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Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies are perfectly spiced with molasses, cinnamon, ginger and other warm spices, and sweetened with brown sugar. The best way to spread Christmas cheer might be singing out loud for all to hear, but these cute little fellas come in a close second!
Holiday baking is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the Christmas season! Some of our other favorites are making English Toffee, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, or Toffee Pecan Shortbread!
The BEST Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies are part of my personal Christmas cookie trifecta. The other two cookies are these perfect peanut butter blossoms and classic sugar cookies decorated with frosting and sprinkles or M&Ms. Although I have been making a chocolate peppermint cookie for a couple of years now that keeps inching it's way up on my list of "must bakes" each Christmas season.
If you love gingerbread, be sure to check out my gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream.
Even though gingerbread is a classic Christmas cookie, it's not one I grew up with. In fact, I don't even remember ever having had a gingerbread cookie until probably 8 or 9 years ago when I just started searching for a gingerbread cookie recipe on a whim.
I'm not sure where my original recipe came from since those were the days before most food blogs really got started and I definitely wasn't keeping track of sources anyway, but since then I've made small adjustments to the flour-to-butter-to-spice ratio, tweaking things just a bit here and there to yield the most perfect soft & chewy gingerbread men cookies you can imagine.
Just the aroma of the molasses and cloves and ginger and cinnamon is enough to transport you to Santa's workshop and make you feel like one of his baker elves.
This is such a fun Christmas baking tradition to make with my girls because we turn on Christmas music and they love to help use the gingerbread men cookie cutters. Although you can obviously use whatever cookie cutters you like or even cut out house shapes with a sharp knife to make 2-D gingerbread cookie houses that you can decorate with candy and eat (unlike the hard gingerbread houses that are just for decorating).
I'm partial to gingerbread snowflakes and like to sprinkle them with plain ol' granulated sugar after frosting them with royal icing.
Just be aware that while the recipe says to bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, you might need a little more or less time depending on whether your cookie cutters are small or extra large. I have a few really big tree and train cookie cutters that I have used in the past and those gingerbread cookies take more like 11-12 minutes to bake. Tiny cookie cutters take more like 8 minutes in the oven.
But the regular size cookie cutters that you are most likely to use will give you perfect soft & chewy gingerbread men cookies right around the 9-10 minute mark every time.
Be sure to measure the flour carefully so as not to add too much, which could result in the dough being crumbly and dry. I recommend the spoon & sweep method where you spoon the flour into your measuring cup rather than scoop it, then level it off by sweeping away the excess flour with a knife. I have a whole post on how to measure baking ingredients that you might find helpful!
The royal icing is super simple to make with just a little corn syrup for shine and no messing around with meringue powder (which I can never find in the store anyway).
You can use a piping bag with a small tip for decorating or do what I always do and just fill a freezer safe ziploc bag with your royal icing and then snip off one of the corners with scissors. Just don't snip off too much.
While these gingerbread men are perfect for eating all by themselves, they also make AMAZING ice cream sandwiches if you want to put a little vanilla or strawberry ice cream between two of them. Seriously, those gingerbread ice cream sandwiches are my favorite!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes For Your Cookie Platters
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
- Oatmeal Rolled Sugar Cookies
- Perfect Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Mexican Wedding Cookies [aka Russian Tea Cakes]
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Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 cup butter (227g)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200g)
- 1 cup molasses (340g)
- 1 egg
- 5 cups all-purpose flour (625g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Royal Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 2-3 Tablespoons room temperature water
- Pinch of salt
- Gel or liquid Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the molasses (it really does help to spray your measuring cup with cooking spray before measuring the molasses - it will pour out more easily afterwards) and egg and mix again to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices, then mix until everything is completely combined. Scrape the gingerbread cookie dough out of the bowl onto a large piece of plastic wrap, then wrap it up into a disc and put it in the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours or even overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼" thickness. I always find I need to be generous with the flour so the cookies don't stick to the counter or the rolling pin, but you don't need to worry about having cookies that look dusted by flour because it will be absorbed into the dough as the cookies get rolled out.
- Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheets, leaving a little space between each cookie. They don't spread much, but you just don't want them touching while they are baking. Bake for about 10 minutes until they just start to look set but do not overbake or they won't stay soft. Let cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan. Remove from cookie sheets to cool completely on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool with royal icing.
