Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

written by:Cassity Kmetzsch

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These chewy gingerbread drop cookies are delicious and fast and easy. Get the taste of gingerbread without the work of chilled cutout cookies!

Get our gingerbread house recipe, tips for building a great gingerbread house also check out our Red velvet holiday loaf.

Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (1)

At Christmas one of my most beloved traditions growing up was to decorate gingerbread houses. I know it is not exactly original, but it was fun. My mother baked, cut out, and assembled about 14 houses a year and we each decorated 1 or 2. Then my mom would deliver the houses to all of our friends. (We continue this tradition with our family, too.)

What could be more exciting for a munchkin? Cookie houses, covered in frosting and bowls upon bowls of brightly colored candy.Uh, yeah, for me that was paradise.

However up until I was married and Justin and I started making them did I realize you could actually eat one of these… we just always decorated them for the fun of it and gave them away.

Only recently did my mom tell me about how good the dough was as cookies.The houses get a bit more flour and cooking time to help them hold their form (see the recipe and baking tips here), but the cookies are soft and delicious.

So, when you’re baking up your other Christmas cookies like peanut butter blossoms, snowball cookies, or your other favorites, try adding these delicious gingerbread cookies to your list.

Merry Christmas!

Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2)

Ingredients

  • Butter
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Brown sugar
  • Cloves
  • Eggs
  • Ground ginger
  • Molasses
  • Salt
  • Flour
  • Baking soda

How To Make Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

  1. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl. Whisk together until completely combined.
  2. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer (or in a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment).
  3. Continue to mix while adding eggs and molasses.
  4. Gradually add the flour mixture.
  5. Use a cookie scooper to portion out equal-sized balls of dough.
  6. Then, roll the balls in brown sugar.
  7. Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. Bake the cookies for the recommended amount of time or freeze until ready to bake.
  9. Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature on wire racks.

Variations On This Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

There are a few ways you can change up these soft gingerbread cookies to make your own version.

  • Spices: Experiment with using other spices in these delicious cookies. One spice that works well with the other flavors is nutmeg.
  • Confectioner’s sugar: Try dusting these cookies with powdered sugar for a pretty presentation.
  • Flour: Instead of all purpose flour, experiment with other alternative or gluten-free flours.
  • Shape: Use a cookie cutter to make gingerbread man cookies, or create your own favorite shape.

Storage

Gingerbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container, or wrapped with plastic wrap, for 2-3 weeks. They do not need refrigeration.

Gingerbread cookie dough, or baked cookies can also be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Print Recipe

Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (3)

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:10 minutes mins

Total Time:20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cloves
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350

  • Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix with a whisk and set aside.

  • In another bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses, combine thoroughly. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, till combined.

  • Scoop out the cookies and roll in brown sugar. Freeze or bake at this point. If baking, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. (I used a small scoop and it made 4-5 dozen) If frozen simply pull them out and place on cookie sheet and bake.

Servings: 24

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Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (4)

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Food memories are a big part of our family. We love having a big family party and making great food, or heading to Disneyland and trying all the things. Why not allow food to be a happy part of your life. That is what this blog is about. I hope you enjoy our recipes.

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Foodieaholic | Chewy Gingerbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are gingerbread cookies supposed to be hard or soft? ›

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

Why do my gingerbread cookies fall apart? ›

From doubling up on molasses to using too much flour, there is a lot that can go wrong. Forgetting the molasses resulted in a crumbly cookie that was light in color. Combining all ingredients at once created lumps in the finished product.

Why are my gingerbread cookies puffy? ›

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

What happens if you don't chill gingerbread dough? ›

2. Forgetting to chill the dough. It's tempting to want to roll out the dough as soon as it comes together, but let it have a little time to rest. Chilling it for at least two hours or overnight gives the ingredients a chance to absorb one another, making it a whole lot easier to roll out the dough without it cracking.

How long should you chill gingerbread dough? ›

Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.) To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated.

How do you keep gingerbread cookies soft after baking? ›

Storing Tips to Keep Cookies Soft

Store cool cookies in an airtight container (not a cookie jar with a loose lid) at room temperature. Putting cookies, cakes or breads in the refrigerator will dry them out.

Why is my gingerbread cookie dough dry? ›

Not enough liquid

There are a few things you can do if your cookie dough is too dry and crumbly. First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This could be milk, water, or even just additional eggs. If that doesn't work, you could also try melting some butter and adding it to the dough.

Should gingerbread dough be chilled before baking? ›

Mistake #2: Not resting your dough

After the gingerbread is cut out, Lomas recommends putting it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to three days. Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking.

What happens if you add too much butter to gingerbread cookies? ›

But one unexpected error bakers can make is adding too much of a good thing, butter. Although butter generally makes it all better, bakers who go overboard with it are dooming their cookies to a greasy and crumbly texture.

How do I stop my gingerbread cookies from spreading? ›

Chill and Bring to Room Temperature: Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight, but make sure to bring it back to room temperature before rolling and cutting. Space Out on Baking Sheet: Leave enough space between each cookie on the baking sheet to prevent them from spreading into each other.

Why are my gingerbread cookies bland? ›

Mistake #1: Underseasoning your dough

Something has definitely gone wrong if your gingerbread is bland and doesn't have a distinct ginger flavor. To prevent this from happening, Lomas recommends using several different types of ginger: dried ground ginger, fresh ginger and candied ginger.

Should gingerbread dough be dry? ›

Dough should be soft (not dry or crumbly) but not sticky. If sticky, add a few tablespoons of flour until desired consistency is achieved.

Do gingerbread cookies go bad? ›

The general rule of thumb is a couple of weeks. It depends how its prepared and if you used a lot of icing. Also, gingerbread like any other bread turns stale quite fast. Eating it after 1–2 week with tea shouldn't be a problem.

Why are my gingerbread cookies hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Should cookies be hard or soft? ›

The cookie should be baked only until the edges are slightly golden and the top looks a little wrinkled. The cookies at this point will still be very soft, if you let the cookies bake until they are firm then they will become dry.

Should Christmas cookies be soft or hard? ›

Sugar cookies, to me, should have a buttery dryness to them, but crumble easily. I've used shortbread cookie dough to make decorated sugar cookies and they turn out great. They're rigid enough to survive handling, but have a nice buttery chew.

Why are my gingerbread cookies crunchy? ›

The softness of gingerbread cookies will depend on a few factors like the recipe ingredients and the amount of time used to bake them. The longer they are baked, the firmer and crunchier they will be.

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