These Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies are ultra thick, soft and chewy gingerbread cookies made with cinnamon, cloves, and plenty of ginger.
They are easy to make, there's no chilling the dough, and they stay good for a week or longer, great for making ahead for the holidays.
My family and I have been making these cookies for decades. We love them so much that they have become an integral part of our holiday tradition, which was started by my mom. We make them early in the holiday season and pack them to have as a snack by the tailgate of the car after cutting down our Christmas tree at the tree farm.
There’s also usually a big batch in a basket at the back of the counter for snacking on when everyone is home for Christmas. These cookies are a staple of our Christmas celebrations along with Molasses Cookies with Maple Glaze, and these Cut Out Sugar Cookies.
🌟 Why I Love These Cookies
- Super thick and soft
- Fun baking project with kids
- Lasts for at least a week
- Great for make ahead holiday baking or mailing to friends and family.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make the Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies and Royal Icing for decorating (optional).
Gingerbread Cookies
- Butter: Softened to room temperature. I use salted butter.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness, but the cookies are not overly sweet.
- Molasses: I use Grandma’s molasses. Molasses gives that signature gingerbread cookie flavor.
- Egg Yolk: Use large eggs, pasture-raised if possible. The yolk adds fat and flavor. Reserve the egg white to make the royal icing.
- Baking Soda: For leavening.
- Spices: Cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. Use a high-quality Ceylon cinnamon if possible. The ginger flavor in these cookies is strong, but not overpowering. Feel free to tone it down slightly if someone prefers a less ginger flavor in their gingerbread cookies.
- Salt: Balances and brings out flavor.
- Flour: Use all-purpose unbleached flour. To be precise, you can use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour in grams.
Royal Icing
- Egg White: Reserved from the yolk in the cookies above.
- Powdered Sugar: Mixed with the egg white to create a white icing.
- Food Coloring: Optional, for making different colored icings to decorate the cookies.
- Note: Some royal icing recipes use cream of tartar. Add a ¼ teaspoon if you have it, but I don't find it necessary.
See My Guide to the Most Common Cookie Ingredients for more information on common cookie ingredients.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies.
Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 1. Butter and Sugar: Add the softened butter and sugar to a large white mixing bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
Step 2. Molasses and Egg: Add the molasses and egg yolk and combine.
Step 3. Spices, etc: Add the baking soda, ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, and combine.
Step 4. Flour: Add the flour and combine. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten it into a round disc or rectangle.
Step 5. Roll and Cut Out the Dough: Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough so that it is just under ½ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies.
Step 6. Bake the Cookies: Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 9 minutes.
Tip: The baking time might vary by a minute on either side, depending on how big and how thick your cookies are.
Step 7. Cool and Decorate: Allow the cookies to cool slightly, then transfer to a cookie drying rack to cool fully.
Note: The cookies may crack slightly while baking in the oven. This is due to the baking soda in the recipe and the thickness of the cookies, which causes the cookies to rise, but it also prevents them from being overly dense or thin and hard. As they cool, the appearance of cracks will lessen significantly and become less noticeable.
Make the Royal Icing: Beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the powdered sugar until an icing forms that is thick enough to pipe onto the cookies. Add more powdered sugar as needed to ensure that it is thick and not runny. If it is too thick, add a teaspoon of water.
Use a piping bag or a quart-sized freezer bag with the tip removed to pipe the frosting onto the cookies. To make green or red icing, separate a small amount of icing for each color. Add a few drops of food coloring, and combine. Decorate the cookies with the icing as desired.
❄️ Storage, Freezing, Make Ahead
- To Store: Wait until the icing on the cookies has fully hardened before storing so that the icing does not get smushed. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week (they will typically last even longer if stored well).
- To Freeze: The cookie dough and the cookies can be frozen if desired. The dough can be thawed in the fridge overnight, and the fully baked cookies can thaw at room temperature.
- To Make Ahead: These cookies are great for making ahead. Make the dough up to a week in advance (store in the fridge, or longer in the freezer), or make the cookies a few days in advance. This also makes them great cookies for mailing to friends and family around the holidays.
💖 For More Holiday Cookies You May Love
If you tried these Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg yolk reserve the egg white
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2½ teaspoon ginger
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups flour 350g
Royal Icing
- 1 large egg white reserved from the cookies above
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- food coloring optional
Instructions
Making the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg yolk (reserve the egg white for the royal icing) and combine. Add the baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, and combine. Add the flour and combine.
- Shape the dough into a round ball, then flatten into a round disc or rectangle. Place the dough on a clean work surface dusted with flour. Dust the dough and the rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough such that it is slightly less than ½ inch thick.
- Cut out the cookies into gingerbread shapes and place each cut out cookie onto a baking sheet with a little bit of room between the cookies.
- Bake in the fully preheated oven for 9 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool slightly, then move them to a cookie drying rack to cool fully.
Decorating the Cookies
- Once the cookies have fully cooled, decorate with royal icing. To make the icing, add the eggwhite to a medium mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Little by little, beat in 2 cups of powdered sugar. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to get an icing that is thick enough for piping, but not runny. If the icing becomes too thick and dry, add a teaspoon of water to thin it out.
- Use a piping bag with a simple round tip if you have one. Otherwise, use a thick quart-sized freezer bag without a pleated bottom. Place the bag in a juice glass, turning the top inside out over the top of the juice glass. Add the royal icing. Use scissors to cut off a very small amount of the tip of the bag, then use the bag to pipe the royal icing.Allow the icing to fully harden before storing or stacking the cookies. This may take several hours.The cookies will last for a week or more when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Spices:
- Use a high-quality Ceylon cinnamon if possible.
- The ginger flavor in these cookies is strong, but not overpowering. Feel free to tone it down slightly if someone prefers a less ginger flavor in their gingerbread cookies.
- Measuring Flour: To be precise, use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour in grams. Or make a test cookie first, and adjust the amount of flour as needed, or add a teaspoon of water if the dough is too dry.
- Royal Icing: Some royal icing recipes use cream of tartar. You can add a ¼ teaspoon if you have it, but I do not find it necessary.
- Baking Time: The baking time might vary by a minute on either side, depending on how big or thick your cookies are.
- Cracking: The cookies may form slight cracks while baking in the oven. This is due to the baking soda in the recipe and the thickness of the cookies, which causes the cookies to rise, but it also prevents them from being overly dense or thin and hard. As they cool, the appearance of cracks will lessen significantly and become less noticeable.
- Make Ahead: These cookies are great for making ahead. Make the dough up to a week in advance (store in the fridge, or longer in the freezer), or make the cookies themselves several days in advance. This also makes them great cookies for mailing to friends and family around the holidays.
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