Royal Icing
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons of the water. If should be thick, but if it is TOO thick, whisk in another ½ tablespoon at a time, checking consistency after each half tablespoon. If you go too far and it gets too runny, whisk in two additional tablespoons of powdered sugar at a time. You want the royal icing to drizzle off you whisk into the bowl and hold it's shape for a second or two before melting back into the rest of the icing. If desired, you can separate your icing to different small bowls at this point and add food coloring, then transfer to piping bags with small decorating tips.
Video
Notes
- Measure carefully: This recipe calls for 5 cups of flour, which means that if you overmeasure you could make the dough too dry and it will be crumbly. I recommend the spoon & sweep approach where you spoon flour into a measuring cup then level it off with the flat backside of a knife or another flat-edge tool. This post explains in more detail how to measure flour accurately.
Dusara says
OMIT THE CLOVES. I tried this recipe (I would say I'm a baking novice but not total beginner) and baked half of it. The rest is going to be frozen and used as a weapon of protection. Is it just me? On the plus the house smells really nice but the cookies are just not right, edible but very strong taste and super dark.
Amy says
I'm sorry you felt like these were too spicy! The strong cloves are one of my favorite parts about this cookie because so much gingerbread is so bland!
Cleo says
Amy, roughly how many does the mixture make? (Assuming a cutter is around 3.5" x 2.5"
Amy says
That is hard to say because cutters can be so different, but it is a big batch of cookie dough. I would say probably 4 dozen cookies. Next time I will try to use consistent shapes (my snowflakes are much bigger than my gingerbread men) and keep better count!
Maria says
I have never made gingerbread cookies before and wanted to try these as the spice mixture looked really good. They were fantastic and very aromatic, but I agree when you bite into them all I taste was overpower of molasses sorry...they were very dark and not as soft and chewy as I hoped....not sure if it’s because of the dark brown sugar I used and molasses overload.....I will try them again but cut half the amount and try adding some milk to soften them up, do you think that will work?
Amy says
Hmm, I'm not sure about those adjustments. Be sure not to overmix and handle as little as possible when rolling out - that might help keep these softer for you.
Porter says
I just finished making a batch of these cookies. This is by far the best recipe I have ever used. I love the mix of spices! The gingerbread is so flavourful and VERY chewy. I used cookie cutters of various sizes and shapes, most around 3", some 4.5" and some 1.5", I was able to make 102 cookies!!
I LOVE this recipe, thank you for sharing 🙂
Amy says
I'm so glad they turned out well for you! And yes, it does make a lot of gingerbread!
Nicole says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Amy says
Honestly, I know most bakers use unsalted butter, but I never buy it. I just use salted butter. The amount of salt in salted vs. unsalted isn't enough to make me notice any substantial difference in taste in baked goods and I prefer salted for other uses like toast or savory cooking.
Chantay H says
Salted butter does not actually have salt mixed in with it, The salt is ONLY sprinkled onto the waxed paper, therefore only being on the outside of butter block.
Amy says
What? I have never heard that before! Mind=blown!
Jessica says
Totally disagree with commenter who said cookies were too spicy. They're perfect! Love the flavor! Thanks for posting!
Amy says
Thank you so much Jessica!! I'm glad you love them!
Eva Lillard says
I left out the clove, nutmeg and allspice because I didn't have any...and the family loved them! Soft and chewy. Couldn't stop eating them. If I had left the extra spices, it may have come out too spicy for my taste.
Amy says
I'm glad your family enjoyed these!
Rua says
Hello, the dough turned out crumbly and not too held together, is that ok? What should I do?
Amy says
Oh no! It sounds like maybe something is missing or maybe an extra cup of flour was added? The dough shouldn't be crumbly.
Heidi says
Mine is very crumbly as well. Totally bummed
Amy says
I've been thinking about the difference in comments and am wondering if the crumbly comments are just because the dough hasn't been smooshed together yet? I supposed it's a bit of a crumbly dough, but I just mash it into a ball and refrigerate it and then it rolls out fine. Now, if it's more sandy and won't mash into anything, then that would be a bigger problem, but that has never happened to me when making these.
Mary Collins says
I truly prefer a CHEWY to CRUNCHY cookie, so before I mix these up, can anyone comment?
Amy says
I'm with you - I like my gingerbread soft and chewy always! These are definitely chewy and not at all crunchy! Just be sure to pull them out right on time, or if you are really concerned, go ahead and underbake them by a minute or two!
Carole P says
Made my dough yesterday and put in Ref overnight.
Dough was moist and easy to work with, just remember to flour the table so they do not stick when rolling out. Did several different sizes and shapes, including larger Gingerbread Men. Adjusted the baking time to make sure they are not overdone or underdone. Keep your eye out.
