Description
Let’s make Soft Gingerbread Cookies this holiday season! Soft, pillowy gingerbread with sunken centers and slightly crisped edges, plus little nooks and crannies packed with ginger spice and molasses. These are SO GOOD!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup molasses (I use Grandma's brand - do not use blackstrap)
- 2 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (307 grams - see notes for flour measuring tips)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- granulated sugar for rolling
Maple Glaze
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (180 grams)
- 2 tablespoons milk (and a very tiny bit more if you need more)
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses; mix until incorporated.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Scoop and Roll Dough: Scoop into balls – I like them slightly larger than a golf ball, but you can make them smaller, too. Roll in sugar. Bake for 9-11 minutes; let them rest on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. They will flatten slightly as they cool.
- Glaze Cookies: Whisk maple glaze ingredients together until smooth (it will be very thick – if it’s too thick, just add a teaspoon more milk at a time until it becomes dippable, but we want this to be very thick so it sets nicely). Dip one side of the cooled cookies into the maple glaze, run the edge of the cookie along the side of the bowl to remove excess drips, set on a piece of wax paper, and add a few festive sprinkles before the glaze sets!
- Store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days, or you can freezer for a later date (two methods for freezing can be found in the notes below!).
Notes
Flour Measurement: 307 grams of flour is the amount of flour I use! For most consistent results I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. If you are using measuring cups, scoop the measuring cup into the flour bag or container until full and overflowing, and then level it off with a knife.
A slight difference in flour can greatly impact the overall look of these cookies which is why I really like to use a scale here. If you want to be sure that you like the thickness, you can start by baking 2-4 of your dough balls as a test – if they end up flatter than you’d hoped, mix in a tablespoon more flour to the rest of the dough to get a thicker center.
How to Freeze: My first choice: Bake the cookies, cool, and freeze with parchment between them to prevent sticking. Then thaw and bring to room temperature before glazing. My second choice: Freeze the dough balls before rolling in sugar and before baking. Then thaw, roll in sugar, and bake like normal. The consistency will change slightly (the flour saturates a bit as it sits with all the molasses and butter, making them less puffy and a bit chewier, but still very delicious).
Types of Molasses: For this recipe I use unsulphured molasses. For most of my testing I used the Grandma’s brand which can be found in the baking section of many grocery stores. Blackstrap molasses is less sweet and would not be recommended here.
The glaze should set to become fully dry to the touch with just an hour or two of sitting on the counter. For the best / most beautiful and travel-proof glaze results, you might want to wait to glaze until within a day of serving. The cookies can be baked ahead and stored (without glaze) in the freezer until you’re ready for glaze!
I prefer the flavor of the maple glaze which is why that’s how the recipe is written, but if you need a glaze that is more sturdy, melting 1/2 cup white chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon coconut oil will also work and it will hold its shape better for travel.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition Facts
- Daily value: 9% Total Fat 7g
- Daily value: 9% Cholesterol 25.5mg
- Daily value: 9% Sodium 216.7mg
- Daily value: 10% Total Carbohydrate 27.3g
- Daily value: 1% Dietary Fiber 0.3g
- Sugars 18g
- Daily value: 3% Protein 1.6g
- Daily value: 7% Vitamin A 60µg
- Daily value: 0% Vitamin C 0mg
- Daily value: 5% Iron 0.8mg
- Daily value: 2% Potassium 94.6mg
- Daily value: 2% Phosphorus 20.5mg
Keywords: soft gingerbread cookie, gingerbread cookie, christmas cookie


