These soft gingerbread cookies with a cinnamon icing are a tender and chewy cookie, full of all the holiday spices.
SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH CINNAMON ICING
It's no secret that I love a good ginger cookie, but they need to be soft for me. I don't love those crunchy ones you can buy in bags and boxes at the store. About 10 years ago a friend of mine, Stacy, brought me these gingerbread men for a Christmas treat and I knew instantly I needed the recipe. Since then I have continued to make these every single year, with only a few minor tweaks to her recipe. And I can promise you that these will become a holiday season favorite for you too!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THESE COOKIES
FLAVORFUL COOKIE- These cookies have melted butter, molasses and so many spices in them, and you can taste it all with every bite.
CINNAMON ICING- It's such a simple icing, but adds so much extra flavor to these cookies, not to mention its so much easier than frosting.
FUN TO MAKE FOR THE HOLIDAYS- My kids always look forward to helping cut-out the cookies and feeling like they made them themselves.
QUICK & EASY- This recipe can be made without a mixer, and doesn't require any chilling time. The dough is so easy to work with.
INGREDIENTS
- Butter, melted & cooled
- Sugar
- Eggs, room temp
- Molasses
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
- Milk
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter and sugar together. Add eggs and molasses and mix until combined.
Add dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.
Flour a large surface or baking mat. Roll dough until desired thickness. I like mine to be about ½ inch thick. Cut out cookies and continue to re-roll dough and cut until all dough is used.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a light golden brown around the edges.
Add all icing to a bowl and mix together. Dip cooled cookies into the icing, or you can frost them with an off set spatula if you prefer. Allow icing to set.
COOKIE TIPS
Make sure that your butter is completely cooled before beginning, or the dough will be too soft, and hard to manage. If you're feeling like it's hard to create a shape, allow it to rest for a bit, or place it in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
I like to dip my cookies in the icing and then let some drip off before setting back down. your hands might get a little sticky, but it's worth it.
These cookies will store perfectly in an airtight container for 4-5 days on the counter, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I like to double the batch of these and take to friends and neighbors around the holiday time. Everyone always loves them!
OTHER COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:
Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment below if you make them and love them as much as I do.
Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Cinnamon Icing
Ingredients
- 1 cup melted butter, cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
- ⅔ cup molasses
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- 1½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoon milk
- sprinkle of cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter and sugar together. Add eggs and molasses and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.
- Flour a large surface or baking mat. Roll dough until desired thickness. I like mine to be about ½ inch thick. Cut out cookies and continue to re-roll dough and cut until all dough is used.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until a light golden brown around the edges.
- Add all icing to a bowl and mix together. Dip cooled cookies into the icing, or you can frost them with an off set spatula if you prefer. Allow icing to set.
Barbara Christensen
These cookies are incredibly easy to make AND are soft and delicious!! My kids thought they were the bomb. Someone even asked me where I bought them because they look so profesh! I used an ice cream scooper because I don’t have a 3 TBSP cookie scooper. Brooke has taught me than an ice cream scooper is equivalent to a 4 TBSP cookie scooper - so I only put 6 cookies on my pan to prevent them from squishing into each other. And they were perfect!! 🙌🏻
Allison Watson
These are so, so good. That cinnamon icing takes them to the next level! My 9 year old son told me I was the best cookie maker ever. So overall, I'll give 5 stars all day long. Yummmm!!
Maggy
These gingerbread cookies are a 10 out of 10! I made a half batch for my husband and I, and they were almost gone in a day! I'll definitely make a full batch next time! The texture is perfectly soft, and I love the cinnamon icing! I will be making these all month long!
brooke
Thank you so much!!! I love knowing other people love them as much as I do!
Amy
I actually only used your cinnamon glaze because I was looking for an easy frosting other than something to pipe on my gingerbread cookies. This cinnamon was PERFECT! I made snowman and Christmas tree shaped GB cutouts. I separated the glaze into 4 different bowls to have red, blue, green, and white. It was very easy to spread with just a butter knife. I will 100% use this glaze in the future.
Kinzie
Oh. My. Word. Made these, soft and scrumptious cookies for a Christmas party. They are perfect.
Cece
Your recipes never fail!! These were such a hit in our cookie boxes this year. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us. Merry Christmas 🥰
Sarah C.
These cookies were perfect. It was a great balance of sweetness and holiday spice, all in a soft cookie that holds its shape even with my little ones decorating them. Love!! And they stayed so fresh even after 1.5 weeks in a container. You have to make these.
Catalina
These turned out wonderful! So soft and so addicting! I think next time I would chill the dough, so it is easier to cut out the gingerbread! I made it work, but I noticed it was a little flimsy. Thank you for sharing your recipes!