Turned out perfect. SPICY, AND MOSIT AND CHEWY. WE love them. Will be making them every Christmas from now on. Try them you will love them.
Amy says
Thank you, Carole! I'm glad you liked them!
Stephanie says
I dont think my dough was the proper consistency. It was very crumbly when I put it in the fridge and now its just cold hard and crumbly. Not rolling properly at all. I've added some water to it and am letting it warm up to see jf it is salvageable. I'm wondering if its just the dry environment I live in.
Amy says
I don't know. It seems to me like this sounds like more of a case of accidentally adding too much flour, either by miscounting while adding (I've definitely done that!) or possibly improper measuring? Because the dough should be soft and it would surprise me if environment factored in that much. I'm sorry it doesn't seem to be working out this batch!
Shannen Morrison says
I think you may have used cold butter and it didn't blend together well. Try using room temp butter and creaming it until it's like peanut butter consistency. Then add it golden syrup and egg and it should be wet and sticky. Then add ur dry ing. and should mix to a soft moist dough that holds together.
Kathleen Krtanjek says
I tried this recipe and it is the best gingerbread recipe ever. Totally disagree about the spices being too much. It is PERFECT !! And the dough is beautiful, beyond beautiful. So soft so easy to roll out. I chilled my dough for 2 hours then pulled off a piece to roll out my large gingerbread man. It rolled so easy. What a JOY !! I baked mine for 9 min. still a little underdone but that's okay. That's why I only cut one. I'm trying to get the time down right. LOL But Amy, THANK YOU so much for sharing this recipe. It is AMAZING and you are right, if they didn't end up with a beautiful soft, pliable dough, they measured wrong !! I now can rest , I have found the perfect recipe. Thank you... Happy Holidays !!
Amy says
THANK YOU! Seriously, I really appreciate that you took the time to provide such a glowing, thoughtful review!
Virginia says
I made the dough last night and let it chill in the fridge overnight. The dough was a really nice moist consistency! I had my husband roll the dough out for me this morning because I’m a weakling 😋. I used 3 different larger sized cookie cutters and baked them for 8-9 min. They baked up beautifully! The smell was amazing and the taste is even better! Just the right amount of spice and so soft and chewy! Quite a few got eaten before I even had time to ice them. These will definitely become a Christmas time regular in our home. Thank you for the recipe! PS: some of the reviews I read for this recipe were way off in my opinion.
Amy says
I'm SO glad you liked these cookies and left such a nice review. I'm not sure why some people seem to have struggled with it since they have always turned out perfectly every time for me. 🙂
Tina says
I’d been looking for a chewy gingerbread recipe and made these last year. Thanks for sharing! My family loved them and I’m doing it again this year. Merry Christmas!🎄🎁
Amy says
You are welcome! Merry Christmas to you as well!
Tania says
Can you freeze or refrigerate the dough if you don't use it all? And if so for how long?
Amy says
Absolutely! You can refrigerate the dough for up to 5 days or freeze it for 1-2 months.
Ashley says
What about freezing the cookies, then icing them later?
Amy says
Absolutely! That would work really well.
Susan Lowery says
I baled these last year. They were scrumptious. I will definitely be baking them agin this year. In my opinion, you cant hve too much spice. I thoroughly enjoy the stong spicy flavor. Thank you for sharing this fine recipe.
Janice says
Do you freeze your dough in one big piece or do you freeze your individual shapes? How do you thaw?
Amy says
I would freeze it in one big piece, then let it thaw overnight in the fridge and rest on the counter for 20-30 minutes the next day until it is pliable enough to roll out.
Lei says
I’ve baked these twice and they are the best! Our family is now dairy free, however. I was wondering if you know of a good substitute for the butter?
Amy says
I'm so glad you love these as much as we do! Have you tried using butter-flavored vegetable shortening? That would be my first choice, although I haven't tried it in this recipe before. If you do, let me know how it works!
LP says
Has anyone tried this as a drop cookie?
Amy says
I haven't, but this is my favorite molasses cookie recipe that you might like.
Leanne says
First thanks for the suggestion of spraying the measuring cup before putting the molasses in it. That made using molasses so much easier, I was a little cautious making this recipe because of the dry crumbly comments so I made sure I counted my cups of flour and did not over fill the measuring cup. I made two batches, the first one I did not have cloves so I did not put it in but the the second batch I had bought cloves so I did. The dough was a really nice consistency both times, it was not dry at all and easy to work with. And they tasted great both times!!!! I made them to decorate but did not use your royal icing recipe because I have had trouble when decorating with royal icing so I used another recipe. The gingerbread was so good that half of the batch was eaten before I got chance to decorate them. This will definitely be my go to recipe for Gingerbread! thanks so much
Amy says
I'm so glad you commented to say that this recipe worked well for you! I'm honestly surprised that so many commenters seem to have difficulty with this dough, which has never given me any trouble at all!
