Cutout Gingerbread Cookies

This easy recipe makes classic cutout gingerbread cookies that hold their shape and don't spread when baked. These gingerbread cookies are perfect for decorating with royal icing, storing and even shipping in the mail in carefully packed cookie boxes.

The great thing about gingerbread cookies is that you can work on them in stages: make the dough and then chill it until you are ready to roll them (just let the dough warm up a bit on the counter before you attempt to roll it out).

Once you've baked them, you don't have to decorate them unless you absolutely want to, and you certainly don't have to do so right away. In fact, I decorated these a week after I made them because it took me a week to find the energy to make icing and dig out the decorating kit.

What You Need to Make This Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

If you want to make gingerbread cookie cut-outs, you will need the following ingredients:

• butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise your cookies may be too salty
• light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, though granulated sugar would also work here, though it would not contribute to the molasses flavour. Brown sugar may also lead to a slightly thicker cookie that is less prone to spreading
• molasses, specifically Fancy molasses or baking molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, which is too bitter for this recipe
• large eggs, don't use smaller eggs because your cookie dough may be too dry and your cookie dough won't roll out nicely, but don't use extra large eggs because they could cause the cookie dough to puff too much as it bakes, leading to a more cake-y cookie or a spread out cookie.
• all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the cookies structure. If you don't use enough flour, your cookies may spread too much as they bake
• baking soda is a base (alkaline). You need baking soda for the cookies to help with browning and also rise. Do not use baking powder. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure
• ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are added to the dough to make these cookies very flavourful-these are the usual spices in gingerbread, though some may add anise or even ground pepper
• salt is really important to balance out the sweet molasses flavour. Don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. Table salt will also work but add half the amount to avoid making the cookies too salty

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and instructions.

How To Make Perfect Gingerbread Cookies

Step 1-Start by combining the butter and sugar (image 1) and mixing them until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses next (image 2), and then the egg (image 3).

Note: make sure the egg is at room temperature for best results when you mix it into the dough.

Step 2-Whisk the flour with the spices, leavening and salt in a separate bowl (image 4). I like to use a Danish dough whisk for this. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl (image 5) and stir them in to form a thick, sticky gingerbread cookie dough (image 6). Divide the dough into two equal pieces, patting each into a disk and wrapping in plastic wrap to chill until firm (image 7).

Tip: gingerbread dough is quite soft before chilling. You need to chill the cookie dough before rolling it out to make it easier to work with. If it's too soft, it will be delicate and too sticky.

Step 3-Roll out the chilled dough, one disk at a time, until ⅛-1/4 inch thick (3-6 mm), then cut out cookies with cookie cutters of your choosing (image 8). The number of cookies you get will depend on the size of the cutters you choose. You can reroll the scraps, brushing off as much of the flour before pressing them together and chilling the scraps before rolling out again.

Step 4-Arrange the cutout gingerbread cookies on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan, spacing them out (image 9). Bake the cookies until set (image 10). The more you bake them, the dryer they will be.

You can keep these gingerbread cut-outs plain, without any icing, but if you want to jazz them up, decorate them with a batch of royal icing once they have completely cooled. The icing should be stiff so it doesn't run off the cookies, as you can see. The texture is similar to thick toothpaste.

Top Baking Tip: Chill the Cookie Dough

To stop cutout cookies from spreading as they bake (or slow it down), always chill the cookie dough before baking it. Cold butter takes more heat and/or more time to melt than room temperature butter.

To chill it before baking, gather the cookie dough into a disk and wrap it well in plastic wrap. Store them in an airtight container or a freezer bag in the fridge. In fact, you can freeze this dough for about a month, allowing you to get ahead of the Christmas baking. Simply defrost overnight in the fridge, taking it out the day before you want to roll it out and make cookies!

Other Gingerbread Recipes

If you love gingerbread, here are a few other recipes for you to try:

• German gingerbread cookies
• matcha gingerbread cookie cutouts for a green version that's super fun!
• gingerbread muffins
• gingerbread granola
• moist gingerbread cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and lemon curd

If you tried this recipe for the best gingerbread cutout cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi

If you want to decorate gingerbread men, you need a good gingerbread cookie dough. This gingerbread cookie dough is great for decorating (and eating) because the cut cookies don't puff or distort in the oven. And they taste great too!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Chill time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 50 small cookies

Calories 45 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• ▢
  Rolling pin
• ▢
  Star cutters
• ▢
  Piping bags

Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

Ingredients

 

MetricUS

 

0.5x1x2x3x

• ▢ 280 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• ▢ 10 mL ground ginger
• ▢ 7.5 mL ground cinnamon
• ▢ 3.75 mL ground nutmeg
• ▢ 2.5 mL ground cloves
• ▢ 1.25 mL baking soda
• ▢ 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• ▢ 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 67 grams light brown sugar
• ▢ 80 mL Fancy molasses
• ▢ 1 large egg(s)

Optional for decorating

• ▢ 1 batch royal icing

Instructions

 

• Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and the brown sugar, then add the molasses, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add the egg, and beat it in. Add the flour mixture a third at a time. You might have to work the last bit in by hand.
• Divide the dough in two, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for a couple of hours or until cold and firm.
• Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175 °C). Line sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Roll out the dough, working with one disk at a time, to ⅛-1/4 inch (3-6 mm) on a floured surface. Cut out desired shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes.
• Let cool completely before decorating with royal icing and store in an airtight container.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• You can replace fancy molasses with mild molasses, black treacle, or even maple syrup. The colour of cookies will vary according to what you use.
• If dough or cutout cookies are too soft before baking, chill them a bit to make them easier to handle! 
• Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C) to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.
• The texture of the baked gingerbread cookies is dependent on how long you bake them. The longer you bake them, the more crisp and dry they will be. Shorter baking will lead to a softer cookie.
• Decorate the cookies with royal icing only once they've completely cooled.
• I found this recipe in Josée di Stasio's Le Carnet Rouge, which is a gorgeous Christmas book: it's a smaller-format Christmas cookbook, full of stunning photography, reliable recipes, and festive ideas. I honestly wish that I lived inside the pages of this book. It's beautiful! Di Stasio actually credits Nick Malgieri for this recipe. I guess it's a small world. So, from Nick Malgieri to Josée di Stasio, and then from me to you.

Nutrition

Calories: 45kcal

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