Gingerbread Cookies

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These soft gingerbread cookies will be a new family favorite for the holidays! They’re soft, chewy, and perfect for turning into the cutest decorated gingerbread men cookies!

Prep Time1

Cook Time5

Chill time2

Total Time3 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 3-inch cookies

Calories: 67kcal

Author: Britni Vigil

Equipment

3 inch cookie cutters
parchment paper

Ingredients

½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
½ cup molasses
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 ½ cups flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ Tbsp ground ginger
Icing and candy for decorating optional

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the shortening, sugar, and salt. Mix until smooth.
1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt
Add in the egg, molasses, and white vinegar. Beat on medium speed again until all the ingredients are well combined and a smooth texture.
1 egg, 1/2 cup molasses, 1 Tbsp white vinegar
In a separate medium bowl mix together the four, baking soda, and ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger.
2 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl.
Cover the bowl of dough and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper at least an inch bigger than your cookie cutters. Pull off a one inch ball of dough and roll it out into 1/8 in onto one of the pieces of parchment paper.
Push the cookie cutter into the rolled out dough. Take any excess dough off and place it back into the dough.
Using the other piece of parchment paper, place it on top of the cut out shape. Flip the entire thing over and peel the bottom piece of parchment paper off so now you have your shape on top of the second piece of parchment paper (it shouldn’t be as stuck to it since you didn’t roll it onto it).
Flip the cookie and parchment paper again this time and place the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, gently peeling the second piece of parchment paper off the back. This will give you the perfect cookie shape!
Put the cookies in the preheated oven and bake them for 5-6 minutes, or until they feel firm. Do not over bake or you'll end up with crunchy cookies.
Take the cookies out of the oven once they are done baking and let them cool on a wire rack. Decorate with your favorite icing and candy and serve!
Icing and candy for decorating

Notes

Tips:

Add about 1/2 cup at a time to prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl as you mix it in.

You can roll out all of the dough at one time if it’s easier for you. It just makes it more difficult to transfer the cut dough onto the baking sheet since you’re going to roll it out thinner than a typical cut out sugar cookie. If you do want to do this, just make sure you’re not using any intricate shapes – stick to things like gingerbread men!

Start from the bottom of the cookie and peel the original parchment paper back horizontally in the opposite direction. This will help keep the cookie from sticking the paper quite as much.

While the cookies may seem a little thin, they’ll puff up as they bake! If you go much thicker than 1/8 inch thick, they take longer to bake and can start to crack.

Storing Notes:

Make the dough ahead of time to save time! Seal the dough in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for up to three days, then just roll out and bake the cookies like normal!

These cookies can be made ahead of time and stored undecorated for up to 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.

Once they’re decorated, I recommend storing in an airtight container and enjoying within a week.

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