Lisa says
I put the ingredients together last night. The dough is still sitting in the refrigerator. But like some other reviews it is crumbly and hard to touch. I also felt like a liquid ingredient was missing.
Maybe once I take it out of the refrigerator and roll it out it might be better? But at this point doesn’t seem like it would be so. Pretty confident my measurements were pretty close. While mixing I did feel like it was too much flour and that was after 2 cups of flour. Flour was flying everywhere while mixing it.
Maybe the people experiencing this issue are using a certain type of flour or other ingredient others are not using? I am using dark brown sugar. Does the butter need to be melted prior? Mine was softened in the microwave in order to mix, but not melted
Amy says
I'm starting to wonder the same things, Lisa! It's so surprising to me that some commenters are having a hard time with this recipe because I have literally made this dozens of times without a problem, but it's more than one person who seems to be having difficulty while otherwise have no trouble whatsoever. But it definitely should seem like 2 much flour after just 2 cups of flour with this much butter, egg, and molasses!
Lisa says
UPDATE!!!
I made the cookies and they came out GREAT!!! When I pulled the dough out of the fridge (sat overnight) it was pretty hard. At first thought the batch would be thrown away. Left it sit out for a couple hours and it softened up. Rolled it out without any issues. Each time I rerolled it I had to make it a tight ball to avoid the crumbling. But all worked out and tasted great! 🙂
Btw Merry Christmas from Hercules. 🙂
Amy says
I'm so glad it worked out for you and that you enjoyed these cookies!
Kim says
I just made this and its so crumbly, I followed the recipe, so I liked in the comments and saw here that you say 2 cups of flour, the recipe says 5 cups, so did I just ruin my batch of cookies by adding 3 extra cups of flour? Please HELP!
Amy says
No, it is definitely FIVE cups of flour, not just two. Every year I get a comment or two from someone struggling with this dough and so I make them again just to be sure, but it always turns out perfect with these exact measurements! I think some people see 1 CUP of butter and think 1 stick (which is just 1/2 cup). And I also think that people maybe lose count when measuring flour, or overmeasure. Many reviewers have great experiences with the dough, so I haven't yet figured out why some people seem to think that there is too much flour, when it has always turned out great for me (in more than a decade of making this recipe).
Miranda says
Hi Lisa, I made this recipe and they turned out perfect! They were delicious! Will definitely be making them again
Tallulah says
Am going to try this one - made gingerbread for the first time yesterday and it was...~fine, but sort of light a fluffy cookies, if that makes sense? I want dense, dark and chewy, hoping this will be better, and with the right amount and mix of spices that mine had, which tasted good. Looking at other recipes they only put cinnamon and ginger in?? What??
dom evans says
I had made this recipe three times last year; everyone agreed they were the best gingerbread cookies. They were both soft and sweet with nice spice. This year however they turned out darker, harder and bitter. Still.good, but nothing like last years batches. I realized the only difference between the two yrs was this year I used blackstrap molasses (i bought it for its added iron) whereas last yr I used fancy. Lesson learned. After a bit of googling I've since learned blackstrap js mot recommended for sweets/baking and is better suited for bbq sauces and beans and such.
Anyways, lol, I'll be remaking these again. They are seriously amazing when done proper.
Amy says
Thanks for the tip to steer clear of the blackstrap molasses! I'm glad you love these cookies and figured out the issue with the bad batch! I am going to have to update this post with that distinction!
Adrienne says
I think the people complaining anout the dry, crumbly dough, are mis-measuring thrir flour. The four should not be shaken down in the measuring cup. It should be lightly filled and levelled off with a knife. By shaking it down can give way too much flour, also a dry measuring cup should be used, not a liquid measuring cup. These are mistakes that beginners make but not usually people who have been baking for quite awhile.
Amy says
That's what I was wondering. Because I have never had any problems with this dough whatsoever!
Brittany S Gough says
I had some major issues trying to make this dough, although I will be honest I did not freeze it or put it in the fridge for 3 hours (only about 15 minutes in the freezer). I ended up adding shortening until I felt it was more dough like (150ml) and I am so glad I did. I was able to cook these right away for 8 minutes and they were absolutely perfection. So overall THANK YOU for this recipe I still love it even though I tweaked it a bit.
