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Chewy, Soft Gingerbread Cookies

These gingerbread cookies are chewy and delicious, thanks to the combination of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. Make them any shape you’d like; keep them simple or decorate to your heart’s content.

Gingerbread Cookies Shapes
Cut and decorate your gingerbread cookies however you’d like.
Soft Ginger Cookies
This gingerbread cookie dough is perfect for simple drop cookies – quick and easy!

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Cookie confession moment.  I’m not a fan of crunchy gingersnaps.  For me, crunchy gingersnap cookies are really meant to morph into crusts.  Case in point: crispy, crunchy gingersnaps are the perfect crust for a New York Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Otherwise, gingerbread cookies are best devoured when they’re wonderfully chewy and soft. These cookies are not shy on holiday spices, and the resulting aroma is scrumptious.

The aroma of cinnamon, ginger, and molasses waft freely through the air as these beauties bake into a golden brown delight. Perfect for Christmas gift-giving, party cookie trays, and cookie exchanges.  These big, soft, chewy ginger cookies 100% taste and smell like the holidays.

Gingerbread Cookies Shapes Iced
Ground ginger and cloves give these gingerbread cookies a delicious warmth.

Gingerbread Cookies: Key Ingredients

  • Ground Ginger – ground ginger is easy to use and provides intense ginger flavor to these cookies.
  • Cinnamon and Cloves – these warm fall spices balance out the flavors beautifully.
  • Orange Juice – a bit of orange juice gives these gingerbread cookies a touch of citrus essence. If preferred, you can use apple juice or milk instead.
  • Molasses – molasses gives these gingerbread cookies an earthy, warm sweetness. It also helps keep these cookies chewy and soft.
  • Coarse sugar, colorful sprinkles, or your choice of icing can be used for decorating however you’d like.
  • I’ve used melted white chocolate as a pretty (and super easy!) drizzle on top of the cookies.
Chewy Ginger Cookies
Molasses keeps these gingerbread cookies soft and chewy for days.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies: Key Tips

  • Let your butter come to moderate room temperature – it should be softened, but not at all melty.
  • Beat butter and sugar for a full 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Many cookie-baking-woes are eliminated by not skimping on this step.
  • Always be sure you have a fresh box of baking soda every baking season, as the freshness affects rise-ability during baking.
  • Just gently combine the dry and wet ingredients together until a dough forms; take care not to over-mix cookie dough, or it may take on a tougher texture.
  • The dough typically needs at least 30 minutes to chill. You can also chill the dough overnight, and let it sit at room temperature just until it’s workable. Dough should remain cool to the touch before it goes into the oven.
  • If you have unbaked cookies waiting to go into the oven, keep them chilled until it’s their turn to bake; this step is especially helpful if you’re baking cut-out cookie shapes.
  • Do not freeze this cookie dough; if you’d like to make the dough in advance, keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to a week.
Chewy Soft Gingersnaps
Soft Gingerbread Cookies are perfect for cookie exchanges, gift-giving, and sharing.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Commonly Asked Questions

How do you decorate gingerbread cookies?

You can keep it simple by sprinkling on festive coarse sugar sprinkles right before baking, pressing the sprinkles onto the top of cookies to adhere. For a super easy “icing,” we melt white chocolate chips or use candy melts to drizzle or dip baked cookies in. Candy melts set up quite nicely upon cooling.

How long do you bake gingerbread cookies for?

For 1 tablespoon sized cookie balls, we bake it at 350ºF for 8-9 minutes. The cookies will seem a bit underbaked at that point, but they’ll set upon cooling.

How long do gingerbread cookies last?

You can keep unbaked cookie dough in the fridge, covered, for up to a week. Baked cookies should be kept airtight at moderate room temperature, also up to a week.

More to Bake and Eat

Also Try These Lofthouse Sugar Cookies!

Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

Gingerbread Cookies Shapes

Chewy, Soft Ginger Cookies

5 from 60 ratings
These gingersnap cookies are chewy, soft, and stay that way for many days. They are perfect for gift giving and holiday cookie trays. They look basic, but they taste amazing.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the four, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter with both sugars on med-high, until light and fluffy, a full 3-4 minutes (set a timer), scraping down sides and beaters as needed. Beat in the egg on medium-low until incorporated. Add orange juice and molasses, continuing to beat just until combined.
  • Add dry ingredients into the butter mixture, beating on medium-low just until ingredients are fully incorporated; do not over-mix. Cover tightly and chill in fridge at least 30 minutes, or until dough is firm enough to handle. (If you're planning to roll and cut into shapes, chill at least 1 hour.)
  • Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
    Drop Cookies: Shape dough into 1-TB sized balls. Place them 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet, and sprinkle tops with coarse sugar if desired. Bake about 9 minutes, taking care not to over-bake. Cookies will appear very soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet without disturbing them for 5 minutes, and gently transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
    Cut-Out Cookies: Lightly flour a large cutting board and rolling pin. Roll dough into 1/4" even thickness. Use 1 1/2 – 2" cookie cutters for best results. Place cookies 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet and place in fridge for 10 minutes. Bake about 8-9 minutes or until cookies have puffed out and are still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, and gently transfer to wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Equipment

Notes

  • Always ensure flour is measured accurately; use this simple Scoop and Level method.
  • If you prefer, you can use apple juice or milk instead of orange juice.
  • You can use light brown sugar in lieu of dark brown sugar, though dark brown sugar provides a deeper molasses flavor and color.
  • If you’re rolling out the cookie dough and cutting into shapes, keep unbaked shapes in the fridge until it’s their turn to bake; this will help them keep their shape as they bake.
  • Decorating ideas: melt white chocolate for a super-easy and pretty drizzle. Use colorful sprinkles. Try candy melts, for smooth and tasty icing colors. 
  • If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating! ♡

Nutrition (per serving)

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Amerian
Diet: Vegetarian
Method: baking, Oven

Add a comment

Recipe Rating




24 comments

    • Erin
    • 5 stars

    These cookies were so cute! My son’s teachers just LOVED them! Thank you.

      • Amy Dong

      Yay, so happy they enjoyed these!

    • Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
    • 5 stars

    These cookies are amazing! Such incredible depth of flavor and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they are chewy! Definitely a keeper for sure!

      • Amy Dong

      Thank you, Lori!

    • Leslie
    • 5 stars

    I am not a fan of the crispy gingerbread cookies, but these are perfection! So soft and delicious!

      • Amy Dong

      So chewy soft! Thanks, Leslie!

    • Veronika
    • 5 stars

    It wouldn’t be Christmas without gingerbread cookies and you decorated them so beautifully wow! I have to try these asap.

      • Amy Dong

      Thank you, Veronika!

    • Megan Ellam
    • 5 stars

    So easy and incredibly tasty! Thanks for these amazing cookies.

      • Amy Dong

      Yay, you’re welcome, Megan!

    • Cathleen
    • 5 stars

    These cookies are amazing!! I am making it for my neighbors next week, thanks so much for the recipe 🙂

      • Amy Dong

      So happy you liked them!

    • Sharon
    • 5 stars

    The ‘chewy’ and ‘soft’ in the title for these ginger cookies are spot on for how these turn out. Perfect!

      • Amy Dong

      Yay, Sharon!

    • Amanda Dixon
    • 5 stars

    Such wonderful cookies! They truly delivered on the chewy, soft texture, which is my favorite kind of cookie.

      • Amy Dong

      Yes, it’s our favorite gingerbread cookie! 🙂

    • Kathryn
    • 5 stars

    These are the ultimate holiday cookie! Love how these are so easy and you don’t have to cut them out. Loved them!

      • Amy Dong

      Yay, thank you, Kathryn!

    • Colleen
    • 5 stars

    These ginger cookies are exactly what I was looking for. They turned out perfect and I’ll make them again. Thanks for the recipe!

      • Amy Dong

      You’re so welcome!

    • Lori

    What modifications are needed for cutouts?

      • chewoutloud

      Lori, great question! Be sure dough is fully chilled, roll out to desired thickness (I go about 1/2″ thick) and then use your favorite cut-outs! The bake time is still about the same, give or take a little depending on your oven. Enjoy! 🙂

    • huntfortheverybest

    they look yummy!

      • chewoutloud

      Thanks! They really are tasty and great for holidays :). Thanks for coming over!

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