These scrumptious Soft Ginger Cookies are so full of flavor, slightly crispy on the edges with a soft and chewy texture on the inside. They are a family favorite and are perfect for holiday gift-giving, Christmas parties, and cookie trays.
Are you a fan of gingerbread? I absolutely love it. I like the soft and chewy kind, not the hard kind that you need to dunk in milk. These easy, Soft Gingerbread Cookies are the best. One of the key ingredients is molasses. Which by itself is not the best-tasting ingredient but look out when you mix it with butter, sugar, flour, and fall baking spices. Considered yourself warned because these cookies are amazing!!
What is molasses?
Molasses is the dark, sweet syrupy by-product from refining sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar. It is a different type of sweetener, just like honey or agave syrup, and is often used to produce a certain type of flavor. Just as honey produces a different taste than sugar, so does molasses. It is next to impossible to describe, but you will know it when you smell and love it when you mix it in this cookie batter.
These delicious cookies are perfect for your holiday gift-giving, cookie exchanges, and parties. They are quick to come together, and they freeze exceptionally well.
How to make Soft Ginger Cookies!
Grab a medium bowl and combine your flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set this bowl aside for a few minutes.
Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, coffee, and molasses. Slowly blend the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll through sugar. Place the cookie dough balls on parchment paper-covered cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for about 12 minutes. Then move to wire racks to cool after 5 minutes.
Can you roll these Gingerbread Cookies for cutting into shapes?
Yes, you most certainly can. Divide the dough in half and shape it into round mounds. Cover each fully with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least four hours up to three days. Remove from fridge and place on a generously floured surface; using a rolling pin covered with flour, roll to one-quarter to one-third inch thick. Using cookie cutters cut and place on parchment paper-covered baking sheets one inch apart. Combine and re-roll scraps. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove to a wire rack. Cool completely and decorate as desired.
If you are rolling the dough and cutting, then these cookies will become crisper. Much of the aeration is removed by rolling the cookies. The cooking time for cut cookies is reduced to 8-12 minutes. I suggest you run a test run with 1-2 cookies to establish optimum cooking time.
How to freeze these soft ginger cookies
After baking, let the cookies fully cool. Double wrap in Ziploc freezer bags (removing as much air as possible) and place in sturdy freezer containers. Place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When thawing, remove them from all packaging and place them on serving plates in a single layer until they are thawed. Once thawed, they can be stacked for serving, packed in airtight containers, or packaged for gift-giving. It is the condensation that builds up in the freezer bags that ruins the cookies.
If you like gingerbread, you have got to try these cookies. They are delicious, dependable, and easy to prepare. They freeze well, package well, and are perfect for holiday gift-giving! What’s not to love about them?
More cookie recipes you will love!
Soft Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons prepared dark coffee
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl and combine flour, ground ginger, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, coffee, and molasses. Slowly blend flour mixture into butter mixture until incorporated; scraping down the bowl and beaters. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll through white sugar.
- Place on parchment-covered baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes. After 5 minutes, move to cookie cooling racks.
Video
Notes
- If rolling the dough and cutting; these cookies will become crisper. Much of the aeration is removed by rolling the cookies. The cooking time for cut cookies is reduced to 8-12 minutes. I suggest you run a test run with 1-2 cookies to establish optimum cooking time.
- Cover your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. They help the cookies bake evenly, brown better, and lift off the cookie sheet without breaking.
- For optimum results, bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Use multiple cookie sheets or let the single cookie sheet cool before dropping more dough on it, as a warm cookie sheet can cause cookies to spread too fast.
- Store the cookies on the counter in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
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This post was originally published October 21, 2018 and was republished October 18, 2019 with new content.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Kristina Taylor
I followed the recipe exactly. I was worried a tablespoon of ginger would be too strong but these cookies were amazing! Perfect balance of sweet and spice and the texture was great. Thanks for sharing this!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Kristina! The pleasure is all mine!
Mandy Durdin-Maccala
I have made these for the last two years for Christmas and they are so scrumptious. Everyone loves them!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Mandy! I am so glad that you like them!
Judy
So glad to find this recipe. I absolutely love gingerbread cookies and I want to enjoy them all year. It seems that many people think that gingerbread cookies are just for the holidays. Another plus is these cookies do not require rolling the dough out. Rolling the dough into balls is the same as my other favorite cookies, Snickerdoodles. I will be making these this week. Thanks for sharing this recipe. **
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Judy! I hope you enjoy the cookies and I agree with you gingerbread cookies should be enjoyed all year.
Karen Delaney
Made these this morning…They are absolutely delicious…
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Karen! So glad that you liked them!
Kamie
Wow! So yummy! Made these with the boys and the whole batch were gone in a flash! I didn’t end up having real butter, so I used “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” instead. This may have been why my dough was loose. I scooped them, rolled in sugar, & popped them in the freezer for 30 mins. Everything worked great and the cookies kept their domed appearance.
P.S.-
LOVE the coffee flavor. I think my husband ate the most out of the family for breakfast!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Kamie! So glad that they worked out for you and thanks for the tip.
Melissa Cushing
I pinned this one because my husband loves gingerbread cookies and everything homemade is best so I am making them for the Holidays 🙂 I appreciate you sharing this yummy recipe!
Mosaic Art Discovery
Ginger cookies are my fav!!! Your recipe looks so so good, I can’t wait to make your recipe, can’t wait.
Beth Pierce
Butter is usually the culprit. I use Land O Lakes butter for all my cookies. Sometimes the butter gets overworked. I always make the first batch a test run. Bake one or two cookies. This allows you to make sure the dough will not spread too much and to test baking time. If the cookies spread too much. Cover the bowl with wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Another culprit might be old baking soda.
Randi Cockerham
I made these today and they were excellent. Since there is a gluten intolerance in the family I do 95% of my baking gluten free as I did with this recipe. I just substituted an all purpose gluten-free flour blend from King Arthur. I also learned years ago gluten-free baked goods need time for the flours to hydrate. I put the dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before rolling and baking. My husband kept asking, and these are gluten-free? Since I haven’t had a cup of coffee in over 40 years, I omitted the coffee. I just added 3 tbs of water to make up the moisture. This recipe is on my Pinterest page to be used many more times.
Beth Pierce
So glad that you liked them and were able to adapt them to your needs. I love gingerbread cookies.
Sarah
Hi Randi,
I’m glad I saw your post as I have been thinking how I could use Bob’s Gluten Free flour on this recipe. Yes, I learned that gluten free flour sometimes needs more moisture so I’ll try the refrigeration trick too! I subbed GF flour when I made the Mexican “ maranitos “ or piglet cookies!
Debbie
This recipe looks superb!!! could you use it for a gingerbread house?
Beth Pierce
Not sure. I have never tried.
Matteo
Made a triple batch of them for relatives on Thanksgiving, they are delicious, easy to use recipe and I’ll make them again for Christmas 21, only a smaller batch, my 5 quart mixer strained some with the dough so I ended up doing it by hand. If you make these you won’t be disappointed.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Matteo! So glad that you liked them!
Sierra
I love these cookies!! I was even able to make a vegan version with vegan butter and 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce to substitute the egg. Still turned out amazing!!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Sierra! And thanks for the tips for my readers.
Colleen
These cookies are a new favorite. They are delicious and the texture is perfect. Thanks for a great recipe!
Elizabeth
Oh my goodness, these are incredible! They taste like Christmas and have the best soft texture.