Julia says
Followed the recipe exactly- let it sit in the fridge overnight- and the cookies turned out absolutely perfect!
Sylvia says
These are the best gingerbread cookies I ever made. The spices are perfect, I made it 7 days ago and it is still soft and yummy.
Thank you.
Jennifer says
These are so delicious! I had to transition to gluten free eating so I used King Arthur's cup for cup flour and it worked really well. My kids loved helping me cut these out and decorate them. They each chose their favorite ones to leave for Santa. Thank you so much!
Amy says
You are welcome! And I'm glad to know it worked well with King Arthur's cup for cup flour!
Carli says
I’ve done this recipe four times and I absolutely love the cookies. I always get a crumbly dry dough no matter what I do. However it’s not an impediment to making these cookies so thought I should post here and tell people what I do. Basically I just let the dough warm up in my hands and roll it out in parts as it gets warm. It takes a while as there is so much dough (and it’s quite hard and crumbly), but eventually it gets to be a warm ball in my hands and then soft and easy to roll. Once it’s all rolled out, the kids help cut it up (into dinosaur shapes usually). I don’t have them in the oven for long (our oven is hopelessly hard to gauge) and I usually just hover around the kitchen until I start to smell them (<10 mins). When I pull them out they are most delicious when a little bit warm and so the kids usually loiter around while I sprinkle icing sugar on them and then eat them warm 🙂
I am not a baker and am generally hopeless at cooking (and have really crummy tools - mix by hand and a tiny old oven that heats unevenly).... yet despite this, these gingerbread cookies have worked out deliciously every time and are by far the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever tasted! One time I had to substitute the molasses for maple syrup as I find Molasses notoriously difficult to find in my rural HK grocery store - the cookies came up a lighter colour, but were still delicious, soft and chewy (although I prefer the molasses version).
I don’t bother with frosting and usually just sprinkle some icing sugar on top of them (the kids say it looks like snow which is quite a novelty for us). My whole family loves them, which came as a surprise because I wouldn’t have thought my kids (1, 2 and 4 y.o) liked the spicy flavours.... however I’m even holding them back from eating up the dough as we cut out the shapes 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing the recipe
GIOVANNA SCARPINE says
Love your recipe and thinking of making some this evening I have one question on the butter is that salted butter or unsalted butter thank you so much happy holidays wish me luck
Amy says
I always use salted butter. I know many bakers swear by unsalted butter, but for me, it's just easier to always keep salted butter in the fridge. The only difference between the two is an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt per stick of butter, and I don't find that makes a significant difference in most recipes.
Martha says
What temperature do you cook the cookies at?
Amy says
Its 350 degrees F. 🙂
alyssa predico says
i loved the recipe, it made so many cookies and it was really easy to follow. i did not give it enough time to chill so i just added extra flour when rolling it out! we mad around 5 dozen cookies!
Payton says
Can I substitute apple pie spice for all of the spices? And if so how much of it would you recommend I use?
Amy says
I haven't used apple pie spice but I'm sure it would work alright. The flavor might be slightly different and not as strong of a ginger flavor, since I think apple pie spice probably relies more on cinnamon, but since the spices are all essentially the same it would probably be good. I would use 6 teaspoons, which is the total amount of spices in this recipe.
Laura says
These are perfect, thank you! I substituted butter for coconut oil though (kinder to the cows!) and they were still incredible. Just use equal parts coconut oil to butter. SO chewy, thanks for the recipe! xo
Sierra says
Not soft but tasty. Did you mean to say baking loweder instead of soda? I was hoping for soft cookies.
Sierra says
*baking powder is what I meant to type
Amy says
I'm glad you found these tasty. Baking soda is correct. If yours weren't soft, try baking them for a minute or two less next time, because these definitely will turn out soft if you don't bake too long or overhandle the dough!
Tarryn says
I think the crumbly dough people have been getting can be partly prevented by ensuring the butter is at room temperature. That way it will incorporate better into the flour. Also, next time I will try 4 1/2 cups of flour because the dough barely fit into the bowl of my Kitchenaid stand mixer which probably also contributed to the problem of the wet and dry ingredients not mixing properly.
Kimberly says
How would I store for transport? so they don't mess up my frosting.
