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
Kathy B
Forgot to rate on my comment. 5 Stars!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Kathy! Have a fabulous day!
Kathy B
Loved these cookies. The spices are just right! Mine weren’t as “fat” as yours look, but they weren’t too thin and they stayed soft. Everyone loved them. One thing – I used my Kitchenaid to do most of the mixing so my dough was too soft/warm to form into balls, but a few minutes in the refrigerator did the trick.
Beth Pierce
So glad that you liked them! I use my Kitchenaid quite frequently for cookies and yes sometimes that means refrigeration time,
Colleen
Hello, these look delicious and I want to try them. What kind of molasses did you use? I didn’t realize there were different types.
And do you know what the difference is? Blackstrap, Fancy etc.
Beth Pierce
I used unsulphured molasses available from my local high end grocery store. I am not aware of all of those types.
Judy Lavallee
Can these be frozen either baked or just dough? If so, how?
Beth Pierce
How to freeze Soft Gingerbread 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 freezer for up to two months. When thawing remove from all packaging and place on serving plates in 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.
You can also freeze the dough. Roll the dough into balls. Place on parchment covered baking sheets. They should not be touching. Place in freezer until frozen solid (about one hour). Move to double Ziploc freezer bags. Store in safe place in freezer. To bake remove as many as you want. Roll in sugar and place on parchment covered baking sheets. Let them thaw while the oven preheats. They may need one more minute baking time.
Martha Merza
Can these be baked and then frozen? I would like to make them ahead for Christmas. Do they get hard over time? I made some last year (a different recipe) and they were hard in 3 days. Just did not retain that nice soft texture.
Beth Pierce
Yes they can be baked and frozen. Make sure you wrap them well. I am struggling with my memory on how long these stay soft but I am not sure because they do not stay around here long. My hubby loves gingerbread. I think at one point I had some that were almost a week and they were still delicious.
Steph
These we so good and so soft!! Perfect perfect perfect gingerbread cookie. So glad I came across this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much! So glad that you enjoyed them!
Jo-anne
When you say prepared coffee what does it mean. Instant coffee?
Beth Pierce
As if you if would drink it. In drinkable form.
Sue
How much water do I put in 2 tablespoon of coffee
Beth Pierce
It is two tablespoons of prepared coffee. So two tablespoons of coffee as it would be served to you. I hope that helps.
Yseniazavala
What can we substitute the coffee with?
Beth Pierce
Milk or water.
Beth
Taste was good but I rolled my dough out, and 9h are they ever hard! It makes me sad, I guess I’ll have to try and just do drop cookies next time.
Beth Pierce
So sorry Beth. I should have left more directions on this recipe. Yes if gingerbread dough is rolled out it will become more crisp as the aeration is removed when rolled. It would also require a little shorter cooking time; closer to ten minutes. I am going to make notes on the recipe right now.
Syl
This is for the person who said the cookies turned out hard. Put a slice of bread in a bag/container with the cookies. They should draw the moisture from the bread. Try with a couple first. Good luck ?
Chantale Bailey
These cookies are amazing! I had to decrease the cooking time to 10 mins for softer cookies, i think it was because they were smaller.
Beth Pierce
Gotcha! So glad that you liked them. I love gingerbread cookies. Whenever I make cookies I always do a test run with one or two to establish baking time because there are so many variables that come into play.
Jamie
Gingerbread cookies are an all time favorite at our house. A must for holiday baking and sharing!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Jamie! We love them too! Delicious!
Kathy
How can I share this?
Beth Pierce
In the left hand corner of each post are boxes for the major social media networks. Just click on them and you will be able to share to Facebook, Pinterest etc. Thanks for asking!
Renee Hannah
what could be used in place of coffee?? I don’t drink coffee and don’t care for that flavor in things. Perhaps strong black tea?
Beth Pierce
I think that would work well or just omit it.
Laura Chapin
at what temp do these get baked? I am either blind or it is not posted in the recipe
Beth Pierce
No Laura. You are not blind. I totally missed that one. I have added it now. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.
Layla
Made these cookies for my family on Halloween and they loved them! Delicious and easy to make. Thanks!
Beth Pierce
The pleasure was all mine!
Cheryl
i love warm gingerbread cookies with a cup of coffee!! Thanks for the recipe
Beth Pierce
My pleasure Cheryl!! I love them too! So delicious!!
Sandy
In the ingredients it dont mention baking soda but does in the instructions how much do we use
Beth Pierce
I just checked it. It is the second ingredient down. 1 1/2 teaspoons
Mary Erney
This recipe is amazing. My cookies did not spread out much but still delicious. Should I use real butter?
Beth Pierce
Yes. As a matter of fact I started using Land O Lakes butter this year because I think it is superior quality.