This was my very first time making gingerbread cookies, and they are so soft and sweet, packing a little bit of heat form the ginger. So Christmassy! When just making the dough, the kitchen fills with delicious Christmas spice, cloves, ginger cinnamon and allspice, and then the baking comes. The whole house begins to smell like Christmas.

The recipe is very easy to make and after chilling the dough is very easy to work with.

Please see the full recipe with step-by-step instructions with images below.

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Easy Gingerbread Cookies

The sweet and a bit spicy gingerbread cookies are so welcoming and an instant reminder of Christmas time.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Chilling time (dough):3

Total Time3 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Australia, International, Russian

Keyword: Cookies, gingerbread

Servings: 40

Calories: 98kcal

Author: ChiefElf

Equipment

Cookie cutters
Rolling Pin
Baking tray and parchment paper (or silicon mat)
Hand mixer

Ingredients

145 grams (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
150 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar
200 grams (⅔ cup) liquid honey (or molasses)
1 large egg, at room temperature
437 grams (3½ cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger (this adds a bit of spiciness)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
royal icing for decoration (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)

Instructions

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the, softened to room temperature, butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add the brown sugar and honey and beat until fully combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.
In another bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, allspice and cloves.
Turn the mixer to low speed and start gradually adding the flour mix to the butter mix until all the flour mix is incorporated.
The dough will be thick and sticky.
Split the dough in two and wrap each half into plastic food wrap and flatten a bit to form a sort of circles.
Place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to chill. This step is important, the dough needs to chill otherwise you will not be able to cut out cookies, too sticky.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line baking trays with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside until needed.
Take out one of the doughs from the fridge and place on a well floured surface. Sprinkle a bit with flour and roll out the disk to about 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Place the cut out shapes onto prepared baking trays about 2 cm (1 inch) apart. Reroll the dough scraps to make more shapes. Repeat with the second dough disc.
Bake for aboou10 minutes. If you have big cookies cutters bake for 11 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool down on a baking tray for about 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cookies are completely cool you can begin decorating. I used homemade royal icing. For a complete recipe for royal icing, see notes below.
Enjoy!

Notes

On how to make your own royal icing please my recipe for Royal Icing.

I have tried to use this same Gingerbread dough recipe for the gingerbread house, and for a small one about 6×7 cm (2.5×3.5 inch) is ok, but if you want a bigger house with multiple layers, then this dough is not sturdy enough, too soft.

Nutritional Facts:

Calories: 98 kcal, Total Fat: 3.2 grams, Saturated Fat: 1.9 grams, Cholesterol: 12 mg, Sodium: 88 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 16.4 grams, Dietary Fiber: 0.4 grams, Total Sugars: 7.8 grams, Protein: 1.4 grams, Vitamin D: 2 mcg, Calcium: 9 mg, Iron: 1 mg, Potassium: 25 mg

Servings: 40 (the nutritional values are for naked gingerbread cookies, without frosting)