Linda says
Love this recipe. I had never used molasses before, do not like the smell. As I was mixing I was thinking - these cookies are gonna be awful. Boy was I wrong! These are the best gingerbread cookies we have ever had, everyone loves them! Will be making a double batch this year. Thank you so much for sharing! 😊
Anna says
I just made the dough for the fridge. The smell of the molasses is throwing me off because I am used to a cinnamon smell when I think of ginger bread cookies. Will that smell subside tomorrow?
Amy says
I think the strong molasses smell subsides a bit once they are baked, but it is definitely a strong molasses cookie.
Jessica says
Do you have to put it in the fridge? I will if absolutely necessary but I'm impatient and can't wait to try these lol!
Amy says
Hey Jessica! I feel you! So, no, you don't have to. BUT, it does make it easier to roll, and it does make it so the cookies don't spread as much. I still recommend it, but will confess to having cheated a time or two myself!
Anna says
I’m so happy the end result is yummy! Very happy with the receipt!
Michelle N says
I chose this recipe for a cookie platter fundraiser we are doing for Christmas. I’ve gotten so many compliments about how soft and delicious these cookies are. They are great! I have about 15 dozen more of them to bake by the 20th. I’m wondering if I can roll them and cut them out, then freeze them on parchment in an airtight container. Since the rolling and cutting takes up the most time, I think that would be more helpful than freezing whole batches of uncut dough. Thoughts?
Amy says
Yes, I think that would work! I would cover them tightly with plastic wrap though to protect them in the freezer. That''s a lot of cookies you have to make!
Savannah Tootell says
Ok. When i initially made this dough it turned out crumbly..i rolled it into 3 seperate balls and froze it. As i dont like to waste anything ..i tried adding a quarter of cup more of mollases to each ball of dough and mashed it up and got the sticky consistency i needed! All was saved and they turned out delicious!
Amy says
I'm so glad you pointed this out! Maybe it will help some of the folks who seem to struggle with this dough. I wonder if they are just mismeasuring their molasses or not scraping it out of the measuring cup.
Laura says
I just made these and they turned out awesome. I’m not really sure what’s with all the negative comments about the dough being crumbly. I think next time I will add more ginger as I felt they weren’t super gingery.. but that is just my personal preference 🙂 Great recipe!
Amy says
Lol, thank you for your comment and support of this recipe! I've wondered the same thing for years because there are always people who seem to struggle with this recipe and it turns out perfectly every single time for me and I've made this dozens of times over the years!
Mary Prascak says
These are truly awesome cookies. I followed the recipe exactly. PERFECTION. Thanks so much!!
Amy says
Thanks for your comment, Mary! I'm so glad these turned out great for you!
Failed baker says
Too crumbly... Butter probably too hard
Nancy Mullins says
I am always on the hunt for a cookie that is reminiscent of my childhood. The kind with a strong spice and molasses flavor. I just pulled my first tray out of the oven and couldn't wait to taste until they cooled . They are delicious!! I am glad I decided to make these. After reading through the reviews, I was hesitant and only made a half batch (which, by the way, made 48 two inch cookies.) My dough wasn't what I consider to be crumbly. It pressed together nice and I refrigerated it overnight. It was a little tough to roll out but held together well and wasn't too sticky at all. I'm not going to ice these as we rarely had iced cookies growing up so I cannot speak for that part of the recipe. For me, the spice level is nice--frankly, I could do with an even stronger molasses flavor. I will definitely share for people who are looking for, what I consider to be, a good old fashioned gingerbread. This recipe is a keeper!
Cindy says
Can you do a gingerbreadcookies house with this recipe?
Amy says
No, sorry - the dough would be much too soft for the gingerbread house to hold up. I have plans to share a gingerbread house post, but didn't get around to it this year!
Olga says
Soft gingerbread cookies,one cup how much it is
Is it small cup ,tall cup not sure how much use it with one egg and 1 teaspoon of soda please can somebody advice.Is this like 100g of flour or 200 grams?
Jeff says
So I was really concerned when i put the dough to the fridge because no matter how hard I tried it would just crumble instead of ball... so i got it and there and let it sit for 3 hours because well thats what it said to do and ilI figured why not! After three hours i pulled it out and just as suspected... STILL CRUMBLY!!! 🤔 well that was 5 cups of flour and a cup of molasses going to waste... or was it? Simply added another egg did some mixing in the ninja and it was the finest dough to work with! Yielded a ton of cookies! Yummmmmmmm!
Lin Li says
I meticulously double counted my flour cups because I felt like I made a mistake, but my dog came out far too crumbly and under spiced. I added more butter and molasses, and doubled all the spices, plus extra ginger, and it's a bit better but not chewy really.
