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
Samantha
What temperature is 350F in Celsius
Beth Pierce
Google says 177 degrees C
Dana Chiu
Very good! Soft, spice level was great! I used room temperature butter so mine spread a bit. I used 2 T. espresso and salted Kerry Gold butter. Next time I will chill well in fridge after they are on parchment sheet and bake cold. I put royal icing on mine. Made these for my SIL who requested a soft gingerbread cookie with royal icing. I’d make again!
Beth Pierce
So glad that you liked them! I love a good soft gingerbread cookie! Happy holidays!
James Norton
I sandwiched my cookies with some lemon frosting. It made a fantastic cookie crazy good
3 Tbs butter
1 1/2- 2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teas lemon zest
1 Tbs lemon juice
A few drops on cream to get a good spreading consistency
Use about a teaspoon per cookie really yummy!
Beth Pierce
That sounds absolutely divine! Thanks for the tip!
Bridget Lewis
Looking forward to baking this recipe….I live in a high altitude area, any suggestions?
Beth Pierce
Sorry Bridget! I do not have any experience with that but maybe one of the readers will have some advice.
Ja
May I ask did you use a tsp scoop or a Tbsp scoop ? Thank you
Beth Pierce
I did not use a cookie scoop on these. I rolled them into one inch balls with my hands then rolled them through the sugar.
Anastasia
Hello! Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve just made your cookies, they taste really good, but there is one problem- they didn’t spread at all, they stayed in a ball-shape. The batter was very soft and I thought it should spread, but it didn’t. Why did it happen? 🙁
Beth Pierce
Did you by chance use shortening instead of butter?
Lisa D.
Any suggestions for a substitution for the coffee?
neuroticmom
When i took mine out of the oven they where beautiful round mounded cookies but after about 3 minutes were flat 🙁 Still tasted great but wondering how I can keep them plump? Bake longer ?
Beth Pierce
I would not bake them any longer. A couple of quick tips. Make sure your baking soda is fresh. I always run a trial run by baking 2-3 cookies first. If they spread too fast refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours.
Erin
These scrumptious Soft Gingerbread Cookies are just so adorable!!
Demeter
I am so ready to make these this weekend! Ready to get into the holiday spirit.
Sara Welch
What perfect little bites of heaven! These are always a hit during the holidays; excited to bake these and package for gifts! Delish!
lawrence gosselin
Can the coffee be left out or substituted?
Beth Pierce
Yes it can!
Katie
Had to add extra flour and put the dough in the refrigerator to firm up a bit to roll but otherwise a great recipe
Mandy @ South Your Mouth
I love everything about this recipe! PERFECTION!
Sheila
Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar?
Beth Pierce
Light brown sugar
Dee
Sounds delicious and can’t wait to try…. One problem…. We can’t get molasses here as we live abroad, is there an alternative /substitute?
Beth Pierce
You can try dark corn syrup. I have not tried it but it is recommended for a substitute for molasses.
Rebecca Rice
I’m completely amateur when it comes to cooking/baking, but I can follow a recipe and it usually turns out well. This looks like a great recipe and I want to try it for a small gathering of sorts, but the inclusion of coffee in this recipe befuddled me. I love coffee, but I’m not sure about putting it in a recipe. I don’t even have a coffee maker. I saw someone’s comment about switching out coffee for tea and the reply about that being okay or just omitting that step completely. My concern is whether or not the cookies will still be good if I skip that step. Should I tweak the amount of one ingredient or more and, if so, by how much? Or will the cookies still come out tasty if I leave the rest of the ingredients alone and simply skip adding the coffee? Like I said, amateur here.
Beth Pierce
Hey Rebecca the coffee is there just to lend a little more taste to the recipe…albeit a subtle taste. If you don’t have a coffee maker than I think I would just sub a couple tablespoons of water. Like I said it is subtle and I think you will still love the cookies. This dough may require a little bit of refrigeration depending on how soft your butter is. Run a test run with two cookies and if they spread too fast cover your dough and place in the fridge for 45 minutes. Too soft butter can lead to too much spread and I want everyone’s cookies to turn out right.
Rebecca Rice
Thank you so much for the reply! I will take your advice into account. Merry Christmas!