Soft Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

How to Make Soft Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

1. 1

   Step 1: Cream butter, sugar and mix wet ingredients

   With room-temperature butter in a mixing bowl, beat butter and packed light brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes). Add molasses and mix until combined, then beat in the egg until the mixture is smooth and glossy, scraping the bowl as needed.

   For this step

   • 1 cupUnsalted butter, softened
   • 1 cupLight brown sugar, packed
   • 1/2 cupMolasses
   • 1 largeLarge egg
   
2. 2

   Step 2: Whisk dry ingredients

   In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed. This ensures even spice and leavening throughout the dough.

   For this step

   • 3 cupsAll-purpose flour
   • 2 tablespoonsGround ginger
   • 1 tablespoonGround cinnamon
   • 1 teaspoonBaking soda
   • 1/2 teaspoonSalt
   
3. 3

   Step 3: Combine to form dough and chill

   Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two additions, stirring until just incorporated — avoid overmixing to keep cookies tender. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap, form into a disk (or two), wrap tightly and chill at least 1 hour (or up to overnight) until firm enough to roll.
   
4. 4

   Step 4: Roll, cut and bake

   Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake 8–12 minutes, or until edges are set but centers remain soft. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
   
5. 5

   Step 5: Prepare the royal icing

   Sift the powdered sugar and add the meringue powder into a mixing bowl. Whisk in cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency: thicker for outlines and flooding when thinned slightly. Tint with gel food color if desired and transfer to piping bags or squeeze bottles.

   For this step

   • 1 4 cups powdered sugar + 3 tbsp meringue powderPowdered sugar + meringue powder (for royal icing)
   
6. 6

   Step 6: Decorate and dry

   Pipe outlines and flood cookie centers with the royal icing; let details set and allow cookies to dry completely (at least 2 hours, preferably overnight) before stacking. Store in an airtight container between layers of parchment for up to 1 week.
   

1. With room-temperature butter in a mixing bowl, beat butter and packed light brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes). Add molasses and mix until combined, then beat in the egg until the mixture is smooth and glossy, scraping the bowl as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed. This ensures even spice and leavening throughout the dough.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two additions, stirring until just incorporated — avoid overmixing to keep cookies tender. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap, form into a disk (or two), wrap tightly and chill at least 1 hour (or up to overnight) until firm enough to roll.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake 8–12 minutes, or until edges are set but centers remain soft. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
5. Sift the powdered sugar and add the meringue powder into a mixing bowl. Whisk in cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency: thicker for outlines and flooding when thinned slightly. Tint with gel food color if desired and transfer to piping bags or squeeze bottles.
6. Pipe outlines and flood cookie centers with the royal icing; let details set and allow cookies to dry completely (at least 2 hours, preferably overnight) before stacking. Store in an airtight container between layers of parchment for up to 1 week.