Soft gingerbread cookies bend a little before they break, smell of molasses and ginger, and still hold a sharp gingerbread-man outline with room for icing buttons. This is the cut-out kind: a dark, spiced dough you roll, cut and decorate, made for the Christmas cookie tin rather than the dunking jar.
Two numbers keep them soft. The dough is rolled 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick, about twice the thickness of a crisp gingerbread cookie, and the cookies come out of a 350°F (175°C) oven after 8 to 9 minutes, while the centers still look slightly puffy. They firm up on the pan as they cool. Plan on 20 minutes to mix, 2 hours for the dough to chill and about 35 minutes to roll, cut and bake two sheets.
At a Glance
- Yield: about 24 cookies with a 4-inch (10 cm) cutter
- Equipment: stand or hand mixer, rolling pin, parchment, 2 baking sheets, a gingerbread man cutter
- Time: 20 minutes to mix, 2 hours to chill, 9 minutes per sheet in the oven
- Difficulty: easy to moderate; the chill is the only step you cannot skip
- Key technique: roll 1/4 inch thick and pull the cookies at 8 to 9 minutes
Why These Gingerbread Men Stay Soft
Thickness does most of the work. A 1/4-inch cookie has a center that never fully dries out in 9 minutes, while a 1/8-inch cookie bakes through and snaps. If you want crisp ornaments, roll thinner and bake 10 to 12 minutes instead.
Moisture comes from the sweeteners. Molasses and dark brown sugar both hold on to water, so the cookies stay bendable for days in a closed tin. The ratio here is 1/2 cup (170 g) of molasses and 3/4 cup (150 g) of brown sugar to 3 cups (375 g) of flour.
Chilling sets the shape. Cold butter melts more slowly in the oven, so the arms and legs keep their edges instead of spreading into blobs. The dough needs at least 2 hours in the fridge, and 1 to 3 days is even easier to roll.
Ingredients and What Each One Does
Eleven pantry ingredients, plus icing if you decorate:
- All-purpose flour: 3 cups (375 g), spooned and leveled. Packed flour makes a dry dough that cracks at the edges when rolled.
- Molasses: 1/2 cup (170 g) unsulphured. Blackstrap molasses is bitter and makes the cookies taste burnt, so leave it for another recipe.
- Dark brown sugar: 3/4 cup (150 g), packed. Light brown sugar works and gives a paler, slightly less chewy cookie.
- Unsalted butter: 3/4 cup (170 g), softened to about 65°F (18°C), so a finger leaves a dent without sliding through.
- One large egg at room temperature, which binds the dough so the cut shapes lift without tearing.
- Spices: 1 tablespoon of ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Fresh ginger powder makes a real difference; if yours is more than a year old, add another teaspoon.
- Baking soda: 1 teaspoon. It reacts with the acidic molasses for a slight puff and a soft middle.
- Salt (1/4 teaspoon) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons).
Mixing and Chilling the Dough
Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in one bowl. In a second bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes until lighter in color, then beat in the egg, molasses and vanilla. The mixture can look a little curdled at this point, which is fine. Add the flour mixture on low speed in 2 additions and stop as soon as no dry streaks remain.
The dough will be soft and sticky, like thick peanut butter. Do not add more flour. Split it in half, press each half into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick disk, wrap them and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. A flat disk chills evenly and rolls out without cracking.
Rolling and Cutting the Gingerbread Men
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Work with one disk at a time and leave the other in the fridge. Roll it on lightly floured parchment to an even 1/4 inch (6 mm); two 1/4-inch wooden dowels on either side of the dough make this foolproof.
Dip the cutter in flour between cuts and press straight down without twisting, which keeps the edges clean. Move the cookies to the sheet with a thin spatula, 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Gather the scraps, press them together and re-roll once; scraps rolled a third time bake up tougher. If the dough gets soft and sticky while you work, slide the parchment onto a sheet and chill it for 10 minutes.
How to Tell When They Are Done
Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 8 to 9 minutes. They are ready when the edges look set and dry and the centers still look puffy and slightly soft. A light press near the edge should leave no dent, while the middle gives a little. Dark dough hides browning, so go by time and texture, not color. At 10 minutes they turn crisp.
Leave them on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack. They need about 30 minutes to cool completely before any icing goes on, or the icing melts and slides.
Decorating Gingerbread Men With Royal Icing
Classic white piping needs icing that holds a line. Our royal icing recipe made with meringue powder is the one to use: thick enough for squiggle cuffs, dot eyes and buttons, and it dries hard in 1 to 2 hours so you can stack the cookies. For a softer topping that never fully hardens, a simple cookie frosting spreads on easily, but the cookies then have to sit in single layers.
