Soft Gingerbread Cutout Cookies – Gingerbread Men

The holiday season is the perfect time to bake soft gingerbread cookies with your family. These classic gingerbread cutout cookies are warm, cozy, and fun to make together. Whether you are cutting gingerbread men, gingerbread people, or festive shapes like a Christmas tree, this is one of the best gingerbread cookies to add to your holiday baking traditions.

These cookies bake up soft and chewy, with that classic gingerbread flavor everyone remembers. They are easy enough for kids, perfect for cookie exchanges, and sturdy enough to decorate with icing.

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What Makes These Cookies Special:

This recipe gives you chewy gingerbread cookies that are soft and easy to cut out. The combination of brown sugar, molasses, and a perfect mix of ground ginger and ground cinnamon gives these cookies their signature holiday warmth. Using unsalted butter ensures the perfect balance of flavor for these delicious cookies.

I know you have memories, as I do making and eating soft gingerbread men, even if the only kind your family served came from the store. The memories are so special that we have shared them with family; it does not matter where you tasted your first gingerbread man.

Once you start rolling out this dough, you will find that you will start grabbing all the fun Christmas cookie cutters. Gingerbread men, Gingerbread women, Christmas trees, and Santa all make the perfect Christmas Gingerbread cookie.

What Makes These Gingerbread Cookies So Good

This classic gingerbread cookie recipe yields chewy gingerbread cookies that remain soft without spreading excessively. If you grew up with store-bought gingerbread men, these cookies will bring those memories back. The only thing better is making them homemade with your family.

• Unsalted butter and brown sugar for a rich flavor
• Blackstrap molasses or unsulphured molasses for deep color and taste
• A warm combination of spices like ground ginger and ground cinnamon
• Dough that rolls easily and holds its shape for cut-out cookies

Simple Family Icing Options – Easy Kid-Friendly Icing

This is the frosting I learned as a little girl. It always works. Perfect for beginners and kids.

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk, plus more as needed

Stir in a large bowl until smooth.
Too thin? Add more sugar.
Too thick? Add a little more milk.

Royal Icing (For Detailed Decorating)

If you want icing that dries firm, use royal icing. Cover tightly so it does not dry out. A piping bag works best for decorating details.

• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4–5 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Whisk sugar and meringue powder in a separate bowl. Add water slowly until the icing reaches the right consistency. Use thicker icing for piping and thinner icing for flooding.

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Gather Your Ingredients and Tools:

To get the best results, you’ll need a few tools and pantry staples:

• Large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment
• Measuring cups for your dry and wet ingredients
• Plastic wrap for chilling the dough
• A rolling pin
• Favorite cookie cutters for shaping your cookies
• Sheets of parchment paper and a lined baking sheet to prevent sticking
• A cooling rack for perfectly cooled baked cookies

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 and 1/2 sticks softened room temperature butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup molasses (grandma’s original)
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 and 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

How To Make Soft Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. You can also use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until the wet ingredients are fully combined and smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and cloves.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients while mixing on low speed. Mix just until the gingerbread cookie dough comes together. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each into a flat disc.
6. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for the minimum chill time of 1 hour. Chilled dough makes rolling and cutting much easier.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet or a lined baking sheet with sheets of parchment paper.
8. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about ½-inch thickness for soft cookies.
9. Cut out shapes using your favorite cookie cutters, including gingerbread men, gingerbread people, Christmas trees, or snowflakes. Gather and re-roll dough scraps as needed.
10. Transfer the cut-out cookies to the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie.
11. Bake cookies for a bake time of 9–11 minutes, just until the tops of the cookies are set. Do not overbake if you want soft gingerbread cookies.
12. Let the baked cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack or wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Tips for Success:

• Room Temperature Ingredients: Start with room temperature butter and eggs for easier mixing.
• Soft Dough: If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour when rolling.
• Baking Time: Watch closely during baking—pull them out when they’re just set for soft cookies.

Storage:

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you are using a lot of frosting, let the frosting dry before stacking them on top of each other. I also like to put a layer of parchment paper between each layer of cookies to keep the frosting from sticking to the bottom of the layered cookies.

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