Rebecca says
Made these cookies last year, got so many compliments. Very good gingerbread and very easy to make! My dough wasn't crumbly, just like a sugar cookie dough before put in the fridge. Making them again for Christmas this year! Thanks for the receipe!
Jenn says
I made this recipe yesterday, the dough did turn out crumbly, but I did tap the flour down in the cup, so probably ended up with too much. Noted for next time not to do that! Apart from that one thing these are wonderful, and taste perfect. I did leave out the cloves as I'm not fond of their flavor.
Natalie says
After reading the comments of people struggling with crumbly dough, I decided to actually weigh my flour. 1 cup of flour = 120g, for a total of 600g. As I was scooping it onto my scale, it only took “4 cups” to reach the 600g! I am digging out of a flour bag so what I believe is happening is people are accidentally over measuring, due to compressing flour in their measuring cups. Cookies were flavourful, soft inside with crisp edges. Not at all spicy or dry. I hope this helps someone!
Teresa Leon says
I just made these cookies for the first time, and they came out wonderful. Soft and chewy, just like the recipe said they would be.
I have a comment that might help others if you roll the dough to thin, then the cookies come out not as chewy. They're better if it’s on the thicker side. Then they are chewy and soft and wonderful.
Thank you for the recipe, I’m making them again.
Amy says
I'm so glad they came out well for you. Thank you for the helpful comment!
Sal says
I don't think I had enough molasses. My batter was too dry. I tried to coax the extra bit if molasses out if the bottle with honey then added an extra egg and 2 tbsp butter. They turned out really good in case anyone else needs a quick fix.
Raven says
Regarding this: chocolate peppermint cookie
Enquiring minds want the recipe...
Amy says
I can't believe I still haven't shared that one! You will need to grab those peppermint chips (if you can still find them) or chop up peppermint bark and mix it in to these Chewy Brownie Cookies instead of the nuts! But that's pretty much it! 🙂
Amy Pitotti says
Our family absolutely L❤️VED this recipe- I made it into snowflakes and squirrels for Christmas and it was a huge success! Everyone that ate one asked for your recipe! Perfection! Wish i could leave a picture- they were gorgeous! Thank you!!
Amy says
I wish you could leave a picture too!
Sushma Nath says
Absolutely the best ginger bread recipe ever! I microwaved my butter slightly to soften it, and only used ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg as didnt have the rest. I used Gas mark 6 for 6 minutes - to knock them out fast lol - they were PERFECT. So soft, bread-like, fluffy and melt in the mouth i literally couldnt stop eating them lol. I might use half a cup of brown sugar next time to reduce the sweetness even more as i used 3/4 of a cup. Thank you for such a simple recipe that didnt need measuring scales!
Amy says
You are welcome! I'm so glad you loved these!
Erica says
If you love a rich spiced gingerbread anything, this is a perfect recipe. I was very happy with how chewy they were. Hands down my favourite recipe!
Shannon M. says
These turned out really, really well. I did find that I had to let the dough warm up a little when I took it out of the 'fridge before I could roll it out, but they turned out great. I used with the homemade peach ice cream recipe to make ice cream sandwiches and they were a big hit!
Emma says
Thanks for the recipe! We’ve made these twice now and they go down a storm in our house. I halved the recipe and used golden syrup instead of molasses, but I forgot to halve the amount of baking soda (something always goes wrong when I bake!). Wasn’t a problem though, the biscuits ended up fluffy and chewy and tasty, so I did the same thing for the second batch.
What would you think to substituting some oats for some of the flour, just to give it a bit of texture? Or would it end up more cake-like, similar to parkin?
Amy says
I'm not familiar with parkin! But it sounds like it could work to me! I make a cut-out oatmeal sugar cookie that we love and I would imagine it would be similar just in gingerbread form.
Julie says
My 5 year old daughter watched the story of the Gingerbread Man this morning then asked if we could make a gingerbread man. I have never made gingerbread but came across your recipe. Thank you for making it easy. We had a blast baking it together. We took some to neighbors and they said “That was some of the tastiest gingerbread I have ever had!!” We’ll be making it again at Christmastime to take to the family. Thanks!
Tanya says
My preschooler loves the story of the gingerbread man and wanted to make his own cookies. Despite some of the other comments, the dough (consistency and spice) was perfect and the cookies were delicious!!
Amy says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe so much! I really don't know why there were some issues for other readers!