Use a piping bag with a small round tip (#2 or #3) or a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off. Pipe the outlines first, then the eyes and buttons, and let everything dry at room temperature, uncovered, before stacking or packing.
Fixing Common Gingerbread Problems
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Shapes spread and lose detail | Dough too warm or not chilled long enough | Chill 2 hours; chill cut shapes 10 minutes before baking |
| Cookies are hard | Rolled too thin or baked too long | Roll 1/4 inch thick; bake 8 to 9 minutes |
| Dough cracks when rolled | Too cold or too much flour | Rest 10 minutes at room temperature; spoon and level the flour |
| Dough sticks to the pin | Dough warmed up | Roll between 2 sheets of parchment |
| Bitter, burnt taste | Blackstrap molasses | Use unsulphured regular molasses |
Variations and Swaps
- Spicier: raise the ginger to 4 teaspoons and add 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
- Gingerbread cookie bars: press the dough into a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) pan and bake 18 to 20 minutes.
- Dairy-free: swap the butter for the same weight of a firm plant butter stick; the dough is a little softer to roll.
- Chocolate chip: skip the cutters and fold in chips, as in these gingerbread chocolate chip cookies.
For a different take on the same spices, marranitos (Mexican gingerbread pigs) are a soft piloncillo cookie, and gingerbread fudge puts the flavor into a no-bake candy for the tin.
Storage, Make-Ahead and Gifting
Decorated cookies keep in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 1 week and stay soft the whole time. The raw dough keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer; thaw it overnight in the fridge before rolling. Baked, undecorated cookies freeze well for up to 2 months between sheets of parchment.
For gifts, let the icing dry fully, about 2 hours, then stand the cookies upright in a parchment-lined tin so the decorations do not rub. Mix them with chocolate cherry thumbprint cookies and a bag of Christmas puppy chow for a full box.
Gingerbread Cookie Questions
Can I skip chilling the dough?
Not for cut-outs. Warm dough sticks to the cutter and spreads in the oven; give it at least 2 hours.
Why are my gingerbread cookies hard?
Most often they were rolled thinner than 1/4 inch or baked past 9 minutes. A slice of bread in the tin overnight softens them again.
How thick should I roll gingerbread cookies?
1/4 inch (6 mm) for soft cookies, 1/8 inch (3 mm) for crisp ones or ornaments.
Can I use fresh ginger?
Ground ginger gives the classic flavor. Add 1 teaspoon of finely grated fresh ginger on top of it for extra warmth, but do not replace it.
Save These for Your Christmas Baking Day
Pin these soft gingerbread cookies to your Christmas cookies board so the 1/4-inch and 9-minute numbers are there when the cutters come out. More holiday ideas are in our easy Christmas desserts collection.
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Soft gingerbread cookies cut into gingerbread men that keep their shape and stay bendable for days. A molasses, dark brown sugar and ginger dough chills for at least 2 hours, then gets rolled 1/4 inch thick, about twice as thick as crisp gingerbread, and baked at 350°F for just 8 to 9 minutes, while the centers still look a little puffy. Decorate with royal icing once cool. Makes about 24 cookies with a 4-inch cutter, and the dough keeps for 3 days in the fridge.
Ingredients
Gingerbread cookies
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (170 g) unsulphured molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
To decorate
- Royal icing, for piping (optional)
Instructions
- DRY: Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a bowl.
- CREAM: Beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, molasses and vanilla.
- MIX: Add the flour mixture on low speed in 2 additions, just until no dry streaks remain.
- CHILL: Divide the dough in half, shape into 1-inch thick disks, wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- ROLL: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Roll one disk on lightly floured parchment to 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.
- CUT: Cut with a 4-inch gingerbread man cutter and place 2 inches apart on the sheets. Re-roll the scraps once.
- BAKE: Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly puffy.
- COOL: Cool 5 minutes on the sheet, then move to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- DECORATE: Pipe royal icing as desired and let it dry 1 to 2 hours before stacking.
Notes
- Chill the dough at least 2 hours (up to 3 days) so the shapes keep sharp edges.
- Roll 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick for soft cookies; 1/8 inch gives crisp ones.
- Done when the edges look set and the centers still look slightly puffy, 8 to 9 minutes. At 10 minutes they turn crisp.
- Use regular unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap.
- Ice only fully cooled cookies. Airtight at room temperature up to 1 week; dough freezes 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 155Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
