Soft Gingerbread Cookies

5 from 1 review

These are soft gingerbread cookies that are melt in the mouth perfect for Christmas. They are gingerbread men topped with a vanilla icing that hardens.

Prep Time20

Cook Time9

Chilling Time2

Total Time2 29

Servings: cookies

Calories: 151kcal

Author: Stephanie Rutherford

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups All-purpose flour
1 TBSP Ground ginger
1 TBSP Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
3/4 cup Unsalted butter room temperature
3/4 cup Dark brown sugar packed
1 Large egg room temperature
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup Molasses not blackstrap! I used Grandma's

Vanilla Icing

1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar sifted
1-2 TBSP Milk
1 tsp Light corn syrup
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract

US - Metric

Instructions

Gingerbread Cookies

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3 cups All-purpose flour, 1 TBSP Ground ginger, 1 TBSP Ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Cloves, 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
Using a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed for 2 minutes. It will become pale and airy.
3/4 cup Unsalted butter, 3/4 cup Dark brown sugar
Add egg, vanilla, and molasses. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. It will be a thick dough.
1 Large egg, 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract, 1/2 cup Molasses
We are going to roll out the dough immediately. First, divide the dough in half. Lay the dough on a parchment paper sheet. Press it down evenly with your hands and then place another parchment paper sheet on top. Roll the dough out. We want it to be between 1/4 to 1/2 inch. 1/3-1/2 is preferred to get a nice and soft cookie. TIP: I found after I rolled it, the edges were too thin, I folded the edges back into the dough and then rolled the dough a little. This helps to give every inch of the dough the same thickness. Do this with both doughs.
Place both doughs (keep all the parchment papers on them!) on a cookie sheet and cool for 1-2 hours. I did it for 1 1/2 hours.
Next, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cut the dough out using your proffered cookie cutters I did small gingerbread men, small snowflakes, and a larger gingerbread man. Place similar sizes together on the cookie sheet.
You can reroll the dough scraps one time, any more and it will get overworked. Once the cookie dough shapes are ready, Preheat the oven to 350℉. Place the first tray in the freezer while it preheats (for 10 minutes) and the other tray in the fridge. This will help them keep their shape.
Bake the smaller cookies for 8-9 minutes. The larger cookies for 13-15 minutes. They are done when the middle is puffed up.
Let them cool for 10 minutes on the hot sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.

Vanilla Icing

In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, milk,, corn syrup, and vanilla. Don't skip the corn syrup this is what helps to harden the icing. Start with mixing in 1 TBSP of milk. Then, add 1 tsp at a time after that until it reaches desired consistency. You want it be a thicker version of Elmer's glue.
1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar, 1-2 TBSP Milk, 1 tsp Light corn syrup, 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
I used Wilton tip 3 to pipe the designs on these cookies. Let the cookies sit out for 4-5 hours to dry out the icing, so it will set.

Notes

Flour- Make sure flour is spooned and leveled or use a kitchen scale. Compacted flour can dry out the cookies.

High altitude baking- Add an extra 3 TBSP of flour.

Pull out dairy ingredients 2 hours before baking.

Nutrition