Angelique Markin says
I just made these for the first time. Me and my husband loved them! I didn't put clove, nutmeg or allspice in. I don't have those spices on hand. I will be decorating these tomorrow with my kiddos. I am surprised that some mentioned that it was crumbly. Mine wasn't at all. I only chilled it for 3 hours. But, had to put more flour on the board to roll out the dough. Thank you! I will def be making these again.
Amador Rodriguez says
I see the last comment was in 2017, not sure if you will see this...
For a guys make these for the first time they came out perfect I love the aroma and better yet the spice taste they deliver, our 8 year old son confirmed the delicious taste for me!! 😃
The dough was easy to work with once it had sufficient time to soften out of the fridge. 👍🏼
We will have fun decorating these and will make it an annual activity from here on out!!
Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe Amy, blessings and Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙏🏼🎅🏼☃️
Amy says
I'm so glad your family enjoyed these as much as ours does! We just made a batch last week and they are gone already!
Michelle says
I tried this recipe today, I love the flavor, but they spread out and did not maintain their shape. This first pan was almost 1 giant cookie. The rest, I put less on a sheet, but they still spread out and look more like little Michelin men than gingerbread men. What can I do to make them retain their shape?
Amy says
That sounds like either the butter was too soft or there wasn't enough flour in your dough. Another thing you could try is freezing the cookie dough after the shapes have been cut out before baking.
Kristi says
I LOVE this recipe and have used it for a number of years now. Some tricks I have learned over the past few years to keep them super chewy is when you add your butter, sugar, molasses & egg, I also add the salt, baking soda and spices in then. I also allow all these ingredients to whip for a solid 2 minutes. I add the flour one cup at a time and make sure it’s well mixed. I refridgerate over night then allow to sit in my counter for a half hour- an hour before I roll it out 🙂
Kathy says
Finally, a gingerbread cookie that lets the spices shine through. These are delicious and thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Tamara says
Just reading through these comments and questions now and I have to say I have NEVER had an issue with this recipe. It is absolutely delicious. Sooo chewy and yes molasses is strong but it works soooo nicely. I’ve made 4 batch’s already this holiday season because they’re such a hit among friends. Craziness! My only question is - can I substitute margarine for the butter since I am out?
Pat says
This turned out perfectly. Wouldn’t change a thing. will make again
Tegan says
Really did not like the overwhelming flavour or the molasses. These could be classified as molasses cookies rather than ginger bread. The consistency is nice however and a good chewy cookie.
Kimmy says
I haven’t made this recipe, but was wondering which type of molasses you use. I have black strap at home for cooking and it’s supposed to be healthiest of the molasses available. I saw other recipes mentioned using unsulfured molasses because blackstrap is too bitter)? Thanks in advance for your help! Happy holidays!
Amy says
I haven't tried this with blackstrap molasses, but yes, I hear it doesn't work well for making cookies. I use unsulphered molasses.
Monica says
Is the 1 cup of butter.... melted butter or hard refrigerated butter?
Amy says
It's softened to room temperature.
Marion Dietz says
I've made these for the past 3 years now, usually multiple times a season and they come out perfect every time. While the dough may seem a bit crumbly, after refrigeration and some time to warm up on the counter, it becomes a breeze to work with. This is, hands down, the best gingerbread cookie recipe I've ever worked with and my go to every year!
Bella says
The cookies tasted pretty nice- but I cut these gingerbread cookies out perfectly (lol it might of took me about an hour) and the cookies ended up spreading a TON! Now, it might be because I’m a baking perfectionist- so I have nothing against the recipe. It’s just that I believed that the cookies were not supposed to spread (I probably misheard that on the vid) If your looking for a recipe that your just making to have fun for the holidays and decorate with your family, then these are the way to go. But if you want gingerbread cookies that look like that they just came from a bakery to give to friends/ neighbors I would recommend going with a no spread recipe.
Courtney says
This is my favorite gingerbread recipe, I have made it for so many years my kiddos now include this recipe as an xmas tradition. I do not change the recipe at all, however I have never used the icing, I buy mine at the bakery as it is way easier!
Dawn says
I have tried many different gingerbread cookie recipes over the years, but this one is the favourite in our house. Icing or no icing they always disappear quickly. After refrigeration the dough is lovely to work with.
Thanks for sharing such a good recipe.
Robin says
I made these gingerbread cookies today and they are SO delicious! I think they have the perfect amount of spice. I prefer a semi-soft cookie and they came out so yummy and a little chewy. I had so much fun decorating them.I hope to get better at decorating in the future lol. Definitely give these cookies a try. We are eating them up like crazy!