinner

Eggnog Cookies from Fresh Coast Eats

Gingerbread Cookies from Hoosier Homemade

Burnt Almond Cupcakes from House of Nash Eats

Butter Pecan Cookies from Rose Bakes

Nutella Fudge from Savory Experiments

Lemon Shortbread from Taste of Homemade 

Instant Pot Salted Caramel Pecan Cheesecake from What’s Cookin’ Chicago 

Gingerbread Cookies

Yield: 36-40 Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes 12 seconds

Total Time: 29 minutes 12 seconds

Whether you’re looking for a fun after Thanksgiving dinner activity —or a tasty treat to leave for Santa— this gingerbread cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• ¼ cup water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• Icing
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• Decorations - candies, sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add molasses and water and beat until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and additional dry ingredient.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until well combined and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
5. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic.
6. Place in refrigerator at least 2 hours up to overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
9. Remove from the refrigerator and let warm-up for about 10 minutes.
10. Roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
11. Cut with cookie cutter and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
12. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set around the edges.
13. Remove and let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Decorations

Icing

1. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, corn syrup, clear vanilla extract (regular is fine, clear makes the icing really white), and 2 tablespoons milk. 
2. Whisk together, add more milk a little at a time if needed.
3. Fit a decorator icing bag with a small round tip and fill with icing. Decorate as desired